Comment I published on: http://2hold.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/equal-is-not-the-same/#comments


I came across your blog from a comment you posted on an article entitled "The Universal Enslavement of Women'.
I clicked on your icon and it brought me here and this article struck my eye.
I will use the title of 'complemenentarian' to describe myself but as I read your article, I can
relate - and I agree - with much of what you say!
Titles can be so limiting can't they?

I have read nothing of your testimony but I appreciate the way you approached the issue of equality in this article (I haven't read any of your other posts yet.)
One question I have, which you may have already addressed somewhere else on your blog, is why do people feel like women don't have a 'voice' in the body when Paul specifically talks about women prophesying?

I'm not a 'greek' student or some indepth scholar on these things but when I think of prophesy, I think of a very important function in the Body. Paul says we are even to 'desire' to prophesy. The only restriction he puts on women 'foretelling and forthtelling' the things of God is that they are to be 'covered' -right? (and understanding that this goes beyond some 'physical' manifestation of wearing a hat/scarf/shawl). I think some of the confusion may arise because of how we currently function as a 'body' in our current institutional, traditional settings.

Having one man stand up front in an auditorium setting or classroom setting automatically sets everyone else up as an audience of silent spectators with no input unless this tendency is intentionally fought against.

If we assemble together the way Paul seems to describe in Corinthians with each one having a
" psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation" (1 Cor 14:26, KJV), then both men AND (coverd) women (whatever a person's understanding of 'covered' may be) would be flowing in the Spirit and functioning equally.

So it would seem, at least in our fellowships, it is more a matter of how WE as people, people who 'see through a glass darkly'  who still battle with our flesh, have set up a structure of assembling and fulfilling our callings in the body have have done a disservice to ourselves, both men and women.

As far as equality in the home,  someone in the comments of the article that brought me to your site, made a very astute statement.

Something to the effect of women who have husbands who act in a domineering, authoritarian manner towards their wives are giving the wives an opportunity to extend grace to them and allow them room to come to a greater understanding of the Father's will (their 'meek and quiet conversation').  (or some statement like that, lol) I thought this was good!

We ourselves haven't always believed what we do and how gracious of the Lord to still bless us until the 'time of OUR visitation' when our eyes are opened. That's REALLY submission if a wife can 'lay down her life' and wait for her husband to 'catch up'. Being a daughter of Sara sometimes means submitting to things we have different (and wiser!) understandings of and doing it without fear,  The way Sara said she was a 'sister' even though she probably thought, "Abraham, you spineless  dummy this is going to end up being a problem" and of course it did. But, without fear (and without murmuring I believe)  she did, as we must do, submit herself to the Lord through submission to her husband, her example now being displayed to us as one to emulate. .  

Well, this is getting long so I'll stop here, lol. I have much to learn/understand about the mind of Christ still so I hope I am not speaking offensively to you or any of your readers - I just sincerely want to be pleasing to the Father like everyone else.