Men and Women in the Redemption Plan
By Andreas Köstenberger
Logical fallacies, both formal and informal, are found in every field of study, and biblical exegesis is no exception.
Logical fallacies, both formal and informal, are found in every field of study, and biblical exegesis is no exception.
False disjunctions are made when an argument is presented in an either or fashion: either A or B is true, but not both. However, there are times when the answer is "both/and" rather than "either/or."
Take the relationship between Galatians 3:28 and 1 Timothy 2:12, for example.
Take the relationship between Galatians 3:28 and 1 Timothy 2:12, for example.
Gal 3:8
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
1Tim 2:12
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. {ESV}
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
1Tim 2:12
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. {ESV}
It is at times claimed that Paul's assertion in Galatians 3 that in Christ there is "no male and female" eradicates all gender-related distinctions with regard to church ministry, so that the prohibition of women teaching or exercising authority over men in the church in 1 Timothy 2 must be explained as a culturally relative injunction. Both— undifferentiated male-female equality in Christ and limiting authoritative local church offices to men—cannot be true, it is said (or at least implied), so the latter principle must be relativized in such a way that it fits with the former. However, this kind of disjunctive thinking is fallacious.
Since 1 Timothy 2:12 is grounded in creation's design and, conversely, the scenario at the fall (vv. 13–14), the passage cannot easily be set aside as culturally bound. More promising is the explanation that Galatians 3:28, in affirming the irrelevance of male-female distinctions with regard to salvation in Christ, is not seeking to address male-female roles in the church at all, so that the passages are pertaining to different (albeit related) topics. Both affirmations are true: men and women are indiscriminately saved by grace through faith in Christ, and the office of elder/overseer is reserved in Scripture for men in keeping with God's creation design.
Since 1 Timothy 2:12 is grounded in creation's design and, conversely, the scenario at the fall (vv. 13–14), the passage cannot easily be set aside as culturally bound. More promising is the explanation that Galatians 3:28, in affirming the irrelevance of male-female distinctions with regard to salvation in Christ, is not seeking to address male-female roles in the church at all, so that the passages are pertaining to different (albeit related) topics. Both affirmations are true: men and women are indiscriminately saved by grace through faith in Christ, and the office of elder/overseer is reserved in Scripture for men in keeping with God's creation design.
Roles on the Earth depend on heavenly authorities. Paul not simply mentions the social/cultural situations in the local {then} churches but teaches us about the causes in 1Cor 11 {passage 7-12, emphasis on v10} mentioning the role of the first born {man} and the role of the men, in connection with the angelic roles and authority. And this is not temporary nor cultural.
Appeals to selective evidence are numerous. By definition, we engage in this logical fallacy anytime we only refer to authorities or passages that agree with us on a given issue while failing to account for countervailing evidence or authorities.
the original article can be found here: Ligonier.org/../Logical Fallacies by Andreas Köstenberger
ESP
