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Bobby Gilles

@bobbygilles.bsky.social
205 followers 283 following 285 posts

Husband, Father, Pastor, Songwriter, MANT @northernseminary. Songs include Lead Us Back, Let Justice Roll.

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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“If Jesus wanted women to preach, why were all twelve apostles men?” It's a good question. But it may assume something the Gospels never assume: that the 12 were Jesus' only disciples. Luke says something very different. I dug into it in my brand-new post: bobbygilles.substack.com/p/why-the-12...
bobbygilles.substack.com
Why 12 Male Disciples Don’t Prove Jesus Excluded Women From Ministry
The Gospels don't merely show Jesus treating women with dignity. They show him teaching them, preparing them, sending them—and trusting them with the gospel.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
A new book by Sandra Glahn helped me think differently about how Scripture tells its story—and why the women in it matter. My brand new post: bobbygilles.substack.com/p/what-we-mi...
bobbygilles.substack.com
What We Miss When We Treat Women in the Bible as Side Characters
A new book by Sandra Glahn offers a powerful lesson in how to read biblical narrative—and why the women in Scripture matter far more than we often realize.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
For years, she faithfully led worship every Sunday. But behind the music was a message she couldn't escape: Don't be a distraction. This is one woman's honest story of faith, ministry, and what that message actually did to her. Brand new today on my Substack: bobbygilles.substack.com/p/the-hidden...
bobbygilles.substack.com
The Hidden Cost of Telling Girls, "Don't Be a Distraction"
"The Church Needed My Voice—but Didn't Trust It"
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
How much of our reading of Genesis comes from Genesis... and how much comes from assumptions we've inherited? This article examines six of the biggest arguments for a “God-intended” male hierarchy and asks one simple question: Does the text actually say that? bobbygilles.substack.com/p/genesis-1-...
bobbygilles.substack.com
Debunked! 6 False Claims That Genesis Teaches Male Authority
You've heard 6 reasons Genesis teaches male leadership. None come from the text.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Before we question whether a woman should preach, we must question why a little girl who loved learning, teaching, and asking questions was made to feel like something was wrong with her. New at my Substack: bobbygilles.substack.com/p/if-complem...
bobbygilles.substack.com
"When Church Teaching Made Me Hate Being A Woman"
One woman's journey from self-doubt to a question many churches would rather avoid.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
The argument isn't just about 1 Timothy 2. It's about whether our interpretation can explain reality. If women are supposedly unfit to teach or lead, why have so many of the greatest men in church history depended on them? John Chrysostom is a fascinating case study. My brand new article:
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He Said Women Shouldn’t Lead—Then Trusted One With Everything
When our interpretation of Scripture can’t explain the women we already trust
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
For years, she served her church faithfully—as a deacon, worship leader, children's director, and staff member. Then one debate changed everything. "I realized it was easier to bury my gift than use it." Her story is one many women in the church will recognize. My brand new post:
bobbygilles.substack.com
Did They Want Me to Shut Up and Sing?
One woman's journey from silent longing to Scriptural truth—and why she believes the church needs every voice God has gifted.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
“What do we lose if women preach?” A former complementarian started asking that question honestly—and the answer surprised her. Not because women are better than men. Because the church is weaker when half the body can’t fully speak. My brand new article: bobbygilles.substack.com/p/the-men-in...
bobbygilles.substack.com
The Men in the Bible Study Missed What Every Mother Sees
A woman from complementarian spaces reflects on what the church loses when men don't hear women expound on scripture.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
What if 1 Timothy 2:13-15 (Adam & Eve) doesn't strengthen the case against women preaching? What if it actually weakens it? The very verses thought to be the foundation of a permanent prohibition are actually the reasons it COULDN'T be permanent. Proof: bobbygilles.substack.com/p/5-man-woma...)
bobbygilles.substack.com
5 Man-Woman Bible Pairings That Disprove "Created Order" Dogma
The "For All Time, In All Places" Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2 Cannot Stand The Test of Scripture
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
She spent 18 years leading, teaching, mentoring, and preaching in ministry. At church, she barely talked about it. Why? Because she knew her calling would be controversial. What happens when people feel they must hide who God made them to be? See my brand new article:
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She Survived Spiritual Abuse. Complementarianism Made It Harder to Heal
Hey friends, last week, I was honored to have an article in the new Summer 2026 issue of CBE’s Mutuality Magazine, which carries the theme “The ‘S’ Word: Understanding Submission.” I look at the house...
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
What if the argument against women preaching in today's SBC isn't actually about the Bible? What if it's about whose version of Baptist history gets remembered—and whose gets erased? The story most Southern Baptists have been told leaves a lot to be desired ....
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They Say “We’ve Always Believed This.” History Says Otherwise.
