The ‘Body’ in the Ecclesiology of Ephesians and Colossians, and in Ancient Medical Writings


Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to examine Paul’s teaching on the Church in Ephesians and Colossians with reference to his use of the metaphor of the body.  The study benefits from considering Hippocrates and, especially, Galen’s writings on the body.  Paul could have been aware of Hippocrates' works, but Galen wrote a century after Paul.  Nevertheless, what is presented here seems likely to be representative of the state of the discussion in society, and no suggestion is being made that Paul is dependent on any particular writing.  My suggestion is that we can appreciate Paul’s points more by considering the functions of genesis, growth, and nutrition and the role of joints and ligaments in ancient medical works.  One application, not dwelt on in this essay, is to redirect contemporary discussion of ministry as ‘leadership’ to what Paul is actually saying about the function of ministries in the Church. 

Genesis, Growth, and Nutrition

The second century AD medical author, Galen, described the three activities of living creatures as genesis (origin), growth, and nutrition (On the Natural Faculties I.V).  Genesis involves alteration and shaping.  Growth involves ‘an increase and expansion in length, breadth, and thickness of the solid parts of the animal’ (Ibid.).  Paul’s mixed metaphor of the Church as a temple and a body allows him to connect the notion of the ‘temple’ as a building in which God dwells and a body made up of people.  Both have a genesis—the temple, for example, has a foundation, and both are built or grow.  The body, however, requires nutrition.  Even the metaphor of a physical building has some relation to the notion of nourishing: we might say that a temple, once built, further requires a consecration and sanctification.

With Galen in mind, we might examine whether Paul’s discussion of the Church employs genesis, growth, and nutrition.  I would argue that identifying these activities of living creatures helps us to understand his points better.  (Of course, Galen writes a century later than Paul. Galen is helpful for the ideas, not because Paul is dependent on him.)  Paul says (Ephesians 2.19-22),

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,
[Genesis] 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together

[Growth] and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are

[Nutrition] built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.[1]

These notions also seem to be present in Paul’s ecclesiastical prayer in Ephesians 3.16-21).  Consider vv. 16-19:

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory,

[Nutrition] he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,

[Genesis] as you are being rooted and grounded in love.

[Growth] 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

[Genesis] 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

[Nutrition] so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Simple and Complex Body Parts

Galen distinguished organs (organa) from parts of the body that he calls homoioemeres.[2]  In one list of homoioemeres, he includes cartilage, bones, nerves, membranes, ligaments, and other such things (De Placitis Hippocratis et Platonis VIII.4.7-15).  In another list he includes as examples of the homoioemeres the arteries, veins, nerves, membranes, flesh, and ligaments (De morborum differentiis III.1).  What these have in common is that ‘all their parts are similar to each other and to the whole’.  They are, in turn, part of more complex body parts, known as organa.  Organs, such as the eye, tongue, heart, lung, brain, stomach, spleen, kidney, or legs, are not similar in all their parts.  They carry out a complex function.

Ligaments (syndesma), then, are an example of homoioemeres.  They do not perform the function that an organ does but support the work of organs.  They are composed of a similar substance throughout. And they, like tendons and cartilage, hold the structure of the body together like nails, glue, and pegs do other structures (De causis contentivis).  In discussing causation, Galen sees one type of cause, the synektic (cohesive) cause, as that which produces union of the homoioemeres, and cohesion of the homoiomeres within the body is said to be caused by pneuma.

Before Galen, Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) wrote a work called On Joints.  In it, the chief discussion is about dislocations, such as treatment for a dislocated shoulder.  This highlights the importance of joints for the physical unity of the body.  A dislocated joint means the body is not properly unified. 

That is precisely what Paul’s point is in Colossians and Ephesians.  In Ephesians 4.16, Paul likens the Church to a body, ‘joined and knit together’ by every ‘joint’ (ESV) [Greek: aphē][3] ‘with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly,’ thus promoting ‘the body’s growth in building itself up in love’ (ESV).  We have already seen how ‘love’ functions as a kind of genesis for the Church in Ephesians 3.17.  The Church that is ‘rooted and grounded,’ that has its genesis in love will grow—the idea of plant growth rather than the growth of a body seems to be in view.  Ephesians 4.16’s notion of building up in love seems better understood in terms of growth than genesis.  Also, the verse has in view growth that is possible when the parts of the body are working properly and when they are properly joined together.

