The Problem with "Egalitarian" Churches

 Many thanks to Laura, the Divine Dissident, for her tireless advocacy of gender autonomy in the Christian community, and for having the guts to feature me on her podcast!

One viewer's insight: I really liked her point about "adult autonomy" at the end. It's really the bottom line. A Christian adult NEEDS autonomy so that they can use the free will God gave them to follow HIM! Nothing or nobody else should ever be inserted between or lay claim to the authority that God alone should possess in a Christian life!

Woman's Rights Men

Did you know that most abolitionists were also advocates for equality of the sexes?

Theodore Weld, who trained abolition activists and eventually married Sarah Grimke, was legendary for his courage. Despite criticism, he welcomed women into the abolition movement and insisted on treating them as autonomous equals.

In fact, the abolition movement is what kicked off the American Woman's Rights Movement. Weld trained women alongside men and treated them as self-governing equals in every way.

Weld and Grimke's egalitarian marriage lasted happily for over four decades.

Another well-known abolitionist was Frederick Douglas, who declared that he was proud to be denominated as a woman's rights man.

Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books

Subscribe to: God and Women: Deconstructing the Christian Caste System | Jocelyn Andersen | Substack 

Senior Pastor at Church: The Little Woman at Home

I was raised in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), so I understand the restrictions against women within that denomination. In my mid-twenties, I began attending a denomination that had no problem with women as church leaders and pastors. So, I enjoyed the freedom of growing in my gifts and callings within a local church setting.

But it wasn't without its frustrations...read more HERE

Amazon.com: Jocelyn Andersen: books, biography, latest update

Women Keep Silent in Church!

 

Some scholars believe verses :34-35 of 1 Corinthians chapter fourteen to be interpolations (forgeries)...and for good reason. 

This is certainly within the realm of possibility as Paul himself admitted that letters “as from him” were being forged and sent to leaders of the early Christian groups (see 2 Thessalonians 2:2). It is difficult to make sense of two verses that contradict the tone and message of, not just Paul's letter to the Believers at Corinth but, the entire body of the scriptures as well. 

Why would Paul command women to keep silence among the Out-Called, when earlier in the same letter he wrote that “every one of you” may prophesy? Not to mention he knew the scriptures that said God's daughters would prophesy as well as his sons. 

In 1 Corinthians chapter eleven, Paul wrote the protocol for women in praying/preaching/prophesying publicly, when the Out-Called came together. This is likely the reason for the interpolation in chapter fourteen. 

To instruct women in public-speaking protocol only to then restrict them to absolute silence among fellow believers is a ridiculous contradiction...and completely out of character for a man who, throughout his ministry, endorsed and honored women as leaders. 

Another, not insignificant, reason to consider that verses 34-35 might be interpolations (forged inserts) is the break in continuity. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 deals with the subject of prophesying and speaking in tongues from start to finish. The only exceptions being the jarring diatribe against women in verses 34-35, without which the entire chapter would read seamlessly on the topics of prophesying and speaking in tongues:

29: Let the prophets speak two or three and let the others judge 30: If anything be revealed to another that sits by let the first hold their peace 31: For you may all prophesy [2] one by one that all may learn and all may be comforted 32: For the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets 33: Indeed God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all churches of the saints

34: Let your women keep silence among the Out-Called for it is not permitted to them to speak but they are commanded to be under obedience as also says the law 35: And if they will learn anything let them ask their husbands at home for it is a shame for women to speak among the Out-Called

36: What came the word of God out from you or came it to you only 37: If any are deemed as prophets or spiritual let them acknowledge that the things that I write to you are the commandments of the Lord 38: But if any be ignorant [let them] be ignorant 39: Wherefore brethren covet to prophesy and forbid not to speak with tongues 40: Let all things be done decently and in order.

Two Points

• There is no law that says women must be under obedience
• There is no scriptural precedent that says it is a shame for women to speak in public 

---

[2] 1 Corinthians 14:31 reveals at least three things. 1.) Every member of the Body of Christ has liberty to speak publicly to other members of the body of Christ without asking permission from hierarchical group leadership. 2.) Women are not excluded from publicly and authoritatively preaching and teaching to other members of the Ekklesia (Body of Christ) 3.) Women are not excluded from speaking publicly to men, and men are not forbidden to learn from women. 

Verses 34-34 blatantly contradict verse 31 (along with myriads of other verses and passages). Verse 31 is just one of many scriptures that proves complementarian male headship is an unscriptural paradigm that exalts itself against the knowledge of God...and that verses 34-35 must be forgeries.

