9: JUST IGNORE THE “DISPUTED” PASSAGES? 95on which the Bible is silent. Rather, it is something on which God has
given specific instructions:
1 Timothy 2:12: I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise
authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.1 Timothy 3:2: Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the
husband of one wife...Titus 1:6: if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife...Where God has spoken so specifically, we need to be careful that the
claim “We don’t know what these commands mean” does not become
just an excuse for disobeying God’s commands. All of us who have been
parents know that children can sometimes cloak their disobedience in
the claim “I didn’t understand you!” when in fact what we told them
was perfectly clear. So in this case, I want to raise a question about
whether that may be happening with some branches of evangelical fem-
inism. Is it really true that God’s words on gender roles cannot be
understood?
Think again about what is happening when people say, “I don’t
know what these verses mean.” It is something like this:
God’s Word: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise
authority over a man” [when Christians assemble to worship and to
hear the Bible taught, as the context indicates].Evangelical feminists: “We’re sorry, God, we can’t understand what
you mean. Incidentally, we have women teaching and exercising
authority over men in our services. That is because we can’t under-
stand what you mean when you say not to have a woman teach or
exercise authority over a man.”God’s Word: “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the
husband of one wife.. .”Evangelical feminists: “We’re sorry, God, we can’t understand what
you mean. Incidentally, we have women who are overseers and elders