Here is Candida Moss of Notre Dame's reminder that there was more female leadership in the early centuries of Christendom than we often assume. I do disagree a little with her reading of 1 Timothy 2:12, which I think was about the first century husband-wife relationship rather than female leadership in general. [1]
Also see this eye-opening book by our own Kristina LaCelle-Peterson of Houghton.
[1] My translation, which sounds so caustic that its cultural/contextual dynamic should be obvious: "I do not let a wife teach or dominate a husband but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived but the wife, having been deceived, has come to be in transgression. But she will be saved through childbearing, if they remain in faith and love and holiness and sobriety."
This verse is the only verse in Scripture with this thrust. 1 Cor. 14:34-35 is clearly about disruptive speech in the light of 1 Cor. 11. Women do lead and minister in Paul's ministry. You can't base a theology on one verse, especially one that goes against whole Scripture principles. This is one of the major hermeneutical problems in the current American fundamentalist and neo-evangelical landscape. They are oriented around individual trump verses rather than the "greatest common denominators" of Scripture. This is the Pharisaic hermeneutic Jesus condemns in Matthew 23.
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I am starting to see more of this emphasis from egalitarians: what roles women had in Scripture.
I think this is a very effective way to deal with the issue, since it holds to the authority of Scripture that many complementarians also proclaim. From there, any counter-passage(s) can then be discussed.
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