A few verses earlier (v. 11), Paul spoke of Christ’s gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers as persons equipping ‘the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ’ (vv. 12-13, ESV).  The use of the metaphor of the body allows Paul to view the ministries listed in v. 11 as ministries of unity.  This is not, however, a social or communal unity—or, at least, it is not primarily or firstly this type of unity that is in mind.  Rather, Paul says, ‘the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.’  What this means was cited earlier in Ephesians 4.4-6 in a trinitarian affirmation, each with three parts:

[Spirit] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
[Christ] 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
[Father] 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers equip the saints for the work of ministry through their roles in promoting this ‘one faith’ and proclaiming the knowledge of the Son of God.  Their ministries would be misunderstood if we were to see them as types of leadership—a popular way to think of ministry since the 1980s.  These roles are not about power, and they are not about offices.  The Church is not being encouraged to follow ‘leaders’.  ‘Leadership’ is, in fact, a concept of ministry that misdirects Paul’s discussion—something applied from outside the text that only confuses the discussion underway.  These persons are, rather, understood as the joints that help unify the Church around the Christian faith.  Only Christ is said to be the head of the Church in any sense of unifying authority and, perhaps, nourishing source.[4]

Colossians 2.18-19 has a parallel passage:

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints [aphōn, from aphē] and ligaments [sundesmōn, from sundesmos], grows with a growth that is from God.

Whereas we only have ‘joints’ mentioned in Ephesians, here we have both ‘joints’ and ‘ligaments,’ which are a muscle to bone joint that makes movement possible.  Notice, again, that Paul has in view nourishment and growth.  In this passage, he does not identify the ‘joints’ and the ‘ligaments’ as ministers of the one faith, as in Ephesians 4.  The Colossians passage actually begs the question what Paul might have in mind, suggesting to me that he has a ‘theory’ of the Church as a body that he variously developed in his writing and speaking.  In Colossians, his singular point is that Christ is the head, not angels and other powers.  In Ephesians, he wants to focus on the unity of the Church and therefore elaborates more of his body metaphor.

Diseases of the Body and the Importance of Truth and Love

In De Morborum Differentiis (On the Differentiae of Diseases), Galen discusses diseases of various sorts.  His fifth class of disease is the ‘dissolution of union’ (XI.1).  So, for example, in the case of an avulsed fracture, when a ligament pulls a piece of bone away, there is a dissolution of continuity in the body: the parts are no longer united and the ligament becomes two instead of one. Ligaments are supposed to unite the body’s parts, but they can exert their strength so much that they fracture the body.  Galen also notes that, by their nature, nerves, tendons, muscles and ligaments are drier than organs.  This makes them stronger, and yet, if they become too dry, they become difficult to bend, hard, and may even become brittle and seized with spasm (On the Causes of Symptoms III.X.7).  At another point, Galen discusses disease of the ligaments in terms of when the ligament becomes too wet and relaxed (On the Causes of Diseases X.1).  In addition to tension and laxity, Galen mentions further the problem of a ligament that is ruptured (On the Differentiae of Diseases X.1).

While Paul’s use of ‘ligaments’ is in Colossians, not Ephesians, he is concerned that members of the Church ‘speak the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4.15).  Speaking the truth is not about being honest but about speaking the Gospel truth of Ephesians 4.4-6.  This is the truth that the five ministries provide in the body—as joints—and that the members can then affirm with one another.  Yet this administering of truth to establish body-unity should be done in love.  Not to do so would be—to extend the metaphor—as though the joints were too tense.  And to promote communal love without speaking the truth would be like the joints being too lax—applying Galen’s discussion to what Paul says without the benefit of the metaphor of the body at this point.

