Evangelical is a contested term. While I would like to argue that evangelical refers primarily to shared theological beliefs—our focus on the Bible and the resurrection of Jesus as well as our emphasis on conversion and evangelism—I can’t. Evangelical has become an identity (and mostly a white conservative identity), not just a shared set of

we have missed Paul’s bigger purpose. We have reduced his call for oneness into patrolling borders for uniformity; we have traded the “radical character” of Christ’s body for a rigid hierarchy of gender and power.

The question “What if I’m wrong?” helps me listen to others better. It keeps me humble. It makes me a better scholar.

have found it useful in my work as a historian—what if I am wrong about my conclusions? Am I willing to reconsider the evidence?

Patriarchy exists in the Bible because the Bible was written in a patriarchal world. Historically speaking, there is nothing surprising about biblical stories and passages riddled with patriarchal attitudes and actions. What is surprising is how many biblical passages and stories undermine, rather than support, patriarchy.

Patriarchy, according to both the Bible and historical record, emerged alongside the emergence of agricultural communities.

When we rightly understand that biblical passages discussing slavery must be framed within their historical context and that, through the lens of this historical context, we can better see slavery as an ungodly system that stands contrary to the gospel of Christ, how can we not then apply the same standards to biblical texts about women?

hermeneutic

Biblical scholar Clarice J. Martin reminds us that while patriarchy defines the boundaries of women’s lives, it also defines “subjugated peoples and races as ‘the others’ to be dominated.”46 Patriarchy walks with structural racism and systemic oppression, and it has done so consistently throughout history.