Loading...Are you interested in going beyond reading blog posts on topics connected with the New Testament/early Christianity and in having a chance to interact with other blog members (and a New Testament scholar) on important and interesting topics or biblical passages?
It is an option on the blog. It involves joining a special group called the “Blog Stewards.”
We meet once a quarter for a focused seminar. In advance I pick a topic or important passage of the NT; I write up directions for how one might go about studying it; and I explain some of the lesser known background. Then we get together remotely for an hour and a half and discuss it all.
No one is required to do the “homework.” Some members just want to sit and listen in while others talk. Others want to bounce their ideas around.
I run it as a seminar,
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Too many varied interests to commit the time, but it’s a great idea! Hope you get a reasonable amount of takers! (not an overwhelming crowd, but more than just a couple).
I would truly love to participate in the Blog Stewards Seminar—if the timing works despite the time difference, and if everyone there could be patient with my poor English. By the way, this is not directly related to the passage under discussion, but I have a question about Romans.
In a social media post, I recently read that Junia in Romans 16:7 may have been both a woman and an apostle. It also seems that Priscilla exercised an important leadership role in early Christianity. This made me wonder: when and why did women begin to be increasingly excluded from major clerical authority and leadership roles within the church?
Early Christianity appears, in some respects, to have been relatively open to female participation and leadership. Why, then, did the movement later become more restrictive toward women? Could this development be connected to the transition from gatherings in private homes—often associated with relatively wealthy households and more fluid social structures—to more formal church institutions and dedicated church buildings?
It’s a long story, but yes, as Xty moved outside women’s sphere of authority, and grew into larger social units, the men started taking over. Not surprising from a sociological perspective.