This is a 'book two' to my Women In Ministry Blog, consisting of further thoughts and studies which have in place expanded my views, and in places reinforced them. I hope this will give a wider perspective and view on the context and setting in which the letter of 1 Tim was received.
My previous blogs on this subject focussed on verses 11-14 of 1 Timothy 2. I will now expand on this passage to look first at the verses which immediately follow and precede this passage.
1 Timothy 2:7-15
For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument;
also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes,
but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God.
Let a woman learn in silence with full submission.
I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; 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.
Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.
I have highlighted the opening and concluding of two themes within this passage, modesty and propriety in yellow, and gender in green. I find it very interesting that these statements are opened with 'women should dress modestly', and closed with 'she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty'.
The New Woman
The 'new woman' was a sub-culture among women which was growing up in Ephesus, where women were wearing increasingly scanty and revealing outfits, and were essentially making their bodies and appearances their gods. Modesty was a long way from being a priority. They would have their hair piled high with braids and weavings, which were a sign of extravagance. Paul opens the gender discussion in verse 8 with 'I desire, then that men should pray...without anger or argument', so he begins with some directions for men - to worship together without tension and strife. He then moves on to women in verse 9 'also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes'. There are writers who believe that he is writing this to combat the 'new woman' movement, which interestingly enough has some very poignant parallels today.
The old order which the 'new woman' was trying to overtake, had some different rules. Women who were married would not beautify themselves overly, so as to dissuade potential suitors. They would dress modestly and normally, and focus on being a mother and on childbearing. Verse 15 says 'she will be saved through childbearing'. Now what is the connection with childbearing and all the preceding verses? One of the worst things about the New Woman was the worshipping of their own bodies. Pregnancy was seen to damage the shape and beauty of their bodies, and so they were aborting their babies. This verse, under that context is clearly anti-abortion.
Combine the knowledge of the New Woman movement, with the Cult of Artemis and Female-Worship which was prevalent, and you can paint a picture of the women in the Ephesian church who were having a mini-revolution of feminism. The women would dominate, and felt they should be the ones in control of the church, because they were the ones in control of the Cult of Artemis. They were setting themselves up as false gods - they had to be as beautiful as they could be at all times, would dress in gold and pearls, wearing as little as possible, with extravagantly braided hair, and would even abort their babies to maintain their bodily beauty. The phrase 'she will be saved through childbearing...' contains an implied impression that those who decide not to bear their child (abortion) will not be saved. As a father of a young baby, I find that verse quite just and right. Those women who set themselves up as objects of worship are walking a dangerous path which leads to destruction. I wonder how many Hollywood stars have decided to have abortions to keep their bodies? This problem is just as prevalent today as back then.
Potential Paraphrase and Progression of Theme verse by verse
7 - Paul is a qualified teacher and apostle for the gentiles
8 - Men need to worship together without fighting amongst themselves
9 - New Women need to stop dressing seductively
10 - They should instead clothe themselves with good works
11 - New Women are not entitled to dominate or shout down the men in the church
12 - New Women are not entitled to lead the church or to be it's teachers, as they are in the Cult of Artemis
13 - Artemis elevates women above men, but God does not - Adam comes before Eve in Christianity
14 - Womankind are responsible for starting the downfall of the human race
15 - Yet as long as they dont abort their children, they have the same chance to be saved as men - through faith, love and holiness - with modesty overarching all of it.
Potential Paraphrase and Progression of Theme as a paragraph
I Paul am a qualified teacher and apostle for the gentiles. The men among you need to worship together without fighting amongst themselves. Women must to stop dressing extravagantly and seductively, they should instead clothe themselves with good works. The women among you are not entitled to dominate or shout down the men in the church, to lead the church or to be it's teachers, as they are in the Cult of Artemis. Artemis elevates women above men, but God does not - Adam comes before Eve in Christianity; infact Womankind are responsible for starting the downfall of the human race. They are still blessed with the same chance to be saved as men - through faith, love and holiness - with modesty overarching all of it, as long as they don't abort their babies.
Hopefully it goes without saying that the above paraphrases are simply my own possible ideas, and are not replacements for the scriptures themselves, they are just intended to be applying the possible context to the text.
1 Timothy And It's Theme
In my previous blog on women in ministry I argued that the prohibitions which Paul makes against women in the church overseer position is not a cultural prohibition limited to first century AD, but a timeless one. As I have studied 1 Timothy more widely, I have found that the theme of gender permeates the entire book. Many of these teachings (the non-controversial ones) are widely accepted as being timeless, which suggests the possibility that the controversial ones might be timeless also.
