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Jumpstarter 9 of 10

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The Holy Spirit  /  The Spirit of All Truth  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
Pike criticizes a modern teacher who used slavery ? segregation ? civil rights as an analogy for God “gradually revealing more truth,” then applied that logic to overturn New Testament teaching on men/women, even describing a “headless marriage” experiment—where do you see that same “we’re more enlightened than the apostles” reasoning operating today, and what doctrines or moral boundaries become vulnerable once that logic is accepted?
Another way to ask: Where do you see the attitude “we know better than the apostles now” showing up today? If we accept that mindset, what Christian teachings or moral limits become easier to change or erase?

Direct Answer Based on Pike’s examples, the “more enlightened than the apostles” reasoning shows up wherever people argue that cultural progress equals new Spirit-led revelation that can nullify apostolic commands. Once accepted, boundaries around church order, marriage roles, and sexual ethics become vulnerable because Scripture is treated as a stage to be surpassed.

Support from Transcript:

  • Pike recounts the teacher’s argument: God is “gradually revealing more truth to us over time,” using slavery and civil rights as an analogy for “progression.”
  • He says the teacher concluded: “We’re smarter than they were back in the days of the apostles,” so role texts can be “nullified.”
  • Specific vulnerable doctrines in the transcript: women preaching, women teaching men, women as “elders and bishops,” women leading at home, and denying “husbands…head of the wife.”
  • Pike highlights an extreme example: the couple “experimenting with…a headless marriage.”
  • He warns this logic affects sexuality: “How…do you get to allowing homosexuality in the church…Any more than promiscuity…can be?”
  • He adds another example: a liberal Mennonite preacher dismissing head covering teaching (1 Cor 11) as something to “run…in the other direction” from.
Discussion Follow-ups What other areas (besides gender and sexuality) could be re-labeled “outdated” if this logic is accepted? How can Christians distinguish compassion and patience from rewriting moral teaching?

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