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Last night I was at a guys' small group that I've recently begun attending and the conversation touched on Paul and his views on women in ministry. We talked some about people's understandings (and misunderstandings!) of Paul's letters when it comes to the issue of women and their role in church and society in general.
It's a topic that is surrounded by so much half-truth, urban legend, and just plain bad interpretation, that I thought it would make a good post here in the Dojo.
Here is a link to a series by one of my old professors, Dr. John Jefferson Davis (with whom I didn't always see eye-to-eye, but whom I respect greatly and learned many many things from!), on Paul's views on women in light of the "chauvinistic" passages found in some of his writings--particularly 1Timothy 2:12.
Enjoy! And as usual, feedback/critiques/comments/discussion are always welcome!
Blessings,
JMS
ps: On an unrelated note, I just found out that 3 lectures given earlier this year (the third of which I was able to attend in person) by fellow GCTS alumnus and New Testament Scholar, Ben Witherington, have been posted online. They're all about the pseudo-Jesus that we often see portrayed in pop-media or bestselling books. I encourage you to listen to them, particularly the 1st and 3rd ones, and pass them on to any friends or family who may be curious about what to really believe regarding the historical Jesus and the modern claims being made by some about Him.
August 26, 2008
Paul and women
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1 comment:
Interesting that you should post this! I was actually a member of a Baptist church that utilized Paul's passages as part of their justification to not allow women to hold authoritative positions such as Lay Pastors, Youth Directors, etc. I believe that we must always (and you've taught this!) take into consideration the context in which the author Paul, in this case) is writing and what's happening in those historical times WHEN he's writing it. I left that church. The church also had an issue with any divorced woman teaching even in a lesser authoritative position; as though divorce is a contagious disease. Thankfully, GSUMC is NOT of that mindset and I have recently learned that that Baptist church has also 'reevaluated' their position on the issue of women in authority. Alas, churches contain humans and therefore do make errors in judgement from time to time. :) No, I'm not a feminist in the strict sense of the word. I actually do believe that a man should be the head of his household. However, in cases where no man will take up that yoke; an authoritative woman, such as Deborah, will do just fine.
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