Fellow Christians: what does this passage mean to you?

Question

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first then Eve and Adam was not deceived. But, the woman who was deceived then became a transgressor.”

(I am a Christian, and belong to a church with three pastors, one of whom is a woman. She is an excellent pastor)

Thanks for sharing your ideas/opinions.

Answer 1

It means that Paul lived in a patriarchal social milieu. 2,000 years of Gospel leaven have allowed us to reach the understanding that this view does not represent the fullness of Christ's truth. Remember, Paul also said: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28.

Answer 2

Men and women are two completely different persons. This is like apples and oranges are both fruit, yet completely different. I beleive that Paul makes his statement about women for two reasons. Women are instructed to be quiet in church, it does not say they are to have no opinion or input. I beleive this to be structured this way because women seem to "get it" faster spiritually, than men do. If women were not instructed to keep "quiet" and give men a chance to absorb what God is saying then then men would miss what God is saying to them a lot more. The second reason for this is that a woman cannot turn a boy into a man. She can teach him great values and help develop his character yet she cannot help him make the transition from boy to man. It takes a man or God to do this. No matter how you want to look at it men and women are very, very different. A man cannot teach a girl how to be a woman. As a father, a man has a lot of influence on how his daughter will relate to men when she becomes a woman, however, her transition from girl to woman is accomplished through other women, not through a man or sexual activity. I beleive that growth and maturity in Jesus as our Lord is very similar. Women are instructed to respect their husbands as if they are the Lord. Men are instructed to submit to the Lord and love their wives as Christ loves the Church. To me this very clearly seperates the role of a man and a woman even though they are similar. I know that not everyone is married, however with this distinctiveness of roles it is important for men to be taught by men and woman by other woman. This does not mean that there is no value in learning from each other or that men have more value than women. God places a higher value on all life than a man does on his own life. Mankinds concept of value is left wanting in relation to God's concept of value.

As for authority, God gave man the authority to rule. Woman was made from man and is a part of him and who he is. I believe that you do not take a part of something and have it rule the whole. For example it does not seem logical for your toe to "rule" your foot and it doesn't. Your foot exercises authority over your toe. You move your foot and the toe goes with it. You move your toe and the foot doesn't move. In the same line of thinking the man is the head of his house and the woman is the neck. Unless the neck is cooperating it is really hard for the head to do anything. All authority has to have structure and and a defined "the buck stops here". This can be percieved as a blessing or a curse. If a man will be a "real man" then women have no issue about "men" having and exercising his authority. The role model of what a "real man" is is Jesus. He was the only perfect man. True manhood today has seemingly dissappeared from society as "what a man is" has been diluted, obscured and confused by the enemy of God and man.

As for Eve being the transgressor, yes she was, however, Adam was the one who sinned. Eve was deceived, Adam was clear on what God had said and chose to disobey God's word. Adams logic may have been that because Eve was going to die, since she had already eaten of the fruit, he chose to die with her. Whatever his reason, he clearly knew the choice that he made and that is why the first sin and all sin was born through Adam and not Eve. This is also an example of authority and accountability. When you are the head person in charge, you are accountable for the actions of those under you, even if the mistake was not actually yours. This is the structure of authority.

This is what I believe and I believe this to be biblically sound. This does not mean that I have it completely right and am open to input regarding any misunderstanding that I have.

Opinion, Mary Magdalene was spiritually a very strong influence in "The Way" after the ascenscion of Jesus and this could have motivated Paul to make the statement that he did. Even though her life after the death of Jesus is not mentioned in the bible there is historical evidence that she was spreading the "good news" of Jesus along with the disciples.

Answer 3

I don't believe it's because one gender is better at teaching, it's who God gave the authority to. Women were not given the authority to be pastors. One of the requirements for a bishop(pastor) is that he must be the husband of one wife. Even if a woman had a wife, she still would not be a husband.
In order for a team to work there must be a leader and a supporter of the leader who is in submission to him, not by force but willingly. That is the job of the woman to her husband and not to any other man nor should she be in authority over other men even if men won't stand up and lead it's not our job as women. And maybe more men would take the lead if women would be more patient and submissive.
Isn't it becoming of a lady who is meek, modest, and ladylike, who is also generous, hard-working, and unselfish?
It is not becoming of a lady who acts like a man or who is quarrelsome and who is never satisfied with her husband and wants others to feel sorry for her. Sorry for getting off on that rabbit trail, but yeah.
It doesn't matter how good of speaker she is, she can use her gift where appropriate like preaching to a women's group and bringing up her children in the admonition of the Lord.

