Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 17:3 (Summer 2003)
Article: The Biblical Case For Women In Leadership
Author: Kevin Giles

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PP 17:3 (Summer 2003) p. 24

The Biblical Case For Women In Leadership

Kevin Giles

Kevin Giles is an Australian Anglican clergyman who has been involved in the debate about the relationship between the sexes for the last thirty years. His first book was Women and Their Ministry (Dove, Melbourne, 1977). He has also published Created Woman (Acorn, Canberra, 1985) and just recently, The Trinity and Subordinationism (IVP, Ill., 2002).

Kevin Giles is a graduate of Moore Theological College, the largest seminary in Australia, noted for its conservative commitment to the headship of men. This summary is the outcome of his extended debate with the faculty over many years.

1. In Creation, God made man and woman equal in dignity and status, giving authority and dominion over creation to both (Gen. 1:27-28). They are male and female, differentiated by divine act, yet equal in essence/nature/being and in authority.

2. Genesis chapter 2 seeks to picturesquely elaborate on the polarity of the sexes. The solitary Adam on his own is helpless, incomplete. No animal can meet his need for companionship. God’s solution is to make woman, an equal partner, for the solitary Adam. Only when the woman stands at his side does Adam/man become man distinct from woman just as Eve/woman is woman distinct from man. Nothing in Genesis chapters 2 and 3 suggests that woman is subordinated to man before the Fall. Yet, even if a hint of this could be found in some minute detail in the story, it would not be of any theological consequence. The original creation is not depicted as perfect. Sin was possible and the devil was present in the Garden of Eden. The Bible is characterized by a forward-looking eschatology that sees perfection in the future, in the consummated new creation.

3. The hierarchical ordering of the sexes is a consequence of the wilful disobedience of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:16). Man’s superordination and woman’s subordination reflect the fallen order, not the creation order.

4. Nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus ever speak of the subordination of women or the “headship” of men. In fact, he says and does much to deny this. This is amazing since Jesus lived in a thoroughly patriarchal culture. It is true that the twelve apostles were all men, but this is a moot historical detail and of no surprise in that cultural context. However, no teaching is based on this fact. In any case, it would seem the twelve had to be men if they were to be recognized as the founding fathers of the new Israel, the counterpart of the twelve male patriarchs. They als...

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