In defense of the Common English Bible's translation of elders an non-gender specific.

^“5 The reason I left you behind in Crete was to organize whatever needs to be done and to appoint elders in each city, as I told you. ⁶ Elders should be without fault.  They should be faithful to their spouse,^a and have faithful children who can’t be accused of self-indulgence or rebelliousness.  

^a “Or they should be a one-woman man.“

 

If some are going to critique the Common English Bible, I think it is useful to compare it to another imperfect translation (of which are all of course). Since those misogynists seem to love the ESV, I choose to compare it to the ESV. If you are going to say  negative words about the CEB translation of Titus 1:5-6, then I would only hope you can accept a similar critique of the ESV, a translation which you prefer. Once upon a time, men were content to accept Junias, the man, as one notable AMONG the apostles, but when it became undeniable that “Junia”, the woman, was the most reliable reading, some translators were afraid that some might read this passage and understand that Junia was an apostle. So the translators of the ESV decided to translate ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις as “TO the apostles”. I think anyone comparing these two translations of ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις will certainly understand them differently. So when almost all translations in English translate this phrase as “among the apostles”, it is easy to understand as did the Greek Church father Chrysostom that Junia was a woman apostle. So if Junia was a woman apostle then it is obvious that an apostle is also qualified to be an elder therefore not only is it acceptable to translate πρεσβυτερους in Titus 1:5-6 as non gender specific, but also translate the following idiom in a way that allows this non-gender understanding of elder . If the phrase “one-woman-man” is not understood idiomatically than it may require that an elder must also be married. So if there be any error in the CEB’s translation of Titus 1:5-6, I see it certainly no worse than the ESV’s misogynic acrobatics in Rom. 16:7. So if you concede that the ESV translation of Rom. 16:7 is less than acceptable, I will accept that the CEB has taken the liberty to not translate Titus 1:5-6 literally.

pastor title

I think an important point in this discussion is the distinction between leadership as a function and leadership titles. What Jesus spoke against was the use of honorary titles. The early church seems to have followed this teaching as we never see the use of any titles used by the New Testament writers towards their leaders. Someone my think it is insignificant, but I see an important difference between saying Paul, an apostle and the Apostle Paul. There is always an increasing tendency for religious leaders, as other leaders such as political leaders, to increase their status. So the word presbyteros evolved to become the English word priest, which in the NT is used interchangeably with episkopos which becomes the word bishop, paimen goes through Latin to be adopted as the English title Pastor. And what about reverend? It comes from the Latin word reverendus meaning to be honored. Not a big difference from the word Rabbi which comes from the Hebrew word ?? Rab meaning great. There was definitely an effort in the earliest church to avoid the use of titles that can be seen from the New Testament text. However, at the same time, there was leadership in practice. Paul, as humble as he was, still argued for his apostolic authority. Peter and James were leaders in the Jerusalem church that Paul also recognized, even if he was willing to challenge their theology. Paul encouraged the Thessalonian believers to respect those who are the leading ones p???staµe???? of them Thess. 5:12 The writer of Hebrews encourages the readers to be persuaded by the leading ones of you. pe??es?e t??? ????µe???? ?µ?? Heb 13:17. It is interesting that both the Thessalonian and Hebrews passages use a participle not a noun to express this leading or ruling capacity. The emphasis here again is on the function of the leadership and not on the title or position. The emphasis in the New Testament church leadership is the function of those who are gifted within the framework of a good example. This is what Paul argues as he claims apostolic authority, that he is called and gifted to be an apostle not by man, but by God, and that his example of service and life, evidences that he is one to be imitated as he follows Christ.