1 Tim 2:7-15 - teaching about the rightful place of women within the church, and rejection of the 'New Woman'
1 Tim 3:1-13 - teaching about men as bishops/overseers, and men and women as deacons
1 Tim 4:3 - do not forbid marriage
1 Tim 5:1-2 - propriety in relationships and the hierarchy of God's family
1 Tim 5:3-16 - teaching concerning single women and widows
It seems fairly plain to me that gender issues, and probably issues concerning the Ephesian Women were one of the things most pressing to Paul as he wrote this letter. Look at some of these quotes, and how strong a theme of concern they bring to the book:-
'women should dress themselves modestly'
'women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate'
'have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives tales' (a reference to Artemis?)
'speak to...older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters-with absolute purity'
'the widow who lives for pleaseure is dead even while she lives'
'younger widows... learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house; and they are not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say.'
There are also many teaching all throughout the book which apply to both men and women, but I find it fascinating how many references there are to women specifically.
The book feels like it is being written to a culture which idolizes extravagance and indulgence, which is constantly chasing scandal and pleasure. While Paul is quite stong against any form of seduction and sensuality outside of marriage, he still re-affirms marriage, talking about the 'hypocrisy of liars who... forbid marriage', and 'I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their housefolds'.
He clearly doesnt just say 'don't do', he says 'do this instead'.
There are some interesting phrases to set against his strong prohibitions of extravagance and indulgence.
6:17 states 'God... richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment'
4:4-5 states 'everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God's word and by prayer'
He is clearly not saying pleasure and enjoyment are bad things, but that we should be enjoying only those things which we know are not sinful (and we know by checking the scriptures prayerfully - 4:5). He also says that although we should not make our bodies our gods, at the same time we should not go to the other extreme and not take care of them - 4:8 'for, while physical training in of some value, godliness is valuable in every way'. He doesn't react to the unbalanced teaching with an equal pull in the other direction, he simply puts looking after the body in its proper place - important, but not as important as godliness.
From chapter 6 we can also see that chasing wealth and riches were yet another vice to add to the melting pot of Ephesus. This does fit quite well with the previously identified issues of pleasure-seeking etc, and once again applies quite sharply to the 'American-Dream' western mind-set.
1 Tim:6:6-10
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
Understanding the context and culture to which this was written suddenly gives this scripture a fresh edge and deeper impact. Life and contentment are found in having food and clothing, dressing and living modestly, looking after one another and our families, enjoying the pleasures of life as long as they do not contradict our prayerful reading of the scriptures, not gossipping but investing our energies in our households, and definitely in respecting, acknowledging and accepting our God-ordained roles as men and women, and not trying to dominate or control one another.
My previous blogs on this subject focussed on verses 11-14 of 1 Timothy 2. I will now expand on this passage to look first at the verses which immediately follow and precede this passage.
1 Timothy 2:7-15
For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument;
also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes,
but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God.
Let a woman learn in silence with full submission.
I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; 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.
Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.
I have highlighted the opening and concluding of two themes within this passage, modesty and propriety in yellow, and gender in green. I find it very interesting that these statements are opened with 'women should dress modestly', and closed with 'she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty'.
The New Woman
The 'new woman' was a sub-culture among women which was growing up in Ephesus, where women were wearing increasingly scanty and revealing outfits, and were essentially making their bodies and appearances their gods. Modesty was a long way from being a priority. They would have their hair piled high with braids and weavings, which were a sign of extravagance. Paul opens the gender discussion in verse 8 with 'I desire, then that men should pray...without anger or argument', so he begins with some directions for men - to worship together without tension and strife. He then moves on to women in verse 9 'also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes'. There are writers who believe that he is writing this to combat the 'new woman' movement, which interestingly enough has some very poignant parallels today.
The old order which the 'new woman' was trying to overtake, had some different rules. Women who were married would not beautify themselves overly, so as to dissuade potential suitors. They would dress modestly and normally, and focus on being a mother and on childbearing. Verse 15 says 'she will be saved through childbearing'. Now what is the connection with childbearing and all the preceding verses? One of the worst things about the New Woman was the worshipping of their own bodies. Pregnancy was seen to damage the shape and beauty of their bodies, and so they were aborting their babies. This verse, under that context is clearly anti-abortion.
Combine the knowledge of the New Woman movement, with the Cult of Artemis and Female-Worship which was prevalent, and you can paint a picture of the women in the Ephesian church who were having a mini-revolution of feminism. The women would dominate, and felt they should be the ones in control of the church, because they were the ones in control of the Cult of Artemis. They were setting themselves up as false gods - they had to be as beautiful as they could be at all times, would dress in gold and pearls, wearing as little as possible, with extravagantly braided hair, and would even abort their babies to maintain their bodily beauty. The phrase 'she will be saved through childbearing...' contains an implied impression that those who decide not to bear their child (abortion) will not be saved. As a father of a young baby, I find that verse quite just and right. Those women who set themselves up as objects of worship are walking a dangerous path which leads to destruction. I wonder how many Hollywood stars have decided to have abortions to keep their bodies? This problem is just as prevalent today as back then.