Conclusion

There is more to be said about the body in Paul’s ecclesiology, particularly in reference to 1 Corinthians 12-14.  However, by attending to medical writings in antiquity, we can see how Paul’s discussion of the Church in Colossians and, especially, Ephesians speaks to matters of genesis, growth, and nutrition.  We can also understand the role of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers with reference to the role of the joints and ligaments in the body: they provide the unity for the body that comes from proclaiming the truth, the Gospel.  The only authoritative role in the metaphor is that of Christ, head of the Church.  Ministers, rather than being seen as ‘leaders’, function to hold the body together with the truth of the one Gospel.  They should do so, however, in love.



[1] Having mentioned growth in v. 21, it seems right to understand spiritual building not so much as growth but as nutrition.  It is a sanctifying of the temple that God might dwell there.
[2] Ian Johnston, Galen on Diseases and Symptoms (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
[3] The NRSV reads ‘ligament’, but the Colossians 2.19 passage distinguishes this from ‘joint’—see quotation, below.
[4] A popular understanding of ‘head’ in Ephesians and Colossians has been to see it not as authority but as source.  This is based on inadequate studies in the 1980s in the West that were ideologically motivated in regard to the use of kephalē in the Greek literature of the time.  This is not the place to demonstrate the error in these contemporary works, but I regard the argument to be easily disproven through proper research conducted by scholars without the agenda of trying to discount ‘headship’ in the home in Ephesians 5.21ff.  Suffice one example to lay the claim that ‘head’ does not mean ‘authority’ to rest.  Plato says of the head: ‘the most divine part and reigning over all the parts within us.  To it the gods delivered over the whole of the body they had assembled to be its servant…’ (Timaeus 44D).

Dimensions of Grace in Ephesians



Ephesians captures many dimensions of God’s grace.  I offer an overview here with
quotes from the English Standard Version.

1.     Goal of the Mission of the Triune God:
a. God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing, chose us before the foundation of the earth to be holy and blameless before Him in love, predestined us to be His adopted children—to the praise of His glorious grace with which He blessed us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1.3-6).
b. Christ has redeemed us with his blood, forgiven our trespasses, lavished his grace upon us, made known the mystery of God’s will in Christ to unite all things in heaven and earth under one head, made us heirs that we might be for the praise of his glory (1.7-12).
c. The Spirit has sealed us, guaranteeing our inheritance to the praise of his glory (1.13-14).

2. Revelation of grace: Ephesians 1:17-18 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,  18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,

3. Content of grace: Ephesians 3:6 … that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

4. Understanding of grace: Ephesians 1:18 … you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,

5. Empowering of grace: Ephesians 1:19 … and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

6. Ministry of grace: Ephesians 3:7 Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.

7. Motivation of grace: Ephesians 2:4 … But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us.

8. Salvation by grace: Ephesians 2:5-6 … even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved--  6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

9. Extent of salvation by grace: Ephesians 2:10 … For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

10. Indwelling of grace: Ephesians 3:16-17 … I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit,  17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love…. Ephesians 3:20   20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,…

11. Future of grace: Ephesians 2:7 … so that in the ages to come he might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

12. Means of grace: Ephesians 2:13 … But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
           
13. Effects of grace: Ephesians 2:14-18 … For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.  15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,  16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.  17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;  18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father…. (cf. 3.12) 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

14. Stewardship of grace:  Ephesians 3:2 … assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you….  This involves suffering: Ephesians 3:1 This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--        ... Ephesians 3:13 I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.

15. Prayer of grace (Eph. 3.16-19):
a. for strength within through the Spirit’s power: Ephesians 3:16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit,
b. for Christ’s indwelling
            i. through faith
            ii. rooted and grounded in love
c. for understanding of the dimensions of Christ’s love
d. so that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

16. The ultimate goal of grace: Ephesians 3:20-21 … Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,  21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

17. Response to grace: Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

18. Administration of grace in the Church: Ephesians 4:11-13 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
a. No longer living with futile and darkened minds, ignorant and hard-hearted, with no  sensitivity and having abandoned themselves to licentiousness with an insatiable desire for the work of uncleanness (4.19)
b. Instead, speak the truth in love to each other (4.15, 25) as you were taught in Christ: Ephesians 4:22-23   22 You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts,  23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
c. Imitate God and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us (5.1f).

19. Living in grace in the family (5.21-6.9)

20. Standing in grace against the devil: truth, righteousness, Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, Spirit, word of God, and prayer in the Spirit (6.14-18).