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

Hypotasso also means arrayed "With" or "BESIDE"

 Hypotasso: Scholars Omit Two Crucial Definitions of the Word

 

 Two definitions of the Greek word "hypotassō," almost always translated as "submit" in the New Testament, would bring unity and healing to the Body of Christ by shedding the light of truth on a contentious and divisive subject... if they were included in Christian study resources. 

 

But these definitions though clearly seen within the context of scripture, are conspicuously absent from the scholarly record. 

 

   Hiearchical-English-translation-theology owns the field when it comes to the Greek word "hypo"--G5259 [pronounced hupo], from which the compound words hypotassō [Koine TR as seen in Strong's] and hupotassetai [as seen in Scrivner TR] are derived.  

   Both words are essentially the same and defined as arrayed "under" [hypo] by James Strong [G5293]. 

   Context reveals that "hypo"--G5259, can also mean over [2 Cor 2:11], or beside [Hebrews 1:3 ...and in Koine manuscripts, 2 Peter 2:5]. but it appears that Bible scholars and commentators do not want Christian laypeople to know this.
   The hierarchical applecart would certainly be upset if lay-Christians understood that the New Testament does not teach political or military-like hierarchy within the Body of Christ.
   James Strong, created an extraordinary work with his exhaustive concordance, but also exhibited extraordinary bias in some of his definitions, G5259-hypo being just one example. 

   Though we appreciate and use his work, we do this understanding his human frailties and biases. Strong's concordance erroneously perpetuates the unscriptural "clergy-over-laity" paradigm that, in Revelation 2:6, God says he hates. And one glaring example of this is his neglect to include the other two scriptural meanings of the word hypo-G5259, and this despite the fact he lists the scripture passages in which they are found. So we know he was aware of them.

   In this, whether intentional or not, James Strong has done a great dis-service to Bible scholars, students, and all Christians who depend heavily on his work for biblical understanding.

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

1 Peter 3:7 Might Does Not Make Right

 Likewise you husbands ones making a home together with them in an understanding way giving honor to the wife as to the [physically]weaker vessel [1] and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered [2]

---

[1] ^{1 Peter 3:7} Might does not make right

[2] ^{1 Peter 3:7} Though this verse speaks specifically to husbands, the prayers of anyone male or female, married or unmarried, will be hindered when we throw our strength around, oppressing those who are weaker than us.

Of note is the fact that most Christians have heard 1 Peter 3:1 quoted or preached on many times during their lives, with 1 Peter 3:7 occasionally thrown in as an after-thought. There is no doubt the priority of traditional-role-religion and its more virulent offspring, complementarianism, has been to keep the influence and autonomy of Christian women to a minimum.

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

1 Peter 3:1 Does not mandate female subordination or male headship

 

 Likewise the women yield to your own men that if any obey not the word they also may without The Word be won by the behavior of the wives [1]

---

[1] In 1 Peter 3:1, is the writer telling wives that they are basically slaves and should emulate the subjective behavior of slaves as instructed in 1 Peter 2:18? 

This writer does not believe so. Hebrew and Greek scholar, Bruce Fleming, does not believe so either. Fleming teaches that 1 Peter 3:1 is not connected at all with 1 Peter 2:18-25 but rather an entirely new subject. He speaks about this in season four of his Eden Podcast, and he makes some very good points.

Fleming’s interpretation is possible. But regardless, this writer believes there is no doubt [that in the mind of the biblical writer] 1 Peter 3:1 is a continuation of the subject introduced in the last eight verses of 1 Peter 2 [:18-25] about slaves enduring unjust harshness and violence from masters. Without chapter and verse breaks [which is how the Bible was originally written], the passage is clearly one unbroken conversation about one topic, that of slaves being subject to masters and the writer leads seamlessly into the subject of women subjecting themselves to men: QUOTE “Slaves [be] subject to [your] masters with all fear not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward For this [is] thankworthy if one for conscience toward God endure grief suffering wrongfully For what glory [is it] if when you be beaten for your faults you shall take it patiently But if when you do well and suffer [for it] you take it patiently this [is] acceptable with God For even to this were you called ^{we are all called to this} because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow his steps Who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth Who when he was reviled, reviled not again When He suffered he threatened not but committed [himself] to Him that judges righteously Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live to righteousness by whose stripes you were healed For you were as sheep going astray but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls Likewise women …[be] in subjection to your own men that if any obey not the Word they also may without the Word be won by the behavior of the women.” END QUOTE

Peter certainly made a seamless connection when writing about the subjection of slaves to masters and the subjection of women to their men. This is confirmed in 1 Peter 3:5-6 where he wrote that Sara called Abraham master. Nowhere do we read in scripture where Sarah called Abraham master, so this statement must be taken from the Jewish extra-scriptural writings. These writings are commentary and not inspired scripture, but Peter was obviously familiar with them.

