Dr. Philip B. Payne is well known for his studies on New Testament Textual Criticism, the Parables of Jesus, and Man and Woman in the Teachings of Paul. He and his wife Nancy were missionaries in Japan with the Evangelical Free Church, where they ministered to students in the Kyoto Christian Studies Center and lectured on New Testament in various Japanese Seminaries. On the one hand, because I’ve been a student of 日本語 (Japanese) myself, I feel a sense of kinship with Dr. Payne. On the other hand, my being a complementarian puts me at odds with Dr. Payne when it comes to the roles of men and women in the Church.

Coming soon, Dr. Payne joins me to challenge me and my listeners with his position in the debate between complementarianism and egalitarianism, as put forward in his book, Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters. I must admit, his treatment of the topic is the first I’ve come across from his perspective which seems to try and take the original text of the New Testament seriously. You and I may disagree with him when the interview is over, but it probably won’t be for the typical reasons we disagree with egalitarians. Stay tuned!