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Why did Paul restrict the ministry of women?In 1 Corinthians 14.34-35, Paul enjoined women to be silent in church, and in 1 Timothy 2.11-12, he forbade them from teaching or exercising authority over men. Why did he do this?Some evangelical scholars say that he didn't. They argue that the traditional interpretation of these passages is wrong. They do this on various grounds, exegetical and cultural. However, their arguments are not strong enough to overturn the traditional understanding of these texts. (1, 2) For example, some scholars argue that Paul laid down the restrictions he did because of the attitude to women at the time. He did not want women to exercise their liberty in Christ in a way that created difficulties for unbelievers, used to seeing women in a more submissive role. However, where Timothy was at Ephesus, unbelievers would have seen women taking a leading part in religious life. The city was dominated by the temple of Artemis, where priestesses served alongside priests and carried great respect (3). Jewish attitudes were of course different, but Paul had broken away from these (Philippians 3.1-11). Paul's reasonsSo why did Paul prohibit women from teaching and leading? His own explanation in 1 Corinthians 11.8-9 (to which 14.34 refers) and 1 Timothy 2.13-14 is that, according to Genesis 2, God created woman for man, and according to Genesis 3, she sinned before man. He evidently took Genesis 2 to mean that God created men and women to have different roles, with men exercising leadership and women having a complementary role to this. He evidently also took Genesis 3 to indicate that women should not lead men. Paul's understanding of these passages is not the only possible one, but it is that of an apostle who claimed that what he wrote came from the Lord (1 Corinthians 14.37). In both 1 Corinthians 11.11-12 and 1 Timothy 2.15, Paul immediately goes on to say what a woman's role is - it is that of a mother and carer. He seems anxious not to give the impression that it is only men who have a special role - women have a special role too. It is in fulfilling this role that, through Christ, a woman is saved (1 Timothy 2.15) and, in him, shares equality with men (Galatians 3.28). Wide roleIn 1 Timothy 5.3-16, Paul goes on to give instructions about widows. In these he amplifies his conception of a woman's role. He does this also in Titus 2.3-5. His conception, like that of the author of Proverbs 31.10-31, is very wide. It includes not only love of husband, bringing up children and running a home, but also teaching of children (cf. 2 Timothy 1.5, 3.14-15), taking care of ageing relatives, showing hospitality, helping those in need and teaching younger women. These activities constitute motherhood in its widest sense. Many can be done by single women and women who do not have children - indeed some can be done better by single women, as Mother Theresa has shown (cf. 1 Corinthians 7.34). There are indications in the New Testament that some women were appointed to serve in these ways (Romans 16.1-2 reading 'deaconess', 1 Timothy 3.11 reading 'women [deacons]'). That Paul did not regard a woman's role as inferior to a man's is clear from the way he presents 1 Corinthians 11.11-12 and 1 Timothy 2.15 as a counterbalance to 1 Corinthians 11.8-9 and 1 Timothy 2.13-14. They could only be a counterbalance if he regarded the two roles equally. Jesus himself stressed the value of children (Matthew 18.1-6, 19.13-15), of showing hospitality (10.40-42), and of helping those in trouble (25.31-46). Paul's respect for women comes out in the way in which he spoke about them in his letters (e.g. Romans 16.1-4, Philippians 4.2-3). Paul's aim, therefore, in prohibiting women from doing what men do is not simply to preserve a role for men. It is to ensure that women are not taken away from their role. As he said in relation to spiritual gifts, a body cannot operate if all the parts do the same thing: 'If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing?' (1 Corinthians 12.17). In particular, a body cannot operate if all the parts do the showy things and none the vital ones (12.21-26). Trends in societyPaul's concerns are borne out, I believe, by trends in modern society. Most women nowadays go out to work and many have careers. This is having several consequences.1 Firstly, it is affecting children. If a mother works full-time, the attention that she is able to give to her children is necessarily less than it would be if she spent most of her time at home. She is not at home when her children return from school, she has to make special arrangements for them during their holidays and when they are ill, and in the evenings she has to catch up with jobs that she would otherwise have done in the daytime. Children are very sensitive to how much attention they receive. If they do not receive enough, they resent it and become difficult to discipline. They may be well provided for materially, but still feel unloved. Some working mothers may be able to give their children the attention they need, but others will find this difficult. A recent study of children from two-parent families in a London area has shown that, on average, those whose mothers work full-time behave less well and do less well at school than those whose mothers do not (4). Secondly, if women are out at work all day, there is often no-one to look after ageing relatives who have become too infirm to look after themselves. They are also unable to help sick and elderly neighbours in the way in which women did in the past. Thirdly, the fact that many married women now go out to work has had a major effect on men. In the first place, it has raised the level of male unemployment. Some homes now have a second wage or salary coming into them while others do not have one. More generally, many men are finding it difficult to cope with women having a career. When husbands had a bread-winning role and wives a caring one, men could find self-respect as men in bread-winning. Now that women do both bread-winning and caring, many men are no longer able to find self-respect in this way. Those who are doing well in their careers may be able to, but others cannot, especially if they are unemployed. This is affecting marriages. Husbands who have a low self-esteem in relation to their wives find marriage difficult. Their partner's skills and accomplishments cause them pain, which they seek to assuage in various ways. This may be linked to a rise in violent and aggressive behaviour in young men. Many young men spend so much time on macho activities they finish up less well educated than their female counterparts. This puts an even greater pressure on them to prove themselves as men. The sight of young women displaying their sexuality, especially in the media, adds to this pressure still further (5). Machismo is one reason why there is so much crime and violence in society. There are of course many other reasons, not least the decline in Christian belief and breakdown in family life, but it is significant that most of the crime and violence is carried out by men. Over 80% of offenders are males. One in three men have been convicted of a serious offence by the age of 30. A further problem is that many young men are failing to act as fathers. One family in five now lacks a father. Not having a responsible father exacerbates the problems for children. Finally, women's change of role is also having an adverse effect on some women. Trying to run a home, bring up a family and keep up a career can be very stressful, especially for lone mothers. While some women can handle this pressure, others cannot. Although the problems I have described have many causes besides the change of role of women, it is difficult to see how they can be completely accounted for by other factors, or be completely resolved without some differentiation of role between men and women. For society's goodIf my analysis is right, Paul's prohibitions in 1 Corinthians 14.34-35 and 1 Timothy 2.11-12 have much more behind them than might at first have been apparent. As he said in another context: 'The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.' (1 Corinthians 1.25). Churches therefore need to set an example to society in this important area of life by keeping to the biblical pattern (Matthew 5.13-16, 1 Peter 2.11-12). This does not mean that churches should ignore the frustration that some women feel in not being able to take a more prominent part in church life. Churches need to give more attention to affirming the biblical role for women, to developing it to meet the needs of church and society today, and to establishing a ministry for women corresponding to that of a deaconess in the New Testament. Churches should also remind men not to make too much of their role, as if it is more important than a woman's. Jesus taught his disciples that the greatest role that anyone can have is that of a servant (Matt. 23.1-12). References1. P.G. Nelson, Paul's teaching on the ministry of women, Whittles, second edition, 1996. © Evangelicals Now - November 1997 |