Following are comments I made on a YouTube channel that supported complementarianism. We highlight not only the interpretive issues of inconsistency of method, but the application to our lives as well.
The host exegeted 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and Paul's "theology" behind why women should not preach.
Let's use that exact same hermeneutics to exegete and apply 1 Corinthians 11 on wearing the veil. So are all western women today sinning while in church?
Context is many times not related only to the words of the passage itself but to the prevailing environment, education, culture, etc that caused the author to write it. NT Wright believes that Phoebe was the one who not only delivered the book of Romans but explained and taught it to them because of her closeness to Paul and his teachings. the book of Romans also mentions the apostle, Junia. How can one be an apostle and not teach the church? Much of Christianity today, especially western Christianity, are really concerned about the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law. By spirit of the law, I mean the righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees who were also concerned about the letter of the law sacrificing its spirit. Read the Apostolic fathers. Some of them like Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of John, have articulations about the Trinity that the later councils would condemn as heresy. This taught me a lesson. Where in the Bible would we be judged or condemned by our theology? None. We will be judged by our WORKS, GOOD or BAD. Try to find an exception to this and figure out how it CORRECTLY relates to Justification by faith. Search for the phrase, "faith alone" and the only occurrence ironically is James 2:24. "You see that a person is justified by works and NOT by faith ALONE". "Unless your righteousness (NOT THEOLOGY) exceeds that of the Pharisees, you will BY NO MEANS ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN". That is the key to salvation, righteousness and not doctrine. Because we focus on word studies instead of spirit, we have lost the ability to distinguish between prescriptive passages and descriptive passages. In this particular case, you were more concerned about the order of creation, a lower-level truth than the fact that "woman" (and and not just man) was created in the image of God. When Paul says there is "neither male nor female" in the kingdom of God, that demands trumping any cultural mandate. When the Spirit dispenses charismas of preaching and teaching, was that meant to be for men only? No. So we cannot argue from silence but we can leverage a higher principle. Besides this is supported by Joel and Acts 2:17, "...your daughters SHALL PROPHESY..." and verse 18 "even on my male servants and FEMALE servants, in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and THEY SHALL PROPHESY." Now if those females prophesy only to women or outside the church, there is something REALLY wrong about your hermeneutics here. On the more positive side, NT Wright who is one of the foremost experts on the Apostle Paul says that women should be preachers to balance out viewpoints coming from the pulpit. Maybe he meant that we should not only hear brain-centered viewpoints but also more heart-centered messages since God is more concerned about our heart (righteousness that exceeds) than our brain (theology). The Apostolic Christians only had the Didache and the Apostles Creed before the later "fathers" corrupted it with more theology. The Reformation, unfortunately, with all its good contributions, diluted it by too much focus on just brain concepts. John Wesley was able to extricate himself out of a hyper-Calvinist (brain-oriented) denomination to one that focuses on the heart. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God", he declared that God would not make a promise that can only be attained when we die, but that we can "see" God in our Christian walk if we walk the right way. And Matthew 5:48 "You shall be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect" was an imperative. God would not issue a command that cannot be fulfilled in this life, otherwise, his word is totally irrelevant.
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