Potential Paraphrase and Progression of Theme verse by verse
7 - Paul is a qualified teacher and apostle for the gentiles
8 - Men need to worship together without fighting amongst themselves
9 - New Women need to stop dressing seductively
10 - They should instead clothe themselves with good works
11 - New Women are not entitled to dominate or shout down the men in the church
12 - New Women are not entitled to lead the church or to be it's teachers, as they are in the Cult of Artemis
13 - Artemis elevates women above men, but God does not - Adam comes before Eve in Christianity
14 - Womankind are responsible for starting the downfall of the human race
15 - Yet as long as they dont abort their children, they have the same chance to be saved as men - through faith, love and holiness - with modesty overarching all of it.
Potential Paraphrase and Progression of Theme as a paragraph
I Paul am a qualified teacher and apostle for the gentiles. The men among you need to worship together without fighting amongst themselves. Women must to stop dressing extravagantly and seductively, they should instead clothe themselves with good works. The women among you are not entitled to dominate or shout down the men in the church, to lead the church or to be it's teachers, as they are in the Cult of Artemis. Artemis elevates women above men, but God does not - Adam comes before Eve in Christianity; infact Womankind are responsible for starting the downfall of the human race. They are still blessed with the same chance to be saved as men - through faith, love and holiness - with modesty overarching all of it, as long as they don't abort their babies.
Hopefully it goes without saying that the above paraphrases are simply my own possible ideas, and are not replacements for the scriptures themselves, they are just intended to be applying the possible context to the text.
1 Timothy And It's Theme
In my previous blog on women in ministry I argued that the prohibitions which Paul makes against women in the church overseer position is not a cultural prohibition limited to first century AD, but a timeless one. As I have studied 1 Timothy more widely, I have found that the theme of gender permeates the entire book. Many of these teachings (the non-controversial ones) are widely accepted as being timeless, which suggests the possibility that the controversial ones might be timeless also.
1 Tim 2:7-15 - teaching about the rightful place of women within the church, and rejection of the 'New Woman'
1 Tim 3:1-13 - teaching about men as bishops/overseers, and men and women as deacons
1 Tim 4:3 - do not forbid marriage
1 Tim 5:1-2 - propriety in relationships and the hierarchy of God's family
1 Tim 5:3-16 - teaching concerning single women and widows
It seems fairly plain to me that gender issues, and probably issues concerning the Ephesian Women were one of the things most pressing to Paul as he wrote this letter. Look at some of these quotes, and how strong a theme of concern they bring to the book:-
'women should dress themselves modestly'
'women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate'
'have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives tales' (a reference to Artemis?)
'speak to...older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters-with absolute purity'
'the widow who lives for pleaseure is dead even while she lives'
'younger widows... learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house; and they are not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say.'
There are also many teaching all throughout the book which apply to both men and women, but I find it fascinating how many references there are to women specifically.
The book feels like it is being written to a culture which idolizes extravagance and indulgence, which is constantly chasing scandal and pleasure. While Paul is quite stong against any form of seduction and sensuality outside of marriage, he still re-affirms marriage, talking about the 'hypocrisy of liars who... forbid marriage', and 'I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their housefolds'.
He clearly doesnt just say 'don't do', he says 'do this instead'.
There are some interesting phrases to set against his strong prohibitions of extravagance and indulgence.
6:17 states 'God... richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment'
4:4-5 states 'everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God's word and by prayer'
He is clearly not saying pleasure and enjoyment are bad things, but that we should be enjoying only those things which we know are not sinful (and we know by checking the scriptures prayerfully - 4:5). He also says that although we should not make our bodies our gods, at the same time we should not go to the other extreme and not take care of them - 4:8 'for, while physical training in of some value, godliness is valuable in every way'. He doesn't react to the unbalanced teaching with an equal pull in the other direction, he simply puts looking after the body in its proper place - important, but not as important as godliness.
From chapter 6 we can also see that chasing wealth and riches were yet another vice to add to the melting pot of Ephesus. This does fit quite well with the previously identified issues of pleasure-seeking etc, and once again applies quite sharply to the 'American-Dream' western mind-set.
1 Tim:6:6-10
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
Understanding the context and culture to which this was written suddenly gives this scripture a fresh edge and deeper impact. Life and contentment are found in having food and clothing, dressing and living modestly, looking after one another and our families, enjoying the pleasures of life as long as they do not contradict our prayerful reading of the scriptures, not gossipping but investing our energies in our households, and definitely in respecting, acknowledging and accepting our God-ordained roles as men and women, and not trying to dominate or control one another.
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