tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-8799581124693463972008-03-20T23:39:00.000-07:002008-03-20T23:39:00.000-07:00Wayne said,<BR/><BR/><I>But after getting some biblical language study done, I've come to realize it really is open to debate as to whether or not those elder instructions are only addressed to males. And that is why we have the complementarian / egalitarian divide. Different people read the same text, but understand it differently. Sometimes we are influenced by the assumptions we bring from our backgrounds or theology.</I><BR/><BR/>Give me some of the results of your studies on the matter.<BR/><BR/>Regarding a person's background and how it affects this whole debate, you will be glad to know that I've going through the OT with the TNIV this year.<BR/><BR/>I've gone through the Pentateuch and now working my way through the Historical books, and I've notice this one thing: each clan had elders who were at the gates to advise the people. In each case, these elders were males.<BR/><BR/>We see this model carried over into the Gospel narratives in the days of Jesus and into the narrative of Acts, and provided the model for eldership in the NT church and I see no change in gender in this regard.<BR/><BR/>Maybe you can prove me wrong.tchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02518043696892409099noreply@blogger.com