Faith in the darkness

by Alison Chapman

“But when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8 I’ve struggled to write a blog recently as I have felt overwhelmed by the fact that a huge amount of women are now ministering in churches in places of authority, leadership and teaching. Not just overwhelmed by the sheer…

Philip Payne, οὐδέ, and Galatians 1 vv 16-17

by Andrew Chapman

In a paper presented to the Evangelical Theological Society in 1986, and entitled ‘οὐδέ in 1 Timothy 2:12’, Philip Payne argued for a novel understanding of the meaning and force of οὐδέ in that text of scripture. A revised version of the paper was published in the Journal of New Testament Studies in 2008. As…

Stopping the rot

by Alison Chapman

For over a year now, since moving into our apartment, I have become a pipe surveyor, regularly checking out the unattended leaking pipe in the roofing over our allotted parking space in the parking lot beneath our housing block. I have visions of the whole building caving in over night, though my husband, who trained…

The unpalatable truth

by Alison Chapman

This is, I know, a contentious topic we are discussing on this website and at the moment, in our current climate, when the subject matter arises of ‘women in the church’ in the midst of a friendly discussion with someone, I sometimes find myself trying to avoid or hedge around it because, quite frankly, I’m…

The meaning of οὐδέ in 1 Timothy 2:12

by Andrew Chapman

‘I do not permit a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be in quietness,’ the scripture says (1 Timothy 2:12), but now many are pretending that Paul was prohibiting only a certain type of teaching by women. Thus, in his Grove Booklet, ‘Women and Authority: The key biblical texts,’…

Being told ‘No’

by Alison Chapman

I have gotten myself into some very sticky and tricky situations in life simply because of my inability to say ‘no’ straight off. The stickier the situation has become the more it has required of me to speak out from that uneasy and inevitable corner, the word I least want to say, ‘no’. I think…

‘But what about..?’

by Andrew Chapman

    When I challenge fellow believers about their acquiescence in the current prevalent practice in evangelical churches of allowing women to preach and teach in the pulpit and to serve as pastors and elders over the flock, contrary to the clear instruction of holy scripture, the most common single response is along the lines…

Mindsets and moods

by Alison Chapman

Fresh out of bible college in 1998 and on quite a high, I felt led by the Lord to work overseas for 3 months in Russia, with street children. On joining the team there, as the newcomer, I was designated the job of breakfast washer-upper and toilet cleaner at the day centre where the children…

Faith and repentance

by Andrew Chapman

The proximity of the Women Bishops legislation forces us to consider our response to this impending development, and makes us fear that it is already too late to avert what is proclaimed on all sides to be inevitable. But for a conservative Christian who knows that the appointment of women bishops in the Church of…