Positive Complementarianism: The Key Biblical Texts

What does the Bible say about the role of women in the church? There is a lot of pressure to match up to contemporary secular standards, and Christians themselves tend to fall into two camps: the egalitarians and the complementarieans. This study sets a case for positive complementarianism. Given their minority and vulnerable position in the current debate, it is easy for complementarians to come across as negative and defensive. We are not helped in this by the fact that some of the key biblical texts (from 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2) are expressed in negative terms: what a women is 'not permitted' to do. The claim here, however, is that the complementarity between male and female portrayed as ideal in the Bible is a thoroughly beautiful arrangement: something to be admired and to aspire to. What's more, the complementarity functions to promote the gospel: to display it, and to act as a platform from which it can be proclaimed. It is part of the good conduct of God's household. Ben Cooper is Minister for Training at Christ Church Fulwood in Sheffield. Before training for ordained ministry, he was a postdoctoral research fellow in economic theory at Nuffield College, Oxford. He is married to Catherine and has three children, Lizzy, Samuel and Naomi. He is author of Must God Punish Sin (Latimer Study 62, 2006), Paul in 3D: Preaching Paul as Pastor, Storyteller and Sage (Latimer Study 68, 2008), and The Ethics of Usury (Latimer Study 77, 2012).