Does it, really?

Okay, I'm going to try not to name names in this post. I'm going to (try) to take an 'aside' stance. Recently, on a buddy's blog, there was, shall we say, some disagreement that has come to a head....some that has been going on for some time now. My buddy isn't the instigator, just another part of an ongoing backlash.
Division, actually. Division between a whole bunch of folks who all love Jesus. They all believe in different things, according to the way they have interpreted scripture. The word "heretic" has been bandied about, so you KNOW I love to slip around in that mud puddle.
So, here is my question:

Does the Gospel really need defense?

Mutuality Magazine

I have no idea how I got it, but a magazine came in the mail to me some time ago. It was Mutuality-the voice of Christians for Biblical Equality.

It was certainly a breath of fresh air.

There was an article by one of my favorite egalitarian Christians, Gilbert Bilezikian. He shoots the 'headship' thing right out of the ring. He points out the traditionally quoted passages in 1 Timothy that supposedly exclude women from ministries--also exclude single men, childless married men, men with one child, men with disobedient and disrespectful children. I guess that would clear out a lot of pastors, wouldn't it? www.godswordtowomen.org has a few articles by Bilezikian if you are interested. He is a charter member and elder at Willow Creek Community Church, a church that blossomed with the freedom of women in all phases of its ministries.

There was an interview by CBE (Christians for Biblical Equality) of Women's Advocate and SBC Pastor Wade Burleson, who is a champion for the just treatment of women in his denomination. He has a blog, and one of the posts that has been most read is about The Sheri Klouda saga .

There is an article by Dr. Jason Eden, (what a great name!) a history professor at Saint Cloud University. He says:
"My journey toward egalitarianism has been long and fruitful. The tools of a historian, properly employed, unlock clues regarding God's character differently than the tools of a linguist or theologian. In addition, although I recognize the important work of theologians and linguists, my journey shows that egalitarianism does not depend solely upon the linguistic analysis of specific passages. One need not have advanced theological or linguistic training to study the Bible and find evidence for the egalitarian position. Indeed, this is true even if we use translations of the Bible that reflect the biases of patriarchal scribes."
I've found this to be so very true.

Although I'm not in any "churches" now, (the ones with the walls around them) I mentioned to my dear friend Pat in my last post that I think "church" will become more like our Father intended it to be only when women are able to move fully in their spiritual gifts. As it is now, "church" is a mere shadow of what it could be. It will never flourish, never be "all that it can be" until all of His people are truly free.