19^th Century Greek and Hebrew scholar, Katherine Bushnell did not believe women are scripturally commanded to subject themselves to male dominance on any level. But she also believed that 1 Peter 3:1 was connected with 1 Peter 2:18 and she had this to say about it she began with the Hebrew and then show how the Greek [in 1 Peter] connected with it: QUOTE “The Old Testament sense in which "to be in subjection" is sometimes used, is highly suggestive and instructive. Psalm 62:1 reads in the English, "truly my soul waits upon God; from Him cometh my salvation.” At verse 5 of the same Psalm, we read: "My soul, wait thou only upon God.” In Psalm 37:7 we find the words: "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” The words "wait" in the first passages, and the word "rest" in the last are all three represented in the Greek version by the single word hupotasso, "be in subjection," while the literal sense of the Hebrew original word is "be silent unto.” Compare this with 1 Peter 3:1,2, where wives are exhorted to win unbelieving husbands by "subjection.” Surely Peter is not here exhorting wives to blindly obey unbelievers, for if heathen, they would at once remand them back to the worship of the gods; if Jews, back to Judaism. Rather, they are to win them away from these by their "manner of life,” “without The Word,"--actions speaking louder than words. "Coupled with fear,"—such fear of God as would cause these women, so gentle, quiet, and patient in daily life, to be as adamant in their truth to God; and the husbands so overawed by their quiet maintenance of principle, whereas they are so ready to yield to their husbands when principle is not involved, that the husbands dare not try to compel their wives to violate conscience, and thus are themselves gradually led into the Christian faith. Where “subjection” is spoken of as a woman’s duty, without further immediate specification, it has been too readily assumed that this means subjection to a husband. But many women even from Apostolic days, and certainly an increasing large proportion of women in latter days, have no husbands. In both 1 Corinthians 14:34, “let them be in subjection”; and in 1 Timothy 2:11, “learn in all subjection,” this O. T. idea of waiting on God, or the thought of a spirit of humility towards God, may be all that is intended.” END QUOTE

Another View

The biblical writer’s direction to slaves and women were not biblical condonements of institutionalized slavery or systemically-mandated female subjection to males, but this writer believes the instruction found 1 peter 2:18 and 1 Peter 3:1 stem from concern for the safety of both.

It was taught then that all Christians [slaves, women, and men] were spiritually free in Christ, and all Christians [then and now] are equal ^{Galatians 3:28,1 Peter 5:5}, but depending on geographic location and local and national laws, all were, and are, not entitled to the same legal autonomy. While earth-bound, Roman slaves and women were still confined by oppressive laws and cultural expectations. That is still the case in many parts of the world today. 1 Peter 2 & 3 was both instruction and encouragement that a godly lifestyle in freely subjecting oneself to an unfortunate legally-mandated lot would not only *keep slaves safer but also was not un-noticed by God and would not go unrewarded. Women were higher on the social and legal scales than slaves, but their autonomy was still greatly restricted, and they were maliciously written about by philosophers, playwrights, and poets of the day. Though enjoying more legal protections, by the first century, domestic violence was still a very real part of Roman and Jewish life and first century Christian women were certainly at risk.

*Throughout Roman history, slaves could be killed at will by masters with no repercussion. By the time of Christ, manus marriage, which entitled Roman husbands to arbitrarily kill wives was replaced by sine manu marriage, whereby married women remained under the protection of their pater-families or of a male guardian appointed by their pater-families. This made the murder wives [with little to no legal or social repercussion] much more difficult. But domestic violence and abuse was another subject altogether. The Romans from Augustus on, liked to appear fair and gentle in public by passing some very good laws favoring women, but one Greek/Roman historian lamented that literary writings on the subject of domestic abuse and domestic violence [in the late republic] is frustratingly quiet. In other words, domestic abuse was winked at and swept under the rug.

Domestic violence and abuse are a given in any society that considers women as inferior or lesser than men. Virtually all the Church Fathers, considered women inferior and dangerous if given autonomy. They repeat this often in their writings. These same Church Fathers continue to be studied extensively today, as they should but with their anti-women rhetoric refuted in Christian seminaries, but it is not. It is simply ignored.

