In the final section of his chapter, our first author endeavors to prove that the New Testament is consistent with the Old Testament in applying the principle of headship and submission only to husband-wife relationships and not to the role of women in the church. To prove his thesis he attempts to show that "all of the New Testament passages regarding headship and ‘submission’ between men and women are limited to the marriage relationship" "and not men and women in general."⁶⁰

For the sake of brevity I will comment only on the three Pauline passages relevant to our discussion on the role of women in the church (1 Cor 11:2-16; 14:34-36; 1 Tim 2:8-15), addressing the fundamental question, Are Paul’s admonitions regarding women’s behavior in the church meant for wives only or for women in general?⁶¹