{"id":1864,"date":"2010-02-20T01:24:27","date_gmt":"2010-02-20T08:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/?p=1864"},"modified":"2015-10-19T20:25:08","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T03:25:08","slug":"adam-names-eve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n

\"name<\/p>\n

One of the positions that complementarians commonly hold is that male and female were created with distinct roles so that one (the male) is said to have been given the authority over the other (the female) and the fact that Adam names Eve is used as proof of the man\u2019s authority. \u00a0CMBW (The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) records it this way<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Male and female were created by God as equal in dignity, value, essence and human nature, but also distinct in role whereby the male was given the responsibility of loving\u00a0authority<\/strong> over<\/strong> the female, and the female was to offer willing, glad-hearted and submissive assistance to the man.\u00a0Gen. 1:26-27\u00a0makes clear that male and female are equally created as God\u2019s image, and so are, by God\u2019s created design, equally and fully human. But, as Gen. 2 bears out (as seen in its own context and as understood by Paul in 1 Cor. 11 and 1 Tim. 2), their humanity would find expression differently, in a relationship of complementarity, with the female functioning in a submissive role under the leadership and\u00a0authority<\/strong> of the male.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

CBMW\u2019s statement of their position says that Genesis 2 as viewed in its own context will show Adam\u2019s authority over Eve as God\u2019s original design and this is borne out in the act of Adam naming Eve. \u00a0Let\u2019s have a close look at the context of Genesis 1-3 to see where Adam could have been given authority over Eve.<\/p>\n

In my post on February 17th on\u00a0Common Objections to Women in Ministry: God\u2019s Design in Genesis<\/a> we saw that Adam and Eve were given equal authority over all of God\u2019s creation in the land, air and the sea. \u00a0If God had wanted to add to Adam\u2019s authority the responsibility to a rule over the woman, Genesis 1 would have been a perfect place to list that authority, but God never gives Adam an authority over his wife in the original design. \u00a0The authority of rulership for Adam is clearly over animals and the earth, not people. \u00a0So if God did not give authority for Adam to rule Eve in the original creation, when is God supposed to have given him that authority? \u00a0Let\u2019s look to Genesis chapter 2 for any evidence \u00a0of an added authority given to Adam.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 2:22 (NASB) \u00a0The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Adam\u2019s exclamation of \u00a0joy in verse 23 when he first set eyes on the woman is a declaration that she is from him<\/em><\/strong> as flesh of his flesh, but where are there any words from God determining a \u201crole\u201d of authority for the man that would set him up as her ruler? \u00a0We do see Adam calling her \u201cwoman\u201d but is this taking authority over her? \u00a0It can\u2019t be. \u00a0For one thing, Adam was not the origin of the term woman. \u00a0God called her woman before Adam did. \u00a0Adam merely accepted her and affirmed her origin as being from him. \u00a0God did not give Adam authority over her and we cannot assign an authority without God first giving that authority. \u00a0To assume such an authority without God\u2019s permission is a very dangerous thing to do.<\/p>\n

Genesis 2:23 (NASB) \u00a0The man said,\u00a0\u201cThis is now bone of my bones,\u00a0And flesh of my flesh;\u00a0She shall be called Woman,\u00a0Because she was taken out of Man.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Notice again that God never said that He gave the man an authority to rule the woman nor did God direct the man to \u201cname\u201d her as a way to take his authority over her. \u00a0The fact that God had already called her woman in verse 22 also reveals that God did not give any directive for Adam to exercise his own authority over her. She simply was identified as a woman already by God and she was accepted as such by Adam himself.<\/p>\n

But what about after sin entered the world? \u00a0Did God give the man the authority to rule the woman then? \u00a0What did God say to the man after Adam admitted that he ate the fruit?<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:17 (NASB) \u00a0Then to Adam He said, \u201cBecause you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, \u2018You shall not eat from it\u2019;\u00a0Cursed is the ground because of you;\u00a0In toil you will eat of it\u00a0All the days of your life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Notice that God doesn\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> say that \u201cBecause you have listened to the voice of your wife, I am giving you authority over her\u201d. \u00a0Adam did not take authority over the serpent in the garden when the serpent was deceiving his wife and God certainly did not give an additional authority to Adam in his sinful state. \u00a0But Adam does name his wife \u201cEve\u201d in verse 20. Is this proof that Adam had an authority given him by God that is never directly<\/em><\/strong> listed in the Scripture?<\/p>\n

Genesis 3:20 (NASB) \u00a0Now the man called his wife\u2019s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although CBMW would like us to believe that this was evidence of Adam\u2019s authority over Eve, this is only their assumption since the Bible is silent on any authority given to Adam by God that would allow him<\/em><\/strong> to be her ruler. \u00a0God never<\/em><\/strong> gave Adam an authority over Eve. \u00a0While it is possible that naming Eve was part of Adam\u2019s sinful rule over her, the act of \u201cnaming\u201d is shown in Scripture as a means to identify character, identify rights of inheritance and for prophetic reasons. Isaiah\u2019s son \u00a0for example was named for a prophetic event.<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Isaiah 8:3\u20134 (NASB)<\/div>\n
3 So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, \u201cName him Maher-shalal-hash-baz;<\/div>\n
4 for before the boy knows how to cry out \u2018My father\u2019 or \u2018My mother,\u2019 the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
People were also given new names to signify the new life or character given them.<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Genesis 17:5 (NASB95) \u00a0\u201cNo longer shall your name be called Abram,\u00a0But your name shall be Abraham;\u00a0For<\/em><\/strong> I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Abraham\u2019s name was changed not to show God\u2019s authority over him but to show that Abram now possessed a prophetic promise from God. \u00a0God said your name shall be\u2026.FOR (or because). \u00a0Names had significance and that is why they were given.<\/div>\n
Now I would like to ask complementarians to prove their belief that Genesis 1-3 affirms that God gave Adam an authority over his wife to rule her. Please prove this assertion from the\u00a0Scripture.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
CBMW continues:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

