Dear Theophilus

One of the best articles I have read about the equality of women in scripture: http://blog.beliefnet.com/bibleandculture/2009/10/why-arguments-against-women-in-ministry-arent-biblical.html I read that article after I learned of a new book out called: " How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories from Prominent Evangelicals" you can read more about here, at Scot McKnight's site: http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2011/01/17/how-they-changed-their-mind-about-women/ someone should buy it for me :) If you have Wesleyan heritage, this is something you should wrestle with as most Wesleyan churches uphold the equality of teaching (i.e. Methodist, Free Methodist, Nazarene, etc...). Even if you agree, there are some pretty tough passages that you should get an answer to.

"The tough mind is sharp and penetrating, breaking through the crust of legends and myths and sifting the true from the false. The tough-minded individual is astute and discerning. He has a strong austere quality that makes for firmness of purpose and solidness of commitment.Who doubts that this toughness is one of man's greatest needs? Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.   (~ Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love ,1963) The single most irksome thing to me about Martin Luther King Jr. day and his portrayal by society is the blatant cover-up of the man and his ideas. He is portrayed as this wonderful figure who was just "ahead of his time." Who met an untimely, tragic fate at the hands of evil men. But "we" love him. "We" would have joined him. Aside: it reminds me of Amer...

Blessed Earth, led by Dr. Matthew Sleeth and his wife Nancy, has a website that will keep anyone up-to-date on biblical environmental stewardship. He is the author of "Serve God, Save the Planet" and his testimony is amazing in how creation and Christianity interweave. They have posted, under the resources, some scripture that I love to reflect on. But there is one passage that has particularly impacted me: "Hear the word of the Lord , O people of Israel;    for the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or loyalty,    and no knowledge of God in the land. 2 Swearing, lying, and murder,    and stealing and adultery break out;    bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land mourns,    and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals    and the birds of the air,    even the fish ...

( a facebook conversation that I thought was particularly interesting: here is my side... and sorry for the rushed tone ) Jesus' death and resurrection weren't just for Humans, it was for creation. All creation is being restored through Christ. Humans are a major part of God's creation, but creation none-the-less, was God's aim! "For the creation ... waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God" (Romans 8). Creation was cursed as well as Humans and groans in anticipation for the final things so that it to will be released from decay. "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation... For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in h...

Witherington: http://vimeo.com/14172103 The Noel http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=Y7s38-8gzzQ My response