Analysis Of Bruce Barron Essay

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Bruce Barron is a well-known Christian author of many books on the Christian faith, as well as the author of the essay, “PUTTING WOMEN IN THEIR PLACE: 1 TIMOTHY 2 AND EVANGELICAL VIEWS OF WOMEN IN CHURCH LEADERSHIP”. Barron starts off his essay giving some background on the current battle going on in churches today and how various denominations are deciding to go in different paths when it comes to a woman’s role in the church.
Barron stresses, that many people today feel it is a church’s issue for reasoning for limiting a woman’s role in church leadership, not the other way around. Barron also describes the “Danvers Statement”, a statement put out by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (451-452). The statement speaks on many areas …show more content…

At the time of Barron’s essay, he felt Kroegar’s premise had not been examined further and he wanted to do so. Kroeger's basic ideas presented from Barron’s point of view were one of the two modern theories on a woman’s role in the church, that Paul was addressing a particular situation in Ephesus and the issues that were present at that time in history. Moo did not go into this in his essay in the same way as Barron. Barron emphasizes that the church of Ephesus may have been following a “gnostic” doctrine, which Baron points out the four points to their view of …show more content…

A dependence on knowledge not faith.
4. One’s soul could be liberated from one’s body without death through this secret knowledge. (454)
In the gnostic doctrine women may have been even favored over men, completely contradicting Moo’s interpretation of Paul’s message in 1 Timothy 2:11-15. This view looks to twist verse fourteen completely around. The gnostics believed that Eve finding the knowledge from eating from the tree of life actually “enlightened” her and that Adam was appreciative of her enlightening him as well (454). From this Barron can see where the woman of Ephesus could be living with this attitude and this is what Paul was specifically addressing, and isolated incident in time.
Barron also uses scripture to back some of the decisions in today’s churches to go against Paul’s doctrine of women’s roles in church leadership. Barron feels there are four basic positions in today’s churches regarding 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and he listed them as A, B, C and D:
A. Reject women in leadership and are angry that anyone is suggesting otherwise.
B. Reject women in leadership but recognize that others may reasonably differ.
C. While believing that woman can lead, recognize the diversity of opinion and do not make acceptance of women in leadership a test of fellowship or an absolute

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