Piper responded that he was working on the assumption that the Bible teaches the Church must be led by “spiritual, humble, biblically qualified men,” referencing 1^st Timothy 2:12, which reads: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”

Bethlehem College & Seminary Chancellor and DesiringGod.com founder John Piper has ignited another debate on women’s leadership roles in the Church after he said he doesn’t believe women should teach courses at seminaries.

In an installment of the Desiring God podcast “Ask Pastor John” posted Monday, a listener named Scott asked Piper about his opinion of women serving as professors at theology schools.

“I’m a seminary student at an orthodox but interdenominational school in the United States. I share your complementarian understanding of God’s design for male and female roles and relationships in the home and church,” wrote Scott.

“On that basis, I have recently doubted whether or not my seminary ought to allow women to teach pastors in training. What do you think? Should women be hired as seminary professors? What is your best case?”

Piper responded that he was working on the assumption that the Bible teaches the Church must be led by “spiritual, humble, biblically qualified men,” referencing 1^st Timothy 2:12, which reads: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”

“Just to be clear, the issue is not whether women should attend seminary in one of its programs and get the best biblical grounding possible,” noted Piper. “The issue is whether women should be models, mentors, and teachers for those preparing for a role that is biblically designed for spiritual men. That’s the way I’m posing the question.”

Piper stressed that the issue was “not the competence of women teachers or intelligence or knowledge or pedagogical skill,” but rather “the nature of the seminary teaching office.”

Read More