Baptist women preached, led, and shaped revival movements for centuries. Then a modern power shift rewrote the story and called it “biblical tradition.”
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
“The church told me to grow into the person God created me to be… until that growth included preaching.” This guest essay from a longtime evangelical woman is honest, thoughtful, biblical, and deeply human. Please heed her wise remarks about the role “emotion” plays:
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"After 25 Years in Complementarianism, I Couldn’t Ignore This Anymore"
One Woman's Journey: "I loved my church. I still do. But years of ministry, study, and listening forced me to confront questions I could no longer avoid."
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Ephesians 5 tells husbands to love their wives. It does not tell them to become their wives’ pastor. It’s worth asking whether churches have turned a metaphor into a marriage system Paul never intended. New article: bobbygilles.substack.com/p/paul-told-...
bobbygilles.substack.com
Paul Told Husbands to Love Their Wives—Not Pastor Them
How modern marriage teaching turned a metaphor about Christ into a burden husbands were never meant to carry
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
“If women can teach 4-year-olds, why not 44-year-olds?” A woman who is a long-time friend of mine asked that question, and honestly, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. This piece isn’t angry or combative, but it asks questions that many churches still don’t know how to answer:
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She Never Wanted to Preach. But She Wants Her Daughters to Have the Choice
Why faithful women are rethinking the limits the church placed on them—and their daughters.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Paul saw a vision of a man calling him to Macedonia. But when he arrived, the person who opened her home and anchored the church was a woman named Lydia. Acts 16 is far more disruptive than many of us were taught. I wrote about the overlooked woman who helped shape the first church in Europe.
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Paul Had a Vision of a Man. God Sent Him to a Woman Instead
What Acts 16 reveals about mutuality, power, early church leadership, and Lydia, the force of nature in Philippi.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
What if we’ve been reading the Bible with parts of the story missing? I recently attended a symposium that challenged nearly everything I thought I knew about women in Scripture—and church history. It wasn’t loud or angry. It was careful, historical, and unsettling.
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Learning to Re-read the Familiar Stories of Women in Scripture
2026 Visual Museum Symposium
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
When speaking against women in leadership, many evangelicals say, “We can’t go against church tradition.” But… we already have. Repeatedly. On giant issues. So why draw the line here? Let’s examine the inconsistency—see my brand-new article. 👇
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"Christians Have Always Believed This" Is A Bad Argument for Patriarchy
How Many Conservative Evangelicals Accept All Historic Teachings of the Church?
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
We’ve been told men are “wired” to lead and teach. But what happens when we look at the data? Turns out: • Leadership effectiveness? Equal • Teaching outcomes? Equal or favor women. So why does the church still limit one group? My brand new article dives into it:
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The Data Is In: Men Aren’t Better Leaders or Teachers—Why Act Like They Are?
Decades of research—and Scripture itself—undermine one of the church’s most confident assumptions about gender.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Ever notice how debates about women in the church go… sideways fast? That’s not an accident. It’s often driven by bad logic, not better arguments. In my brand new article, I break down 10 common fallacies that derail the conversation—once you see them, you can’t unsee them.
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Ten Logical Fallacies in the Women in Ministry Debate
Don't let these talking points distract you
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
I don’t think most complementarians are bad people. I think they love Scripture. But I also think this one argument they rely on doesn’t hold up. Plus, learn about the illusory truth effect, the misuse of "the exception that proves the rule," and the answer to "What if I'm wrong about this?":
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This One Chart Exposes a Major Problem in Complementarian Teaching
Plus, putting "the exception that proves the rule" fallacy to bed, forever
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
What if 1 Timothy 2:12 isn’t about banning women from leadership… but about stopping a specific kind of harmful, domineering behavior? The context points in that direction. See my brand new article:
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Proof That God Does Not Prohibit Women From "Exercising Authority"in Church
1 Timothy 2:12 prohibits a woman from teaching and, assuming on the English translation you use, doing something “authoritative” to men.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
“Why doesn’t she just find another church?” asked a complementarian pastor of a member who questioned his theology. It’s a fair question—until you understand what leaving costs. My brand new article gleans wisdom from women to explore the quiet, complicated reasons many women stay… and stay silent.
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Why Skeptical Women Remain Quiet in Complementarian Churches
according to women who have found their voices
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
In today's brand new article, I show that the prohibition on women in 1 Timothy 2 can ONLY be part of a coherent story of scripture if it is a local, temporary prohibition. It simply doesn't work otherwise.
