Musing – What was Paul’s view on the role of Women?

Hebraic Musing – What was Paul’s view on the role of Women?

Last week we studied the impact of timing and authorship of Paul’s epistles on the topic of slavery.  Let’s also look at Paul’s view of women. (Trust me, I don’t intend for these two topics to be related.) 

Churches, Pastors and denominations have come up with conflicting views regarding treatment of women.  Could that be the result of using differing Scripture references?  Last week we explored conflicts in Paul’s epistles explained by theologians’ views that some epistles in Paul’s name were not actually written by Paul.  Many scholars think these Pastoral Epistles were written later, but in Paul’s name:  Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus.*

Basically, Paul’s own epistles preached equality:  His writings preach that there is no difference in treatment of women vs. men in Galatians. 3:28   “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 

And in 1 Corinthians 7:14  Paul preaches that both the husband and wife bring holiness/sanctification to each other -- “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband.” 

And husbands and wives might actually save each other -- 1 Corinthians. 7:16  “How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”  

In 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 we find Paul clarifying that both men and women have responsible roles -- “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head …”   

And Paul even recognizes a woman in leadership, a deacon, in Romans 16:1-3  “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant [‘Deacon’ in the Greek] of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you,… Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.”

In the epistles written later and probably not by Paul personally the tone for dealing with the status women is quite different.  Ephesians 5:22-24   “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  

And in later Pastoral Epistles women are to remain silent i.e. 1 Timothy 2:11-14 “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.  I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.  For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.   (Question – if Adam was not deceived then is Gen. 3:6-7 wrong?  “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened,”    He was right there, so he too was deceived.)

Points to ponder

Was Paul actually the chauvinist some claim him to be?

Or did later writers succumb to the cultural of the times?

Are societal, cultural and worldly pressures causing us to adjust our stand
by accepting the culture of the day, i.e. abortion, homosexuality and promiscuity?

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                 December 2, 2014

Books author “Hebraic Insights”; “Biblical Marriage”; “Musings v.1 – A Victorious Life”
Weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings” at   insightsbyyosef.blogspot.com/
Yosef1@cox.net   or  www.InsightsByYosef.com  

*  Most scholars have no difficulty attributing these Epistles and dates to Paul’s direct authorship – 1 Thessalonians (A.D. 51-52); 1 Corinthians (A.D. 55);  Galatians (Prison A.D. 49 or 55); 2 Corinthians, (A.D. 56); Romans (A.D. 57-58); Philippians (Prison  A.D. 60-61); Philemon (Prison A.D. 61).