One wonders if one should have brought one’s retirement date forward!
- Men and women have different roles.
- Strict feminism calls for interchangeability, a complete opening of all roles to women. It calls itself egalitarian. Logically, this means women in the front line of battle, and women in the State of Origin Rugby League matches. The enemy is sexism.
- The biblical view is that the two genders are equal in worth but not in function. In both Testaments there were women prophets but not elders. Women did not usually fight in battles. The exceptions were Deborah and Jael – Judges 4:4-9, 21-22; 5:24). 1 Peter 3:7 refers to the woman as ‘the weaker vessel’, which is realistic. ‘Chivalry’ is not found in the Bible, but a similar concept is there.
- Women can be prophets but are not to evaluate the prophets.
- It seems that women are not to evaluate the prophets – 14:33b-35. Gordon Fee thinks that these verses are not authentic even though they are found in the thousands of all known manuscripts.
- Paul is not forbidding women praying or prophesying – 11:5. He seems to be saying that women should not evaluate any given prophecy.
- By what authority?
- practice in all the churches – read 14:33b-34, 36
- the law – 14:34. Genesis 2:21-23 or Genesis 3:16.
- Paul’s own authority as an apostle – 14:37.
- Men who simply identify as women are destroying women’s sport. Lia Thomas easily defeated a female Olympic silver medallist in a 500 yard swimming event. More significant is the public worship of God.