The Diversity Dialogue


Professor Rapp stopped by the cafeteria on his way to the faculty meeting.  He wanted a cup of coffee and, since he had some extra time, thought he might treat himself to a walnut cranberry muffin as well.  It seemed just the thing for a cold, snowy, day in New England.  Shortly after sitting down, several of the seminary students asked if they could join him.  They, too, were early for their course on the exegesis of Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

James Adoyo, a student from Kenya, introduced a subject for discussion.  “We are studying Colossians 3 today, Professor.  I wonder if you have any thoughts on Paul’s statement in verse 11 about there being no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free.”

Professor Rapp: “Ah, that is an excellent verse.  As a matter of fact, at the faculty meeting I will be attending shortly, we will be interviewing a candidate to join our faculty who is an Inuit woman from northern Canada.  We have decided to diversity our faculty, which has far too many white males teaching here.”

Adoyo: “So, you believe that this verse is encouraging diversity in the Colossian church?”

Rapp: “Well, yes.  It seems rather clear.  The author of this letter mentions all these different groups, doesn’t he?  He mentions ethnic diversity when he says, ‘Greek or Jew,’ religious diversity when he says, ‘circumcised or uncircumcised,’ and economic diversity when he says, ‘slave or free person’.  And ‘barbarian’ probably captures several ideas for an audience in the Roman Empire that have to do with the inclusion of outsiders, the poorly educated, and even enemies.  Certainly, the author’s mention of Scythian brings this out as they were regarded as a fierce, warlike people that was uncivilized, to say the least.  Also, inside the Empire, they were slaves.  So, yes, Paul is showing off the diversity of the Christian Church, and that is what we also want for our faculty.”

Helen Mitilini, a visiting student from one of the Greek Aegean islands, said, “The author fails to mention women in his list.”

Rapp: “Ah, but Paul does elsewhere.  For example, in Galatians 3.28 he says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Mitilini: “I’m not sure I like that.  Sure, he mentions gender here, but it does not seem to be a verse supporting gender diversity.  Shouldn’t Paul have said, ‘There are both males and females’ instead of ‘There is no male and female’?  I don’t think I can use this verse to promote feminism.”

Adoyo: “Even in the Colossians passage, Paul—I think Paul was the author—says, “Here there is not Greek and Jew,” and so on.  In fact, isn’t the point of both of these passages that in Christ the distinctions we make in society are put aside?  That is, he is not at all promoting diversity but making it irrelevant to the new life that we have in Christ.”

Rapp was a little rattled by this.  He had been hoping that these diverse students would appreciate his affirmation of diversity.  Self-assured, he still wanted the students’ approval.  Someone passed him a Greek Bible open to the verse in Colossians.  He noticed the conclusion of the verse and read it aloud, “But Christ is all and in all.”  Turning to the students, he said, “Don’t you see, this is an inclusive statement.  Christ includes all our diversity.”

Eldin Ricardo, the third student, looked at the verse again.  “I think,” he said, “Paul is saying that our diversity exists in normal, human society but not in Christ.  Those diversities that we celebrate in whatever group we are in do not exist in Christ.”

Verticia McCrory spoke up, “Isn’t there another one of these verses somewhere in 1 Corinthians?”  She had her computer on and her Bible program open.  She searched “male and female” and found nothing else.  Then she searched, “Jews or Greeks,” and 1 Corinthians 12.13-14 came up.  “Here it is,” she said, “I’ll read it.  “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.  For the body does not consist of one member but of many.”  I guess the passage doesn’t mention males and females, but it has the same idea as the others.”

Rapp: “Very good, Verticia.  And that chapter in 1 Corinthians is all about diversity, isn’t it?  We have different gifts and need our different gifts.”

Adoyo: “I’m still uncomfortable with this interpretation, Professor.  Paul does not say that the different gifts are—or have anything to do with—our ethnic or economic or social differences.  The diversity that is valued is the diversity in gifts that is provided, despite those differences, by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit gives us different spiritual gifts.  And, as with the other two passages, he gives us those gifts not to celebrate our diversity but for the purpose of unity.  We seem to have the wrong value if we read these texts to affirm diversity instead of unity as the goal.  The Holy Spirit is not the Church’s Director of Human Resources making us sign Title IX affirmations of diversity; He is the author of Church unity through divine gifting despite our human diversity.”

