Journal: Eikon
Volume: EIKON 05:1 (Spring 2023)
Article: Yet Another Attempt To Justify What God Forbids: A Response To Cynthia Lang Westfall, “Male And Female, One In Christ”
Author: Andrew David Naselli

Eikon 5.1 (Spring 2023) p. 30

Yet Another Attempt To Justify What God Forbids: A Response To Cynthia Lang Westfall, “Male And Female, One In Christ”

Andrew David Naselli

Andrew David Naselli is professor of systematic theology and New Testament for Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis and one of the pastors of The North Church.

Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” On the basis of that sentence, evangelical feminists (i.e., egalitarians) commonly argue against “hierarchy” in the church and home.1 That is, women may be pastors, and a wife and husband share equal authority without hierarchy — a wife should submit to her husband only in the same way that a husband should submit to his wife. For many evangelical feminists, Galatians 3:28 is a clear and transcultural text that we should start with and then interpret more obscure passages (like 1 Cor 11:2–16 and 1 Tim 2:9–15) in light of it.

Eikon 5.1 (Spring 2023) p. 31

This article responds to yet another evangelical feminist argument based on Galatians 3:28 — Cynthia Westfall’s new chapter that replaces Gordon D. Fee’s chapter on Galatians 3:26–29 in the two previous editions of Discovering Biblical Equality.2 I proceed by answering three questions: (I) How does Cynthia Westfall’s chapter fit in the conversation about Galatians 3:28? (II) How does Cynthia Westfall’s new chapter compare to Gordon Fee’s old chapter? (III) Is Cynthia Westfall’s argument correct?

I. How Does Cynthia Westfall’s Chapter Fit In The Conversation About Galatians 3:28?

In the debate between evangelical feminists and complementarians, the literature on Galatians 3:28 in the past half-century is too vast to detail here. I’ll highlight just five resources that help us see how Westfall’s new chapter fits into the conversation.

1. Paul Jewett’s 1975 book Man as Male and Female ignited the modern debate.3 John Piper, who was a student of Jewett’s at Fuller Theological Seminary, describes Jewett’s book as “groundbreaking” and qu...