Gender-bias in Bible translation is rampant and creates a perceived scripture-bias against women where none exists. Holy Spirit inspired biblical writers do not exhibit such bias, but this is difficult to see when modern translators insist on holding to historical and traditional attitudes that are harmful to women. Even today, with progressive laws, three women a day [in the United States] die from domestic violence. A Methodist survey done in the 1970’s, found that one in six Christian women experienced violence at the hands of husbands or boyfriends. Domestic violence among professing Christians is just as rampant as among unbelievers. Why would anyone assume that First Century women were not at even greater risk when misogyny was the systemically legal order of the day and the norm for their culture?

Cultures exist today, where Christians are both legally enslaved and women are literally slaves of their husbands. Many of these women must hide their faith in Christ. They would not in any case be able to speak of Christ or share his Word with their husbands, who are literally and legally their masters. Many have zero legal recourse against abuse or potentially deadly domestic violence. They must, of necessity endure the harshness and danger, with seemingly no hope of escape. Just as 1 Peter 2:18 is not a message to Christian slaves that institutionalized slavery is God’s will, 1 Peter 3:2 is not a message to Christian women that God created them as inferiors to men or that it is his will for them tolerate violence and abuse. It was a message intended to protect [as much as possible] and encourage slaves and at-risk women of every era. 

 

... Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books

What readers are saying:

"This book is well written, well researched, and a real eye opener."

"Andersen is a gifted writer, and the book was easy to read even as it covers thoughtful and sometimes technical information. I am glad I read it. I’ve read a great deal about women in the church and home, and it is easy to think there is nothing new to be learned or considered – but this book has a unique approach and covers aspects overlooked by others. Everything is well documented with footnotes in case you have questions or want sources."

"The author is not only a gifted writer but clearly well-studied and informed."

" I was pleased that translation bias was covered in a chapter, an issue that needs to be addressed, and one that I find quite hard to bring up with lay people or everyday believers who lack knowledge about Bible translation. We can trust our Bibles, but we also need to acknowledge that certain passages are difficult to translate and bias can come into play."

"Andersen tackles most of the primary the teachings of complementarianism with an impressive exegesis"

 Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.  

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

To receive an announcement from Amazon whenever a new book is released by Jocelyn Andersen, subscribe to Her Amazon author's page.

To Contact Jocelyn: Use the contact form in the sidebar of her blog at www.jocelynandersen.com to leave comments on her books, to reach her with questions, or to request for her to come and speak at your group. 

The Priesthood of Believers Makes Women Equal in Authority with Men

  You also as living stones are built up a spiritual house an holy priesthood [1] to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:5

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[1] 1 Peter 2:5 calls the Church of the Living God a Spiritual House and a Royal Priesthood. Every believer is part of the Priesthood of Believers. With the exception of the gifts and callings, God does not separate his children into gender-based camps [the leader camp and the follower camp]. Jesus inducts every believer into the Priesthood of Believers ^{Revelation 1:6}. These two verses, if they stood alone [which they do not] disprove entirely the false patriarchal teachings of complementarianism. God has called his women as well as his men to live autonomous lives and to speak, preach, and lead authoritatively as HE wills.

 

... Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books

What readers are saying:

"This book is well written, well researched, and a real eye opener."

"Andersen is a gifted writer, and the book was easy to read even as it covers thoughtful and sometimes technical information. I am glad I read it. I’ve read a great deal about women in the church and home, and it is easy to think there is nothing new to be learned or considered – but this book has a unique approach and covers aspects overlooked by others. Everything is well documented with footnotes in case you have questions or want sources."

"The author is not only a gifted writer but clearly well-studied and informed."

" I was pleased that translation bias was covered in a chapter, an issue that needs to be addressed, and one that I find quite hard to bring up with lay people or everyday believers who lack knowledge about Bible translation. We can trust our Bibles, but we also need to acknowledge that certain passages are difficult to translate and bias can come into play."

"Andersen tackles most of the primary the teachings of complementarianism with an impressive exegesis"

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

 Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.  

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

To receive an announcement from Amazon whenever a new book is released by Jocelyn Andersen, subscribe to Her Amazon author's page.

To Contact Jocelyn: Use the contact form in the sidebar of her blog at www.jocelynandersen.com to leave comments on her books, to reach her with questions, or to request for her to come and speak at your group. 