The group was a bit uneasy and remained awkwardly silent for a while.  Professor Rapp played with his muffin and took a slow sip of his coffee.  Mitilini finally broke the silence.

Mitilini: “I’m in a course called The Multicultural Church.  We just read a book by a pastor of an inner-city church, and he builds his argument for multicultural churches as the best expression of Christian community from a passage in Revelation 7.  He’s all about multiculturalism and diversity.”

Verticia found the verses.  “I think you might mean verses 9 and 10,” she said.  “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”’

Mitilini: “Yes, that is the passage.  He argues that this means that we should have multicultural churches that celebrate Christian diversity.”

Adoyo: “You said he lives in a city?”

Mitilini: “Yes, I think it was Baltimore, or maybe Chicago.”

Adoyo: “So, his argument is that a multicultural church is a better church than a mono-cultural church?”

Mitilini: “Yes.  He says that we need diversity, and we need to demonstrate inclusiveness.  You can’t be inclusive if you are not diverse.”

Adoyo: “Well, there is a certain logic to that.  But it does mean that the city churches would be considered better than country churches if the city has diverse populations and the country area only has one tribal group.  Where I come from in northwest Kenya, we are all from the same tribe.  I don’t think our church is any worse than a church in Nairobi that might have different tribes worshiping together.  Maybe the point should be put in the negative: the church that is not open to diverse groups but shuts them out fails to represent the unity we have in Christ.  That does not make diversity a virtue, it makes unity the Christian virtue.”

McCrory: “I don’t see that passage in Revelation to be affirming diversity at all.  Like those other passages in Paul, it is affirming unity.  I agree with James.  In fact, Revelation 7 is about undoing the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.  In Genesis, God’s curse on humanity is cultural diversity.  It is not a virtue!  In Revelation 7, the diversity that divides us is overcome by God and the Lamb.  The problem with a focus on human diversity is that it takes our focus off God.  God is our unity, not inclusiveness, not our celebration of diversity.”

Ricardo: “I never thought about that before.  That is pretty deep, Verticia!  So, none of these passages are promoting diversity.  Diversity is just the condition of fallen humanity.  Diversity is a condition, not a value and not a virtue.  What they promote is unity, and not because of our inclusiveness but because of the salvation of God and because of the Lamb, as Revelation says.”
This brought the group to another moment of silence, and the students looked at Professor Rapp.  But Mitilini spoke first, “What about Acts 6?”

Adoyo: “You mean when the Hellenist Christians complained that the Hebrew Christians were not being fair to them in the Jerusalem Church?”

Mitilini: “Yes.  They said that the Hebrew Christians were neglecting them in the daily food distribution.”

Professor Rapp: “I see your point, Helen.  Just as we are seeking to appoint a person representing diversity on our faculty, so the Jerusalem Church did this as an example for us today.”
Ricardo: “So, your argument is that, because the church appointed some Hellenist deacons, the church needs diversity?”

Rapp and Mitilini both answered, “Yes.”

Ricardo: “I take the point.  However, I have to point out that the church did not do this because they wanted to promote diversity but because they needed representation for fairness.  For example, they did not say that the Twelve Disciples were all Jewish men and they needed some Greeks or women to add to that group.  They appointed representatives at the deacon-level because the different groups needed advocates and representatives in the community that they had.  I don’t see any basis here for either of two things.  First, there is no basis for going out and finding someone from a different group—an Ethiopian or Indian, for example—in order to have diversity in the Jerusalem Church.  They needed representatives for people already in the church.  Second, there is no basis from Acts 6 to argue that diversity is needed among the teachers—the disciples that daily taught the congregation, as we read in Acts 2.42.  The Hellenists were chosen as deacons to make sure all were served.  The church did not need a Hellenist teacher; their teachers were chosen because they were the best teachers.  Frankly, although I’m Hispanic, I don’t want someone to teach me at the seminary because he or she is Hispanic or anything else but because he or she is a top scholar in the field.”

