Great post. This trajectory became inevitable when the deaconess studies program was moved to the seminary. Then we had women studying for “ministry” as professional ministerial colleagues of the men. I believe it was a deliberate and surreptitious mission creep to achieve exactly what you describe. I look forward to the next two installments.
I regret that when the deaconess program started at Fort Wayne I didn't really recognize the problem, even though others around me did. But the change in the culture on the campus was palpable.
Hello again. I received your message to my comment. I’d like to understand more about what you found that was theological incorrect. I’ve already have read both Pieper and Walther extensively (as you suggested for me to do) and thought my perspective aligned with their teachings. Maybe we’re using terms differently.
Lit post man, I see this creep slowly and it is unnatural for woman to seek the power that given to men. Plus with this society constantly emasculating men, it's sickening.
Older women should teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be discreet, chaste, obedient to their husbands, etc. (Titus 2:3-5). But since 1 Corinthians 14 tells us that if they have questions about theology, they should ask their husbands at home, it's hard to see how they should be teaching other women the word of God. That is the role of their husbands, fathers, and pastors, in ordinary circumstances.
Well then—if I’m a woman writing this, I suppose you better not learn anything from it! 😉
But in all seriousness, the claim that Titus 2 only allows women to give practical life advice—and not teach God’s Word—is both a misreading and a reduction of the text. The Greek word translated as “love their husbands” (philandros) is not a feeling but a virtue—something formed and nurtured through discipleship, which necessarily includes theology. The entire list in Titus 2:3–5 (including self-control, purity, kindness, submission, etc.) is rooted in the character of Christ and the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2). How can older women teach younger women to be reverent or sound in faith if they themselves have not been formed by God’s Word and doctrine?
What’s more, 1 Corinthians 14 is addressing a particular disorder in public worship—not issuing a blanket gag order for women learning, discussing, or even teaching theology outside the pulpit. Paul certainly didn't have an issue with Priscilla helping explain theology to Apollos (Acts 18), nor with women prophesying in the assembly (1 Cor. 11:5), assuming it was done in good order. To say women shouldn't teach other women God's Word is to ignore both the letter and spirit of the New Testament.
I’ve personally witnessed countless husbands come to know Christ through their wives, women who brought coworkers to faith, and others who comforted the sick with God’s promises in hospital rooms. To say that the Spirit of God cannot or will not work through a woman teaching another woman the Word of God is not only poor theology—it borders on quenching the Spirit. Let’s not limit the Spirit’s power by fearful readings of the text. Christ is the head of His Church, and He gifts His Body—male and female—to build one another up in love and truth.
Great post. This trajectory became inevitable when the deaconess studies program was moved to the seminary. Then we had women studying for “ministry” as professional ministerial colleagues of the men. I believe it was a deliberate and surreptitious mission creep to achieve exactly what you describe. I look forward to the next two installments.
I regret that when the deaconess program started at Fort Wayne I didn't really recognize the problem, even though others around me did. But the change in the culture on the campus was palpable.
Thanks for the post Karl, only 50 years late, as always you are articulate.
Good post— I’m interested to see how you support your next claim
Hello again. I received your message to my comment. I’d like to understand more about what you found that was theological incorrect. I’ve already have read both Pieper and Walther extensively (as you suggested for me to do) and thought my perspective aligned with their teachings. Maybe we’re using terms differently.
Thank you for your time.
Lit post man, I see this creep slowly and it is unnatural for woman to seek the power that given to men. Plus with this society constantly emasculating men, it's sickening.
"It is precisely because a man’s wife is the weaker vessel that he is required to lay down *her* life for her". Should fix that.
What do you make of women teaching other women?
Thanks for catching that typo.
Older women should teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be discreet, chaste, obedient to their husbands, etc. (Titus 2:3-5). But since 1 Corinthians 14 tells us that if they have questions about theology, they should ask their husbands at home, it's hard to see how they should be teaching other women the word of God. That is the role of their husbands, fathers, and pastors, in ordinary circumstances.
This seems proper to me as well.
Well then—if I’m a woman writing this, I suppose you better not learn anything from it! 😉
But in all seriousness, the claim that Titus 2 only allows women to give practical life advice—and not teach God’s Word—is both a misreading and a reduction of the text. The Greek word translated as “love their husbands” (philandros) is not a feeling but a virtue—something formed and nurtured through discipleship, which necessarily includes theology. The entire list in Titus 2:3–5 (including self-control, purity, kindness, submission, etc.) is rooted in the character of Christ and the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2). How can older women teach younger women to be reverent or sound in faith if they themselves have not been formed by God’s Word and doctrine?
What’s more, 1 Corinthians 14 is addressing a particular disorder in public worship—not issuing a blanket gag order for women learning, discussing, or even teaching theology outside the pulpit. Paul certainly didn't have an issue with Priscilla helping explain theology to Apollos (Acts 18), nor with women prophesying in the assembly (1 Cor. 11:5), assuming it was done in good order. To say women shouldn't teach other women God's Word is to ignore both the letter and spirit of the New Testament.
I’ve personally witnessed countless husbands come to know Christ through their wives, women who brought coworkers to faith, and others who comforted the sick with God’s promises in hospital rooms. To say that the Spirit of God cannot or will not work through a woman teaching another woman the Word of God is not only poor theology—it borders on quenching the Spirit. Let’s not limit the Spirit’s power by fearful readings of the text. Christ is the head of His Church, and He gifts His Body—male and female—to build one another up in love and truth.