Complementarianism: Extravagant Promises and Dire Threats

 

 Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment that includes a promise That it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth[1]

Ephesians 6:2-3

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[1] It is notable that when YHWH 'Elohiym commanded children to obey their parents, he showed respect even for children by explaining the reason for it. He did not simply say, “You must obey because they are adults and you are children.” No, he said if you obey this command, there is a conditional promise of long life attached to it. Likewise, when the apostle, quoted the commandment, he highlighted the promise. Both 'Elohiym and the Apostle Paul, felt it worthwhile to explain to children the reason for obedience, yet some complementarian teachers would have us believe that Paul commanded full grown adult women to obey husbands blindly, with *no promise attached, only threats of dire consequences if they don’t. 

** Some complementarian leaders do make unscriptural extravagant promises of temporal and eternal bliss if wives subjugate themselves to husbands, but common sense reduces this hypothesis to nonsense.

Here is one example of unscriptural presumptuous complementarian promises, “A woman finds peace and shelter in the submission to her husband.” There is no hint of such thing in the Bible. Yet, this is a popular mantra among complementarians. 

The obedience of children to parents is temporary. Once they reach their majority, children are free from the command to obey parents. Not so with complementarian wives. Complementarian wives are commanded to obedience throughout their earthly lives and into eternity, where they are told their husbands will present them to Christ and answer for them at the judgement seat. 

This creates god-complexes in boys and men and husband-idolatry and irresponsibility on the part of complementarian wives, who believe they have a husband-mediator between them and God, when the Bible says there is only one mediator between God and humanity, and that is the man Christ Jesus.

This is an excerpt from The Hungry Hearts Bible Commentary edited by this author.

 ...

Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books

What readers are saying:

"This book is well written, well researched, and a real eye opener."

"Andersen is a gifted writer, and the book was easy to read even as it covers thoughtful and sometimes technical information. I am glad I read it. I’ve read a great deal about women in the church and home, and it is easy to think there is nothing new to be learned or considered – but this book has a unique approach and covers aspects overlooked by others. Everything is well documented with footnotes in case you have questions or want sources."

"The author is not only a gifted writer but clearly well-studied and informed."

" I was pleased that translation bias was covered in a chapter, an issue that needs to be addressed, and one that I find quite hard to bring up with lay people or everyday believers who lack knowledge about Bible translation. We can trust our Bibles, but we also need to acknowledge that certain passages are difficult to translate and bias can come into play."

"Andersen tackles most of the primary the teachings of complementarianism with an impressive exegesis"

Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books

 Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.  

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

To receive an announcement from Amazon whenever a new book is released by Jocelyn Andersen, subscribe to Her Amazon author's page.

To Contact Jocelyn: Use the contact form in the sidebar of her blog at www.jocelynandersen.com to leave comments on her books, to reach her with questions, or to request for her to come and speak at your group. 

Male Headship and the Ten Commandments

 Children obey your parents[1] in the Lord for this is right Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with [that includes a] promise 

Ephesians 6:1-2

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[1] In the day 'Elohiym created '‘âdâm [humanity] in the likeness of 'Elohiym made he him male and female created he them and blessed them and called their name '‘âdâm [human] in the day when they were created. The first of the Ten Commandments, instructs children to obey their mothers equally with their fathers. Nowhere in the Ten Commandments, can it be found that wives are commanded to submit to husbands or that husbands are commanded to lead wives. How is it then that complementarian teachers have written that female submission to male “headship,” is an eternal life or eternal death issue?

Search the scriptures in vain to find a verse or passage to back that claim. It is simply not “written.” Yet, it is a familiar refrain among traditional-role-religionists that Adam neglected to lead his wife in the Garden and therefore was responsible for his wife’s sin.

When did Adam become a savior? Genesis 3:1-6 Jocelyn Andersen - YouTube

If female submission to male “headship” is scriptural and indeed a life or death issue, the nexus on which our salvation hinges, then surely YHWH ELOHIYM would have addressed it at Mt. Sinai. But he didn’t. Why? Because he settled the issue when he created the first couple. In Genesis chapter one he commanded them to dominate the earth together. Male headship is an entirely man-made fabrication depriving women of liberty when the scriptures say, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

This is an excerpt from The Hungry Hearts Bible Commentary edited by this author.

 

Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books

What readers are saying:

"This book is well written, well researched, and a real eye opener."

"Andersen is a gifted writer, and the book was easy to read even as it covers thoughtful and sometimes technical information. I am glad I read it. I’ve read a great deal about women in the church and home, and it is easy to think there is nothing new to be learned or considered – but this book has a unique approach and covers aspects overlooked by others. Everything is well documented with footnotes in case you have questions or want sources."