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The 1 Timothy 2 Prohibition on Women Was Not Normal In New Testament Churches
The timing is way off
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Do we miss an important piece of evidence in the debate over whether women can preach and lead when we read our cultural understanding of “deacons” back into the New Testament? My brand new articles argues "Yes," and I bring plenty of receipts:
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Women Church Leaders? Yes! "Deacon" Means More Than You Think
A Paradigm-Shifting Exploration
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
I’ve heard so much buzz for Preston Sprinkle’s new book, "From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership,” both good and bad. I speak to those issues here, and review the book, chapter-by-chapter.
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If We Go From Genesis to Junia, Where Next?
A review of Preston Sprinke's "From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership"
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Complementarian “authority and submission” dogma fails the test of Scripture and will die the same death as the teaching that women are especially prone to deception. The powerful men who ignore God’s call to women may try other arguments, but their days are numbered. They always have been:
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The Whole Big Story of Why Women Must Preach & Teach in Church
I help people envision a blessed alliance of women & men from all tribes and tongues, mutually serving Jesus Messiah.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Over the last year, I’ve provided so much information to argue for women's inclusion into teaching and leadership ministry that some of you have asked me to make one main synopsis post. *This is that post.* I summarize my position and provide numerous links to articles that delve deeper.
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The Whole Big Story of Why Women Must Preach & Teach in Church
I help people envision a blessed alliance of women & men from all tribes and tongues, mutually serving Jesus Messiah.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
A study in the American Sociological Review finds that women’s health is significantly worse in churches that prohibit women from teaching and leading. If you've seen references to this study before, I have new insights. If you haven't, buckle your seat because my new article is a doozy.
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Complementarianism Might Be Wrecking Your Health
Why do complementarian women have worse health than others?
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
The New Testament and early centuries contained an Order of Widows, a recognized church office with qualifications that largely mirrored the qualifications for overseers in 1 Timothy. Learn about it in my brand new article.
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A Women-Only New Testament Leadership Position? You Betcha!
Women in the New Testament fulfilled many leadership functions: prophets who carried on the torch passed down from Deborah, Huldah, and Anna; deacons like Phoebe; apostles like Junia (frankly, Mary Ma...
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
What if we considered Christ’s teachings from the perspective of the marginalized and abused (which, after all, is the context of the people to whom Christ came, lived among, and ministered). My brand new post:
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New Testament Ethics from the Perspective of the Oppressed
In a time when so many Christians have remade Christ in their own image, when even conservative scholars like Russell Moore lament that Christians regularly chastise pastors for “being weak” or “liber...
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
I accidentally typed a text message that tomorrow will be January 310. I have to say, it certainly feels that way.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
My brand new article looks at a stunning example from early church history, then a big one from recent decades that “hid in plain sight,” and finally one from the Bible to show logical inconsistencies and the morally and scripturally bereft nature of arguments against women teaching men.
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When Can Women Teach Men? The Problem with Complementarian Logic
Those who believe in a God-ordained hierarchy of men over women, and of an eternal prohibition on women teaching men, are rarely consistent.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Jesus came into a world that often demoralized and hurt women, those with disabilities, the poor, and anyone who was considered an outsider. In my brand new post, I look at how Jesus responded in the Gospel of Luke.
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How Luke Shows Jesus Against Racism, Sexism, Classism, and Ableism
I’ve always liked the underdog, which is why the author of the Gospel According to Luke is my guy.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
This weekend, I’ll be reading through an advance copy of Preston Sprinkle’s new book “From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership.” I will publish a full review the day before its March 3 release. I’ve been curious about this one for a while!
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
1 Cor. 14:34 says, "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak ..." Are there cultural reasons they would be interrupting the service to ask questions? Is this a scribal gloss? Or is Paul quoting his opponents in order to refute them? Let's consider the possibilities:
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Should Women Remain Silent in the Churches? 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Today
I’ve written seven articles on 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and referenced that passage in several more.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
1 Corinthians is a dicey letter for anyone claiming that male-rule is God’s good gift. But there is one part that would seem to back up this view: 14:34-35. In my brand new article, I examine it:
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Should Women Remain Silent in the Churches? 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Today
I’ve written seven articles on 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and referenced that passage in several more.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
I've written a lot about 1 Timothy 2 and other passages, arguing for the necessity of teaching and leadership in the church being open to women. I haven’t touched the passage that would seem, in a “plain reading of the English text,” to be the ultimate “clobber” verses, 1 Cor. 14:34-35. Until today:
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Should Women Remain Silent in the Churches? 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Today
I’ve written seven articles on 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and referenced that passage in several more.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
There is a growing boldness and popularity for preachers like Doug Wilson who espouse the Southern “Lost Cause” mythology that redefines slavery as somewhere between “not that bad” and God’s ordained plan, The theological reasoning is similar to current “biblical patriarchy” models.