4) Adam\u2019s naming of Eve indicates, in an OT cultural context, Adam\u2019s right of authority over the one whom he named. And interestingly, Adam named his wife twice, first when she was formed from his flesh (2:23), and second after they had both sinned (3:20), indicating that his rightful authority over her continued after sin had come.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No, this is not true. \u00a0Naming someone does not prove the \u201crightful\u201d authority over them. \u00a0Let complementarians prove Adam\u2019s \u201crightful\u201d authority over Eve in the words of God in Genesis. \u00a0Where did God give Adam this right? \u00a0Where is this authority determined by God as a design that He placed within man at his creation?<\/p>\n

The fact is that this revision of the historical account is once again necessary to bolster the complementarians claim that only men are allowed to use their spiritual gifts in the church for the common good. \u00a0Once they can claim a non-existent authority in the beginning, they can claim anything they want because of that \u201cauthority\u201d.<\/p>\n

Are we going to accept another<\/em><\/strong> historical revision or are we going to challenge complementarians to prove their claim that Adam received authority to rule the woman? \u00a0Where is this authority given to Adam anywhere in the text? \u00a0If this claim cannot be pointed out in the text, then it is time to challenge complementarians to get back to the beginning and rethink their doctrine.<\/p>\n

Thoughts?<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the positions that complementarians commonly hold is that male and female were created with distinct roles so that one (the male) is said to have been given the authority over the other (the female) and the fact that Adam names Eve is used as proof of the man\u2019s authority. \u00a0CMBW (The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) records it this way: Male and female were created by God as equal in dignity, value, essence and human nature, but…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,24,31,42,49,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adam-and-headship","category-complementarian-errors","category-egalitarian-vs-complementarian","category-in-the-beginning-genesis","category-misrepresentations","category-the-fall-of-man"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nCommon Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve - Women in Ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve - Women in Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the positions that complementarians commonly hold is that male and female were created with distinct roles so that one (the male) is said to have been given the authority over the other (the female) and the fact that Adam names Eve is used as proof of the man\u2019s authority. \u00a0CMBW (The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) records it this way: Male and female were created by God as equal in dignity, value, essence and human nature, but... Read More Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Women in Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-20T08:24:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-10-20T03:25:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cheryl Schatz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cheryl Schatz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/\",\"name\":\"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve - Women in Ministry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-20T08:24:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-10-20T03:25:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#\/schema\/person\/47288f9588a290ab288bfdfb9c4eef29\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/\",\"name\":\"Women in Ministry\",\"description\":\"This blog is for dialogue on the issue of women in ministry and the freedom for women to teach the bible in a public setting. It is also for questions and answers on our DVD entitled \u201cWomen in Ministry: Silenced or Set Free?\u201d This 4 DVD set answers the hard passages of scripture that seem to restrict women\u2019s ministry.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#\/schema\/person\/47288f9588a290ab288bfdfb9c4eef29\",\"name\":\"Cheryl Schatz\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efbf589c4a731d44dfcc39bcc33b901d?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efbf589c4a731d44dfcc39bcc33b901d?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cheryl Schatz\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/mmoutreach.org\/wim\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/author\/b692nplyxipl362mwh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve - Women in Ministry","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve - Women in Ministry","og_description":"One of the positions that complementarians commonly hold is that male and female were created with distinct roles so that one (the male) is said to have been given the authority over the other (the female) and the fact that Adam names Eve is used as proof of the man\u2019s authority. \u00a0CMBW (The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) records it this way: Male and female were created by God as equal in dignity, value, essence and human nature, but... Read More Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/","og_site_name":"Women in Ministry","article_published_time":"2010-02-20T08:24:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-10-20T03:25:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Cheryl Schatz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cheryl Schatz","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/","url":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/","name":"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve - Women in Ministry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg","datePublished":"2010-02-20T08:24:27+00:00","dateModified":"2015-10-20T03:25:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#\/schema\/person\/47288f9588a290ab288bfdfb9c4eef29"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/name.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2010\/02\/20\/adam-names-eve\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Common Objections to Women in Ministry: Adam names Eve"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#website","url":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/","name":"Women in Ministry","description":"This blog is for dialogue on the issue of women in ministry and the freedom for women to teach the bible in a public setting. It is also for questions and answers on our DVD entitled \u201cWomen in Ministry: Silenced or Set Free?\u201d This 4 DVD set answers the hard passages of scripture that seem to restrict women\u2019s ministry.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#\/schema\/person\/47288f9588a290ab288bfdfb9c4eef29","name":"Cheryl Schatz","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efbf589c4a731d44dfcc39bcc33b901d?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efbf589c4a731d44dfcc39bcc33b901d?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Cheryl Schatz"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/mmoutreach.org\/wim"],"url":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/author\/b692nplyxipl362mwh\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6wpJ8-u4","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4067,"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864\/revisions\/4067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}