I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. -- 1Timothy 2:12-14 (ESV)
Apparently the Christian world blew up over the weekend while I was napping. I saw the story about John MacArthur telling Beth Moore to go home and did not realize that this was a seminal moment in Christianity. I guess it is another milestone on the path of Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses, the Great Welsh Revival and now a theologian tells a heretic to go home. If you are detecting a whiff of sarcasm I would hope so; because I am laying it on pretty thick. I should have realized the Christo-feminists would seize the dismissiveness of MacArthur's comments to further their cause of willful disobedience to the Word of God. The bible cannot be clearer on this subject. God does not permit women to teach with authority over men. Period, Full stop. That is not my interpreting the text, it simply reading it (key verses above).
Now in order to disobey these clear and directive scriptures, Christo-feminists will do all sort of biblical gymnastics. They will turn ordinary helpers into bishops and deacons. They will change the gender of a man named Junias. They will pretend they know what the culture was like in the Corinthian Church. They will turn Paul into a misogynist and abandon the notion of divine inspiration. They will point to other times in history when women shined in ministry -- as if that changes the word of God. They will purposefully conflate roles that are completely appropriate for women with the one thing they have been commanded to not do, in order to make it seem as if it all should be allowed. Their arguments are transparent and never change the clear and directive scriptures regarding this matter. Read the key verses! God even tells us why! I know that Christo-feminists have tried to rewrite the Garden of Eden account to make Adam a co-conspirator or even the one who was really to blame but that is directly contradicted in the above text.
So this brings us to Beth Moore. A darling of some of the Southern Baptist Convention, Moore latched onto the recent "me too" movement to further the notion that she should be allowed to preach when the bible clearly says she should not. Apparently there was a "Truth Matters" conference where John MacArthur was asked for a one word answer on various subjects and one of them was Beth Moore. John replied "go home." He did go on to explain that the bible does not support women preachers but the opportunity for the Christo-feminists was already provided within those two perceived callous words -- go home. Except MacArthur was right. Let us reason together through the above linked article on the matter.
"Reformed pastor and author John MacArthur says Beth Moore needs to "go home." He also says there is no biblical precedence for female teachers. MacArthur offered his opinion on female preachers last week during the "Truth Matters Conference" at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. MacArthur and others on the panel were asked to offer one-word responses to given phrases. The phrase "Beth Moore" was offered up for gut reactions. "Go home," MacArthur said on a video clip of the panel. After the laughter and applause died down, he elaborated: "There is no case that can be made biblically for a woman preacher. Period. Paragraph. End of discussion." MacArthur continued on to say that just because someone has the ability to sell jewelry on TV doesn't mean they are qualified to preach, indicating that female pastors are often put in position for their personality and ability to speak." -- Charisma News
With no apologies to those seeking to seize upon the go home message as a means to avoid the truth but MacArthur is telling the truth. The last point he makes here is equally important for men as well. Speech-craft does not mean that you should preach. The Apostle Paul actually teaches that words of human wisdom empty the cross of its power. When I was preaching people would ask me why I would use so many scriptures and my answer was simple. There is nothing my words can do to break any yoke in your life. My job is to connect the scriptures for you. Unfortunately we live in a purpose driven church environment where cult of personality pastors are sought after and rewarded. Beth Moore has a personality and the ability to speak -- no question about it. That of course does not negate the word of God!
He also criticized Paula White Cain as a "heretic," saying that the church is bowing to pressure from feminists. "This profoundly troubles me because I think the church is caving in to women preachers. Just the other day, the same thing happened with Paula White. A whole bunch of leading evangelicals endorsed her new book. She's a heretic and a prosperity preacher, three times married. What are they thinking? ... When the leaders of evangelicals are rolling over for women preachers, feminists have really won the battle."' -- Charisma News
