I don’t normally point people to someone else’s article, but I will today. William Wade Burleson, wrote a great article, sharing it on FB, strangely, addressing the issue of female clergy. He links the hermeneutics of this issue with that of slavery. He was not relabeling or equivocating. Rather, he was noting the similarity in how Southern Baptist (SB) leaders justified slavery in the 1800s theologically, with how SB leaders have justified rejecting female leadership in the church today.

The thing with this is that in the 20th and 21st centuries, SB leaders rejected that hermeneutic and overall process regarding slavery. As such Southern Baptists who talk about “plain sense” hermeneutic in rejecting female leadership’s understanding of Scripture have seemingly forgotten 150 years of theological and hermeneutical work regarding Scripture.

I am not saying there is a clear unambiguous answer regarding female leadership in the church. But using the same process that Furman and others used to justify slavery and then act like this process is the “Biblical” one… that is a much shakier ground than many in the denomination think.

Here is the article:  https://www.facebook.com/share/p/199qADeRvh/