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The Enduring Mindset of "That Old-Time (Slaveholder) Religion"
Today’s article is written by my friend and fellow seminarian Jane Anne Tucker.
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Reposted by Bobby Gilles
Baptizing Feminism🎥 @baptizingfeminism.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Words from leading male theologians who understand the powerful, prophetic message of the Magnificat/Mary's Song, & the significant role Mary plays as the favored one chosen by God to give birth to Jesus. @scotmcknight.bsky.social @religionprof.bsky.social @bobbygilles.bsky.social #Bonhoeffer
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
In a culture and era that considers women as incidental to God’s story, Dr. Ingrid Faro shows how godly women in the Hebrew Scriptures advanced the plot in ways that many Bible teachers ignore, downplay, or misinterpret. Read my review of her new book, "Redeeming Eden”:
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How Bible Women Advanced the Story: Redeeming Eden with Ingrid Faro
In a culture and era that considers women as incidental to God’s story, Dr.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Over the past year, I’ve presented enough evidence in support of a hierarchy-free mutuality of women and men within the church and home to fill a book. Still, complementarians ask, "Aren’t you just bowing to secular culture, though? Don’t you see how women have taken over everything?" Nope:
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Gaslit! Patriarchal Fearmongering About A Feminist Takeover
and the truth that harms all the women in your life, daily
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Let’s talk about the good, bad, and ugly of evangelism and missionary activity in the last two millennia. We'll distinguish godly power from worldly power, and see the evidence for Jesus's parable of the wheat and the weeds, growing together until harvest time.
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The Good, Bad & Ugly of Missions & Evangelism in Church History
Let’s talk about the good, bad, and ugly of evangelism and missionary activity in the last two millennia.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
The angel Gabriel's involvement with two couples, highlighted during the first Advent of Christ, definitively disproves the complementarian "created order" teaching that bars women from teaching or exercising authority. I'll show you:
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Patriarchy's "Created Order" Dogma Fails Its Highest Profile Test Case
This fall, in my article “10 Bad ‘Biblical’ Arguments Against Women Preaching,” I reminded you that Mary and Gabriel disprove the popular “created order” argument.
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
You’re talking with your cousin, TheoBro Ted, and he shakes his head when you talk about women in ministry. Ted says, "“Look, I just believe what everyone believed until five minutes ago. This whole ‘women preacher’ thing is just a new feminist idea." Ted is wrong. And I'll prove it:
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Lie Exposed: Evangelical Women Preaching is NOT a New, Post-1960's Thing
To say otherwise is to compromise with the world
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
With so many churches and denominations perpetrating and covering up horrific abuses, and with more and more people deconstructing due to hypocrisy and harmful teachings, is there an argument for church community today? My new post looks at why Carmen Joy Imes says, "Yes."
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Is the Church Still Relevant? Necessary? "Becoming God's Family"
With so many churches and denominations perpetrating and covering up horrific abuses, with celebrity pastors and Christian media influencers sanctioning cruelty, and with more and more people deconstr...
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
My new post analyzes proof from many sources and studies to show the link between complementarianism and both abuse and infidelity. "Why he cheats, beats, or mistreats often correlates with his theology"
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Male Hierarchy Is A Breeding Ground For Abuse & Infidelity
Proof from many sources and studies
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
We are living in hard times. How must the church relate to Christ, each other, and the world? It's all about "withness" and "witness." My new article explores Bonhoeffer's take on this, placing him in conversation with NT Wright, John Barclay, Matthew Bates, and other current scholars.
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Bonhoeffer's Solution to a Church That's Lost Its Way
How the Church Relates to Christ, Herself, and the World
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Complementarianism insists men and women are equal in value but unequal in "role and authority." This is doublespeak for "They are not equal." And the idea that “It’s not about ability, it’s about responsibility” fails on scriptural and logical grounds. I talk about it in my brand new post:
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Complementarianism’s “Animal Farm”: All Humans Are Equal, But Some More Than Others
In this article: Complementarianism insists men and women are equal in value but unequal in "role and authority." This is doublespeak for "They are not equal." And the idea that “It’s not about abilit...
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Reposted by Bobby Gilles
Orthodox Barbie @orthodox-barbie.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
“Disallowing a woman’s leadership under the “women are too emotional” argument reveals a misunderstanding of the very concept of emotion. Emotions are not sinful; they are expressions of how we have been spiritually formed over time. /1
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Bobby Gilles @bobbygilles.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Jesus lived justly and trained his followers to be people of justice. We see this in their treatment of the marginalized in the New Testament and early historical records. More on this, plus info on my next two posts, here:
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Social Justice and the Church
Before I begin this week’s post, which is a short one, I want to thank the many of you who subscribed in the past week following my article 10 Bad “Biblical” Arguments Against Women Preaching, and the...
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