The Intelligent Christian

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'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.'

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Sexual Identity in Corinth

Pandemonium and Silence in Corinth

Gender

Although Christian theology mostly speaks of the fall in terms of its main consequence of disrupting our fellowship with our Creator, the disruption of male/female roles and relationships was also a major consequence and needs to be taken very seriously.  In this section we provide some background that informs 'the gender passages' and challenges the traditional male dominance view inherent in most of our Bible translations and in our church structures.

In the last few decades much significant work has been done on the text and theology of 'gender passages' in our bible.  Cathie and Dick Clark Kroeger have been at the forefront of this work and this remarkable team also founded Christians for Biblical Equality, a link to which is on the Links page.  Following their lead many women have attained professional academic qualifications and are working to turn back the tide of traditional male domination in the church.  There are also male academics who are convinced the bible has long been misunderstood and mistranslated with respect to male/female roles and relationships.

The male dominators have not been idle.  However, perhaps the most telling argument against the male dominators in theological circles is the virtual absence of women with professional credentials to support them.  There are, sadly, women who still parrot the old line and these women are given prominence in male dominated media. 

Richard and Catherine Clark Kroeger look at 1 Corinthians 14 as it relates to Christians bringing into the church some of the practices of non-Christian religions of the day. In Pandemonium and Silence at Corinth, Cathie and Dick help us understand the background to Paul's letter.  It is a principle of Bible study that we learn how the text would have been received and understood by its original recipients and then use this to inform our own understanding.

Cathie and Dick discuss the importance of Christians clearly demonstrating male and female roles and relationships in an environment of gender confusion.  Sexual Identity in Corinth - Paul faces a crisis is particularly useful for our understanding of 1 Corinthians 11 against the background of gender confusion in the Greco-Roman world.  For anyone who has been even slightly awake for the last few decades this article has great importance.