I’m not a
feminist, but I’ll admit that I struggle when I’m not allowed to use my Bible knowledge in the church. Male
Sunday school teachers value a man’s comments over that of a woman’s and over
the years I’ve experienced numerous occasions where I’ve been condescendingly
put in my place for contributing to the collective discussion. Certainly,
Scripture is clear on church structure and male leadership; however, I can’t help
but wonder why women keep studying the Bible
if we must then keep the Word if God to ourselves. I suppose that at times Paul
may have had the same type of feelings, “Paul and his companions
traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the
Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When
they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit
of Jesus would not allow them to” (Acts 16:6-7 NIV).
4 comments:
Gail;
-----In I Corinthians 14 Paul discusses a few important issues about the church gathering. Towards the end of these issues he states, “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.” (I Cor 14:34-35) In our desire to submit to God in obedience to His Word this scripture gets kicked aside as being nothing more than the bigotry of ancient cultural tradition passed on as one of Paul‘s careless opinions. And so it is that almost every contemporary church leader and influential person dismisses this scripture entirely.
-----Paul did give his own opinions in some of his letters. We know this because he would indicate them as being his own opinion as he wrote them, like at I Cor 7:6 and 25. I think it's pretty smart of us to acknowledge as opinion what he indicated was opinion. But I think it's less smart of us to not acknowledge as commands the things he said were commands. The next two sentences he wrote after addressing women’s silence in church were, “What! Did the word of God originate with you, or are you the only ones it has reached? If any one thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord.” (I Cor 14:36-37)
-----Paul actually laid a foundation for this “bigoted attitude” in Chapter 11, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (I Cor 11:3) It rather sounds like Paul is discussing some sort of authority structure. To Timothy he wrote, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” (I Tim 1:11-14) Paul’s male chauvinism might be a spiritual thing. It was the woman who listened to the serpent. An entire culture grew up around that fact from very, very ancient times. If today it is yet only a cultural thing, then by what Paul wrote to Timothy, it might be some sort of scripture-culture, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” But then, culture is only culture, isn‘t it?.
-----My opinion is that nobody knows exactly what Paul meant by “silence in the churches“. In my opinion, understanding what the Bible means comes from practicing what it says. How can we know what Paul meant if we do not practice what he said? In fact, do we not better understand what the Bible says not to do in church because we more practice that? Remember XYZ? We practise what we desire to know. In some cases, it's not the Holy Bible. Currently, Char and I are attending a Sunday School class led by an ordained woman. I do say that class is being demonstrative!
-----John wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The most important sin I continually confess is that of being wrong where the Bible is right. I don’t think for a moment that I know any scripture either to its depth or of its complete relationship with all other scriptures. So I know I have opinions of my own (not Paul’s) about every scripture that I must get straighter. I shudder at the very thought of holding any attitude about myself towards scripture other than that confessional one.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Steve,
You're a brave and mature man of faith to attend an adult Sunday school class led by an ordained woman!
Gail
Thank you. I can’t even begin to be as gracious towards other folks’ waywardness as the Lord has to be towards mine. But I try.
-----I embarrassed myself in her class last Sunday. She’s teaching from a book titled, “The Jesus Life”. The discussion was to focus on the Sabbath. I really stepped into this one, and I got it all over my feet, too. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Christianity of late has been accumulating a few more than its share of Judaizers. And so the fretful keeping of the Sabbath has returned. Now, this has always been a hot topic for me. My mom was a Seventh Day Adventist. Her family took it seriously. You were a sinner indeed if you so much as turned on a radio from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. Dad was a Baptist, so not doing that was ok. Or was it? And that became my inner struggle for many years. I am thankful for it, because God’s Word finally sorted it out.
-----Well. Last week, Char and I somewhat discussed this Judaizing stuff and what “The Jesus Life” seemed to be saying about the Sabbath. It rather seemed to me that it was setting its readers up for a Judaizer push, maybe in a later chapter. So when the leader opened the class session with a request for what anyone thought about the Sabbath, I noticed the silence was about to grow long in the tooth. I didn’t realize how loaded for defense I was until I broke the silence. I explained how the Ten Commandments came down Sinai with Moses as part of a contract between God and those Israelites at the foot of the mountain. I explained how they were a people chosen to receive God’s oracles, and how God exchanged the loyalties with them, not the entire world. Therefore, the entire world was not bound to the keeping of the Sabbath or any of the other rituals and rites of the Law. I explained how when Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch with news of the Gentile obedience, the question of the Law rose early, and that the Holy Spirit participated in concluding and sending a letter to the Gentile churches that nothing more was to be laid upon them than that they should keep themselves chaste and abstain from eating anything strangled or with its blood. Therefore, the Sabbath is not something laid upon those of us who are not Jewish. I was amazed at the roomful of Presbyterian blank stares.
-----Finally, one lady rebuffed, “Oh! It is too important!” And the rest of the class session went down this path of what is Sabbath to you? What day do you do Sabbath on? What things do you do on Sabbath? How do you rest? If I had realized the word “Sabbath” had no particular meaning in the Presbyterian church, I would have saved my breath. I keep forgetting, in the Presbyterian church everything is silly-putty.
Steve,
This reminded me of Stephen's speech to the Sanhedrin just before they stoned him! So, you too are not only in good company, but you preached a good message. I appreciate being reminded that in today's church it is not just women who are verbally stoned, but any who dare to go beyond the milk of the word.
Gail
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