Adoyo: “I have to say that I agree.  I did not come to America to study with white, American professors because our professors back in Kenya are black Africans like me.  I did not come for some kind of ethnic diversity or cross-cultural or multicultural experience.  I came here because I heard about the great academic reputation of this seminary.”

Mitilini: “Well, I came here because I didn’t like the options back home.  But, since I am here, I want women faculty, not just men, and I’m glad this seminary has both.”

Adoyo: “But do you think that women make better Bible scholars, or theologians, or Church historians, and so forth because they are women?  Does a ‘feminist reading’ of Scripture help us to understand Scripture better?”

Mitilini: “Well, they are not necessarily any better than male scholars academically, but they do bring a different perspective—I think.”

McCrory: “A feminist perspective on Paul’s theology of justification by faith!  Well, maybe in some cases—I’m not at all sure—you have a point.  But I’m with Ricardo and Adoyo: I want the best professors for the subject matter, not advocates of certain causes that are not to do with what I am learning.  I didn’t come to seminary to explore intersectionality or become an activist for ethnic, gender, or political causes.  If I wanted that, I would have gone to Columbia University in New York!  I rather want an education.”

Mitilini: “But our community, not just the persons who teach us, needs diversity.  We are enriched by having diversity, don’t you think?”

McCrory: “You mean that it is a value, but not the only value, and not the determinative value, right?  After all, if diversity were the primary value for our community, we would intentionally hire a faculty member from every different ethnic group and do that no matter whether they were competent teachers or proven academics.”

Mitilini: “Yes, I suppose.  However, I’m not so sure I like the idea of professors lecturing us out of their academic competencies.  I prefer classes where we students break up into small groups and discuss the material among ourselves.”

Professor Rapp: “That is how I like to teach.  I used to lecture, and students sat quietly taking notes.  Then I tested them on what they learned from me.  There are studies, you know, that show that people remember very little of what they hear in lectures.  I now prefer the process of learning, and I think that process is better as dialogue than passive listening.”

Adoyo: “But I could have done that back in Kenya in my village with the elders sitting under a thorn tree!”  The others laughed—he had meant to be funny.  “Seriously, though, I can have those conversations outside of class, like we are doing right now.  In class, I want to hear what someone who has spent years with the material has to say about it.  I want and need some direction from a teacher who has studied long and hard. A trusted teacher.  That is why the disciples of Jesus were the teachers in the Jerusalem Church: they had been with the Lord all during his ministry, they had witnessed the cross and could attest to his resurrection, and they had been taught and had studied the Scriptures.”  He hesitated, and then decided to say it anyway, “One of the worst things I’ve ever experienced in the church is the home Bible study, where everyone chimes in with their take on what a passage of Scripture means—all reading from their favorite translation and reflecting on their life experiences from the past week.  None of them know what the passage is all about.  That sort of group needs a teacher, and the value of hearing from everyone, affirming every bizarre interpretation in the spirit of love and inclusion, is nothing but a disaster!”

Ricardo: “Our culture disagrees with you!  At least, our Western culture does.  I guess it is different in Kenya.  It is funny, isn’t it?  Our Western, postmodern culture wants to celebrate you for bringing in a different cultural perspective, but when your perspective disagrees with our current values of diversity and inclusivity, it doesn’t want to hear from you!”

McCrory: “Our culture wants to exclude people in the name of inclusiveness all the time!  If we love our homes, our neighborhoods, our culture, we are called xenophobic.  If we believe God created two genders that correspond with biology, we are called homophobic.  If we enjoy any privileges in life, we are viewed as the source of all misery and victimhood for the rest of the world.  If we don’t promote groups who are not white males, we are bigoted.  If we don’t affirm children’s confused ideas about their gender, whatever they are, we are hateful parents who need the State to intervene to save our own children from our hateful parenting.  And if we lack all kinds of diversity on our faculty, we are told that we are clinging to power for a privileged group.  This is what making diversity and inclusiveness cardinal virtues or absolute values has done to us.  We destroy whatever has been so that we can worship whatever twenty-minute old idol we set up in its place.  Of course, I can agree that, in society, we often need representation so as not to run roughshod over minority groups—that is why our founding father, by the way, insisted on an electoral college instead of a simple democracy.  It is strange that many of the same people who insist on minority representation want to do away with the electoral college.”