Answer 4

Well, I believe that before the fall, God gave man and woman equal rulership over the earth. If you read about it in Genesis 1:26. But Eve was the one deceived so, I think Paul was saying because of this a woman should not be in authority over a man. Part of the curse was that Adam would rule over Eve, which means he didn't at first.
We have a woman Pastor( she is a Children's Pastor) who is not married. I think if she gets married she would not be a pastor anymore because she would be in authority over her husband. But I think that co-pastoring (husband and wife) is fine because they are one.
However, after Jesus came he restored equality to women and even Paul said so in Galatians 3:28, we are all equal in Christ.

Answer 5

The Holy Catholic Church teaches, through Scripture and Tradition, that the husband is the head of his family and has God-given authority over his wife and children. This gift of authority does not give a husband any greater dignity than his wife. Both are equal members of the marital covenant, as is reflected by God creating woman from the side of man (as opposed to his head or feet). Instead, this order of authority reflects the divine order between God, Christ and man. God blessed the marital covenant with this order to maintain peace and harmony in the family, the “domestic church.” Just as Christ is the Head of the Catholic Church (the family of God), so the father is the head of his domestic church (his family).
We have roles to fill

Answer 6

This I don't understand either. Woman are as smart as men. Some women i've know are even smarter LOL. I knew a women who owned two businesses and was really nice and smart.

Maybe is because God wanted man to be the head of the relationship. The bible states that man supposed to respect the women and the bible states that the women supposed to respect the man. But one of them should be the head of the family and God choose man. But I think sometimes a woman has more thinking capacity than man.

Answer 7

I don't like it... I have a female youth pastor [one of the few in Ohio] and she is great. The youth group last year was the largest in the the state while attending a Youth Convention, and she started out 6 years ago with a few people, so it shouldn't be said that women can't teach man. Look in our school system, most of the teachers are women.

Answer 8

It's primarily a theological point, not related to the nature of women.
Few Christian ministers get it. Beneath it all the acceptance of fed tax exemption is causing mainline churches to create new concepts to keep their little pot gold.

Like David forbidden to build temple for being a warrior, and Moses refused into Promise land for slapping a rock twice. It's a theological point.

Reversal of dominion took place at Paradise, forcing payment by Crucification. Sin came from lucifer to Eve, first, and reversal of dominion entered world. Evil rules.

Practically speaking the results of this behavior are causing spiritual confusion in American churches now.

Answer 9

As 1 Corinthians 11:5 indicates, Paul didn't forbid all vocal participation by women in the worship service. Rather, I believe that Paul is enjoining silence of a particular sort -- one that respects the authoritative teaching and governing role assigned to the leaders of the church.

Answer 10

If I remember correctly this comes from Paul's letter to Timothy. He also gives instruction as to setting up the deacons and elders at every LORD's CHURCH. The BIBLE gives NO AUTHORITY for a woman to take part in the worship service of the LORD. What I find in the BIBLE tells that she can not Preach or Teach Men or be involved in the worship service according to the BIBLE. Your "church" is not following the scriptures as it should be. I attend a Church that holds the BIBLE as it's only guide to TRUTH. We do our best to read, study, and follow the scriptures at every service and in our everyday lives. You sould be careful about being involved at this "church". I hope that this makes sense without being rude. It is not meant to be. Have a great week.
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Answer 11

Women are meant to teach not to preach. Basically it means that a woman is not suppose to have authority over a man. There is a backlash for men with this one and that it is they are responsible for the salvation and teaching of their wives and daughters which is a huge responsibilty. Christian women have lots of responsibilty too. I could talk about this for hours but it is basically all in the wonderful book you are quoting from.