{"id":2457,"date":"2011-10-29T22:06:04","date_gmt":"2011-10-30T05:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/?p=2457"},"modified":"2015-10-19T20:23:37","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T03:23:37","slug":"phil-johnson-monstrous-divas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strivetoenter.com\/wim\/2011\/10\/29\/phil-johnson-monstrous-divas\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil Johnson and the Monstrous Regiment of the Discernment Divas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n

\"discernment-divas<\/p>\n

Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacs<\/strong><\/a>has struck up some heat on a post that he titles \u201cThe First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of the Discernment Divas\u201d<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 In this post and in his subsequent comments he makes his position plain that women are not allowed to publicly point out error of a \u201cduly ordained pastor\u201d.\u00a0 Phil classifies many \u201chousewives and homeschool moms\u201d as bad discerners who are discernment divas.\u00a0\u00a0 These \u201cdivas\u201d believe that God has called them into a ministry of discernment but their abilities are not in rational understanding of doctrinal truth but an ability \u201cto use a really sharp tongue<\/em>\u201d which Phil says is counter productive and embarrassing<\/em>.\u00a0 Phil doesn\u2019t seem to mind that this may offend a lot of women as he tells Friel that he is a descendent of the John Knox clan. It was John Knox who offended more than a few when he wrote the book The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women<\/em><\/a><\/strong> in 1558.\u00a0 In this book, Knox wrote that women compared to men were blind, weak, sick, impotent, mad, frenetic and their counsel is foolish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Knox also quotes Augustine favorably as saying: \u201cHow can woman be the image of God, seeing (says he) she is subject to man, and has none authority, neither to teach, neither to be witness, neither to judge, much less to rule or bear empire?\u201d\u00a0 When such harsh things are said about women even questioning whether women can be the image of God, would it be wrong for me to say that looking back on this kind of classification of women that Phil Johnson has associated himself with by aligning with John Knox\u2019s Monstrous Regiment book, sounds sharp, counter productive and embarrassing<\/em> and may have been a bad discernment decision <\/em>forPhil?<\/p>\n

In the audio file that accompanies Phil Johnson\u2019s blog post, we can hear Todd Friel saying \u201cThere are two kinds of discernments that are a kind of discerner that are on the table right now. You have the monstrous regiment, and you have valid legitimate people who are concerned about theology.\u00a0 That\u2019s us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who are the \u201cvalid legitimate people who are concerned about theology\u201d who are allowed to present public criticism of Christian leaders and their bad doctrine?\u00a0 They are males.\u00a0 In his blog post Phil gives an answer to Denise who had written \u201cCertainly God didn\u2019t gift believers with the Holy Spirit and with spiritual gifts according to their gender.\u201d\u00a0 Phil responds:<\/p>\n

\n

Of course He did. He gave us gifts that are in accord with our calling and office. Certain offices in the church are closed to women<\/p>\n

No matter how broadly you want to interpret 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, one of the clear implications of that text is that it\u2019s not fitting for a woman who has no teaching authority in the church to raise a public objection against a teaching elder whose office is recognized by the church. That\u2019s not to say the pastor is infallible or above critique, and there is (of course) a proper venue for a lay woman to share her concerns or ask her questions, but a blog on the Internet is not that venue.<\/p>\n

If any woman fancies herself a gift to the church as a guardian of sound doctrine because she thinks she has a special \u201cgift of discernment\u201d that entitles her to go online and write insulting epithets against a duly ordained and divinely-called pastor, She is seriously mistaken and grossly out of line\u2013and she is an embarrassment to propriety and feminine modesty.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How are we to compare this kind of discernment<\/em> with the Scripture?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 It is the Holy Spirit<\/strong> who decides who gets His gifts.<\/p>\n

\n

1 Corinthians 12:11<\/p>\n

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Men have not been given the right or responsibility to decide who will receive the Holy Spirit\u2019s gifts.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the common good<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

1 Corinthians 12:6, 7<\/p>\n

There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.<\/p>\n

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

No man has been given the right to withhold the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of all.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 We are all told to seek the gifts for the purpose of the edification of the church.<\/p>\n

\n

1 Corinthians 14:1<\/p>\n

1<\/sup><\/span>Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 14:12<\/p>\n

12 So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

No man has been given the right to tell a member of the body of Christ that he or she cannot be zealous for the spiritual gifts.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Those who have been gifted by the Holy Spirit are told to use their gifts as a go-between (the term employ) bringing the gifts of God to the benefit of the church as a good steward.<\/p>\n

\n

1 Peter 4:10\u201311<\/p>\n

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.<\/p>\n

Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

No man has been given the right to demand that a servant of the Lord not be a good steward by using their gift publicly.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0 We are told not to quench the spirit<\/p>\n

1 Thessalonians 5:19
\n19 Do not quench the Spirit;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The gifts are not delegated by pastors, but by God Himself.\u00a0 When we quench what God has given for the edification of the Church, we are guilty of quenching God\u2019s Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

6. We are to be faithful to God with what He has given us because we must stand accountable to Him<\/strong><\/em> in the end.\u00a0 We are not to judge one another unjustly nor are we to put a stumbling block in another Christian\u2019s way.<\/p>\n

Romans 14:12\u201313
\n12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
\n13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this\u2014not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother\u2019s way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I would like to ask my brothers and sisters in Christ to judge from the Scriptures.\u00a0 Where does the Scripture give men permission to silence the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given for the common good?\u00a0 If we are to fear God and love the body of Christ, we need to respect the Holy Spirit and His gifts.\u00a0 If He chooses to gift a woman, who dares to silence her gift for the use of the body of Christ?<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacshas struck up some heat on a post that he titles \u201cThe First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of the Discernment Divas\u201d.\u00a0 In this post and in his subsequent comments he makes his position plain that women are not allowed to publicly point out error of a \u201cduly ordained pastor\u201d.\u00a0 Phil classifies many \u201chousewives and homeschool moms\u201d as bad discerners who are discernment divas.\u00a0\u00a0 These \u201cdivas\u201d believe that God has called them into…<\/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":[11,22,24,31,43,52,55,62,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answering-complementarian-arguments","category-challenges","category-complementarian-errors","category-egalitarian-vs-complementarian","category-injustice-towards-women","category-opposing-viewpoints","category-prejudice-in-the-church","category-spiritual-gifts","category-women-serving-in-the-church"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhil Johnson and the Monstrous Regiment of the Discernment Divas - 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\/2011\/10\/29\/phil-johnson-monstrous-divas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Phil Johnson and the Monstrous Regiment of the Discernment Divas - Women in Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacshas struck up some heat on a post that he titles \u201cThe First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of the Discernment Divas\u201d.\u00a0 In this post and in his subsequent comments he makes his position plain that women are not allowed to publicly point out error of a \u201cduly ordained pastor\u201d.\u00a0 Phil classifies many \u201chousewives and homeschool moms\u201d as bad discerners who are discernment divas.\u00a0\u00a0 These \u201cdivas\u201d believe that God has called them into... 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