Adoyo: “In Kenya, we have to be careful not to let one tribe take over the government and corruptly steal all the toys from everyone else for themselves.  We have 57 different language groups in our small country.  We need representation more than we need one person, one vote, and yet the larger tribes tend to get elected to power.  It is a real issue.  But that situation is like the situation in Acts 6.  But that has to do with politics and the country as a whole.  We do not need representation of the different tribes on a Bible school faculty in Kakamega: we need qualified teachers.  If you came to teach in our Bible school,” he said, looking at McCrory, “we would not be happy that you came to teach us as an American with West African heritage and a woman; we would be happy if you know your Greek and can teach the students the Bible.”

Just then, the Inuit candidate for the faculty walked into the cafeteria, looking for a cup of coffee.  Eldin said he would get her one, and she sat down with the small group.  Everyone looked a little awkward, until Helen said, “Could you tell us a little about yourself?”

“Yes,” she answered.  My name is Margaret Akeeshoo.  “I was born in northern Canada, you can probably tell by my looks, not so much by my accent.  But my education has been mostly in Calgary, and I also received my doctorate from the University of Toronto.  Anyway, I’m not here as a candidate for the faculty position because of all that.  I am an Anglican, and I have a particular interest in the Medieval Church.  I hope the faculty here thinks that I can make a good contribution to scholarship in that area.”

Mitilini: “We would be happy to have another female faculty member.”

Dr. Akeeshoo: “Well, I’m glad to see men and women studying here, and I’m glad the faculty is open to women candidates and is not all male.  My own view is actually that the priesthood should be a male role, although I am ordained as a deacon.  I feel that I can represent women in the Church in that role.  In Canada, there is a total meltdown in the Anglican Church as most outside our Inuit churches have adopted the liberal, Western social agenda, such as affirming homosexuality.  Our Church is declining fast—nobody sees much purpose in joining a Church when all it does is represent the culture’s current values.  If the Church has nothing to say to the culture—why join it?  In the classroom, though, I think I have an important role to play—not because I am a woman but because I love my subject area and have spent years studying it.  I think that students will find value in that.  Of course, as part of the seminary community, I think that I would have a role to play with the women here—and the men might benefit from a womanly perspective now and then, too!  But the truth is, I won’t likely attract many Inuit students to this seminary if hired—it is so far away from our people.  In any case, they are, I hope, more interested in where they will get the best education for them than that there is an Inuit professor somewhere.  Don’t you think it is better to learn about theological traditions than about cultural traditions?  If Inuit Christians are Baptists or, say, Orthodox, they might do better to study at one of those institutions than to find a seminary with an Inuit, female professor to teach them about the Medieval Church!  Students come, or should come, to learn about theology at a seminary, not to have cultural experiences or study the social sciences.”  Looking at Professor Rapp, she added, “I hope the faculty is not interested in me because I am an Inuit woman rather than a Church historian!  I want to be valued for the excellencies of my scholarship and teaching, not because of my race and gender.  That would be insulting.”

Professor Rapp looked at his watch.  “Oh,” he said, “there is the time.  Shall we head to the faculty interview?”  The students said good-bye and wished her well.  They also got up to go to their class.  “I hope you know your Greek,” Adoyo said.  “I heard we will be doing nothing but translation today, and we have a substitute teacher.”  “Really,” said Mitilini, “Who is it?”  “I don’t know her name,” replied Adoyo.  Ricardo, helping McCrory pack up her computer, added, “Oh, I heard that her parents were missionaries to Greece and she grew up there.  I don’t know her name, but she obviously knows her Greek!”  “Great!” Mitilini replied, “so do I!  It will be nice to hear someone speak my native language who doesn’t sound like an American who never left New England before!”  “Ouch!” said Adoyo, “that even hurts a Kalenjin from Kakamega, Kenya!  You Greeks have an unfair advantage on the rest of us!”  “Oh,” said Ricardo to Mitilini, with a slight smile, “You mean it will be nice to be taught by a professor who is teaching out of her competence in the field and not because of her contribution to the diversity of our community?  Shame on you!”

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