"The author is not only a gifted writer but clearly well-studied and informed."

" I was pleased that translation bias was covered in a chapter, an issue that needs to be addressed, and one that I find quite hard to bring up with lay people or everyday believers who lack knowledge about Bible translation. We can trust our Bibles, but we also need to acknowledge that certain passages are difficult to translate and bias can come into play."

"Andersen tackles most of the primary the teachings of complementarianism with an impressive exegesis"

Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery & the Evangelical Caste System: Andersen, Jocelyn: 9780979429323: Amazon.com: Books

 Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.  

If the topic of God and Women interests you, join the conversation HERE.

To receive an announcement from Amazon whenever a new book is released by Jocelyn Andersen, subscribe to Her Amazon author's page.

To Contact Jocelyn: Use the contact form in the sidebar of her blog at www.jocelynandersen.com to leave comments on her books, to reach her with questions, or to request for her to come and speak at your group. 

Biblical Submission in Marriage

  Yielding to [being supportive of] one another in the fear of God  Wives yield to [be supportive of] your own husbands [1]

Ephesians 5:21-22

---

[1] Dr. Sue Hyatt writes that the word “submit” should have been translated as “support,” “In the context of biblical relationships between men and women, the best meaning of hypotasso is “to identify with or support.”

This writer agrees. Within biblical Christianity no military hierarchies can be found. Secular, military-like, applications of the Greek word, hypotasso, have no place in the living dynamics of the love relationship between our Creator and his people nor should it between co-workers in Christ or between husbands and wives. 

It is a grave error to assign a biblical definition of “compliance” to the word hypotasso in New Testament non-military relationships. All believers are commanded to hypotasso one another. We see this in Ephesians 5:21 and 1 Peter 5:5 (the latter is found in all Koine Greek texts, over 5000 of which still exist today). In biblical usage, the word hypotasso is not hierarchical. It has nothing to do with being subordinate to, secondary to, or subject to. It must be applied in the sense of preferring one another over ourselves.    

Translator supplements add to the impression that the word is hierarchical when it is not. In Ephesians chapter five, see verses :21-22, where the word, “yourselves” (as in submit yourselves) is an English translator supplement that casts a hierarchical shadow over the passage, when there is no underlying Greek to support it.

As previously stated translating hypotasso as the word “submit” or the phrase “be subject to” gives rise to gender-biased-English-translation-theology, bluntly put…false doctrine. The word “yourselves” is not found in verses :21-22. There is no corresponding Greek to support it.

Semantics matter. Language influences opinion. The translator supplements of “yourselves” [in verses :21-22] add a non-existent emphatic and hierarchical flavor to the passage. It is an incorrect translation. As there is no corresponding Greek to justify the translator supplements of the emphatic “yourselves” in either verse, the words should be eliminated.

“Yielding one to another (being supportive one of the other) in the fear of God” is sufficient for understanding. The word, hypotasso, means the same for both husbands and wives. Hypotasso is used in 1 Peter 5:5 (Koine Greek/Received Text), where all believers are commanded to yield to and be supportive of one another. Given that all believers are commanded to prefer others before themselves, the Greek word, hypotasso, when applied to non-military relationships (marriage is certainly a non-military relationship), should not be translated using hierarchical terms such as “submit” or “be subject to.”

This is an excerpt from The Hungry Hearts Bible Commentary edited by this author.

What readers are saying

Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery, and the Evangelical Caste System 

What readers are saying:

"This book is well written, well researched, and a real eye opener."

"Andersen is a gifted writer, and the book was easy to read even as it covers thoughtful and sometimes technical information. I am glad I read it. I’ve read a great deal about women in the church and home, and it is easy to think there is nothing new to be learned or considered – but this book has a unique approach and covers aspects overlooked by others. Everything is well documented with footnotes in case you have questions or want sources."

"The author is not only a gifted writer but clearly well-studied and informed."

" I was pleased that translation bias was covered in a chapter, an issue that needs to be addressed, and one that I find quite hard to bring up with lay people or everyday believers who lack knowledge about Bible translation. We can trust our Bibles, but we also need to acknowledge that certain passages are difficult to translate and bias can come into play."

"Andersen tackles most of the primary the teachings of complementarianism with an impressive exegesis"

Woman this is WAR! Gender, Slavery, and the Evangelical Caste System 

 Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.  

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