Andrew Bartlett and Terran Williams here respond to Mike Winger. Andrew is the author of the important study, Men and Women in Christ. On a subject this important, we are disappointed with Mike Winger’s long-awaited video on 1 Timothy 2 (Part 12 in his Women in Ministry series). His effort is prodigious but misguided. Its length is not proportional to its quality.
Thank you, Scott, for sharing this analysis. It’s troubling that people like Mike, even if they’re not purposely trying to mislead others, are indeed misleading so many Christians to promote, in this case, these complementarian views.
I left the Christian Right after decades. I still love and follow Jesus. I’ve been going through some deconstruction. It’s really grieved me to see how many issues the Christian Right (notably the white conservative American evangelicals that I left) have wrong and yet they’re so dogmatic about. I appreciate your insights and expertise.
Thank you. I regularly ask students that if we seriously misrepresent the meaning of Scripture - intentionally or unintentionally - do our listeners/readers still hear/read Scripture. Sadly, at least at the level identified here, I think the answer is no.
Mike is a brother from the same (non)denomination I come from: Calvary Chapel (CC). I believe his only formal education came from a CC School of Ministry, which was a program within his church at the time. I've interacted with him a bit online, and would love to do so in person. He's delightful and kind. Unfortunately, the CC track record is one that has rewarded anti-intellectualism by platforming such voices in honor of "simply Jesus." Though CC has gotten a lot better recently, in my extensive experience often still lacks the tools of responsible academics and hermeneutics for its teachers. That said, I'll take a passionate, holy, prayer-drenched, kind, UN-formally-educated pastor over one who is formally educated but lacking in the other departments! Of course, that wouldn't fix the bad hermeneutics issue though.
Your critique of Mike Winger’s bold but faulty assertions about the meaning of scripture and what other highly qualified New Testament scholars have written reminds me of another well-known pastor in Southern California. I watched him take N.T. Wright to task for his description of theology built on “pagan” cosmology (that God is in the heavens separated from people on earth by design). This pastor admitted he did not understand Wright’s book, but felt compelled to wow his congregation with a scathing rebuke of Wright for comparing any belief or practice in Evangelical churches (at least those in this pastor’s sphere) to paganism. And yet ... Grace.
Thank you, Scott, for sharing this analysis. It’s troubling that people like Mike, even if they’re not purposely trying to mislead others, are indeed misleading so many Christians to promote, in this case, these complementarian views.
I left the Christian Right after decades. I still love and follow Jesus. I’ve been going through some deconstruction. It’s really grieved me to see how many issues the Christian Right (notably the white conservative American evangelicals that I left) have wrong and yet they’re so dogmatic about. I appreciate your insights and expertise.
Interesting. Thank you Scott
He misrepresents on 1 COR 11 too.
Thank you Scot for posting this.
Incidentally, Winger is being consistent with the complementarian theology of his denom, Calvary Chapel.
Thank you. I regularly ask students that if we seriously misrepresent the meaning of Scripture - intentionally or unintentionally - do our listeners/readers still hear/read Scripture. Sadly, at least at the level identified here, I think the answer is no.
Mike is a brother from the same (non)denomination I come from: Calvary Chapel (CC). I believe his only formal education came from a CC School of Ministry, which was a program within his church at the time. I've interacted with him a bit online, and would love to do so in person. He's delightful and kind. Unfortunately, the CC track record is one that has rewarded anti-intellectualism by platforming such voices in honor of "simply Jesus." Though CC has gotten a lot better recently, in my extensive experience often still lacks the tools of responsible academics and hermeneutics for its teachers. That said, I'll take a passionate, holy, prayer-drenched, kind, UN-formally-educated pastor over one who is formally educated but lacking in the other departments! Of course, that wouldn't fix the bad hermeneutics issue though.
Your critique of Mike Winger’s bold but faulty assertions about the meaning of scripture and what other highly qualified New Testament scholars have written reminds me of another well-known pastor in Southern California. I watched him take N.T. Wright to task for his description of theology built on “pagan” cosmology (that God is in the heavens separated from people on earth by design). This pastor admitted he did not understand Wright’s book, but felt compelled to wow his congregation with a scathing rebuke of Wright for comparing any belief or practice in Evangelical churches (at least those in this pastor’s sphere) to paganism. And yet ... Grace.