Ever since Eve bit into the fruit, her sisters throughout
history have been paying the penalty!
First off, I'm not a raging feminist, but I cannot for the
life of me see why genitalia should determine a person’s ability (or not) to
have authority in church circles – surely an anointing of God is in His gift to
bestow, regardless of gender?
That thought was uppermost in my mind when this issue was
raised at a church meeting last night and I'm afraid it’s really got to me!
The (predominantly) male cry of ‘biblical’ evidence as the
excuse for denying women authority in the church needs to be shown for the
deceit it is, whether that deceit is borne from knowledge or ignorance, or
merely misinterpretation.
OK – so let’s get to it, what DOES the Bible say? Apart from
the old chestnuts that are frequently raked up by those intent on proving women
are forbidden to have authority, (e.g. in Paul’s letters in the New Testament,
concerning women being silent or having their hair covered) there are a number
of occasions in Scripture where women are the dominant gender.
Consider Deborah. It was left to her to advise Barak to
attack Sisera’s army and even then he
was virtually cowering behind her skirts; accordingly, she told him that
because he had little confidence in the authority of what she was saying then
his adversary, Sisera, would die at the hand of a woman. ( Judges Ch.4 )
Deborah was a married woman, yet many preachers/scholars
tell us that the status of women in Biblical times was somewhere down amongst the
goats and sheep, in the ‘chattel’ department! If our learned brethren think
this, then why does Deborah’s husband, Lappidoth, not pull her into line?
Consider also, who the first people were to proclaim the
risen Christ – the women, who got up early on the third day to attend to their
Lord’s body, while His 'brave' band of disciples cowered behind closed doors in fear!
And so, to the (so called) defining verses of 1 Timothy 2:9-12,
which are often produced to defend the male exclusivity to church authority:
‘I also want the women
to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with
elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good
deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn
in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume
authority over a man; she must be quiet.’
This has been attributed to just one particular church community
in Ephesus, where a few women had been getting out of hand and J. Lee Grady explains it so much better in his
comments in Ten Lies The Church Tells Women (essential reading for those who want to get at the truth, especially in Lie #8!) In various parts of the New Testament, women are attributed as church leaders and even apostles! (see Romans 16:7!)
Now, after millennia, we have a
church ordained as the Bride of Christ, filled with believers who are equal
before God – but some seem often to be, in the words of George Orwell, ‘more
equal than others’! The infallibility of (some) men and the possible bruising of
their egos, is evident when they try to hide behind 2Tim. 2:14 –
And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived
and became a sinner.”
True, Eve was the one who
listened to the serpent and was deceived – but equally Adam could have said ‘No’
when the fruit was offered to him! Instead he ate it – and then blamed Eve! And for far too long, Eve’s daughters have
been tarred with the same brush!
I wonder what would have
happened if the serpent had found Adam first that day……!
