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Words of a Fether

I am the way, the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father except through me. ~Jesus

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Christian Women

Main Lesson List  > Christian Living  > Christian Women

Introduction

When the question is raised about the role of women in the Christian faith, it already assumes that all women are fundamentally, intrinsically, and spiritually restricted in some way, and the only real question is not whether but how much. This is based on cherry-picked scripture at best, and social presumption above all. What we need to do instead is to objectively study all scriptural depictions of women in context, which must include how God deals with people in general.

God’s ways are not our ways

The practice of reading later culture and traditions into past writings is called an anachronistic fallacy. One example is when the Early Modern English word science, which only meant general knowledge at the time, is interpreted with the modern meaning of a specific subset of knowlege involving experimentation. This is a huge problem in Bible interpretation (hermeneutics), especially in the early chapters of Genesis (covered in other lessons here, especially chapter 3).

What God originally created was very good, but sin brought lasting corruption. Before sin there was no hierarchy between Adam and Eve, and the hierarchy that followed sin was not God’s command but rather his prediction of the result of Eve’s choice to follow the man rather than God. The long path from fall to redemption would require divine intervention at times, beginning with the Great Flood. Only then do we see God institute rudimentary human government, whose purpose was to slow the spread of sin and encourage people to seek him out (see Acts 17:26-27).

The rest of the Bible shows that whenever God does intervene, he goes against social norms (ref. 1 Cor. 1:27-29): the second- or last-born over the first, the lowly over the prominent, the weak over the strong. On the other hand, God doesn’t suddenly and drastically disrupt human society and its cultural traditions. The laws God gave to Israel through Moses set boundaries to ensure the humane treatment of slaves, women, children, and foreigners, yet this hardly means God endorsed slavery (1 Cor. 7:21), fleshly privilege (Gal. 3:28), or abuse/neglect (Ex. 22:27, Eph. 4:32).

God does not change, which we need to remember when we read passages such as 1 Sam. 16:7 or Acts 10:34. Jesus taught and showed by example how his followers must regard each other. In Mat. 20:24-28, Mark 10:45, Luke 9:46-48, Luke 22:24-27, John 13:3-8, Eph. 5:21, and Phil. 2:5-11, we see that the attitude and character of every follower of Jesus (especially those who influence or lead others) should be humble service rather than a jealous grasping for power or authority.

Knowing all this, how can any follower of Jesus desire, claim, or exercise the very lording over scripture so clearly denounces? Whether it’s done by pastors or patriarchalists, it violates the clear, overarching principles of how we are to view and treat each other. We must bend our ways to God’s ways, not upend God’s ways to fit our ways. Our flesh is irrelevant in the Body of Christ, and none of us has authority to wield over others. So no passage of scripture can possibly say the opposite or excuse it in some situations. Rather, the appearance of some passages to contradict the clear teachings are due to our own prejudices or misunderstandings. If any interpretation causes us to restrict fellow believers for any other reason than living in sin or teaching division (of which flesh-based entitlement is one example), it is false by definition. Hence the debate over whether women can exercise authority is dissolved in light of the fact that no one but Jesus and the Apostles in scripture has spiritual authority or entitlement.

Women in the Old Testament

Consider how godly women are presented in the pages of the Old Testament beginning with Eve. While God said because of you and what you did to Adam and the serpent, no such words were spoken to Eve, who was the victim of deception. God actually blessed her by promising the Savior through her seed alone. Other notable women include:

None of these women are presented in scripture as God’s last resort, or a punishment or shame for disobedience on the part of men (see next paragraph). None are reprimanded for stepping outside of social norms. None have credit for their achievements given to their fathers or husbands. All are presented as noble role models; this is the only role scripture gives them.

The one, and only one, passage that allegedly speaks of the shame of women as leaders is Isaiah 3:12. The Hebrew (Masoretic) text is translated as Youths oppress my people, women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.. The intentional error of this rendering was exposed long ago by scholar Dr. Katharine Bushnell, but her work has largely been ignored. Here is her examination of the issue (lessons 621 and 622):

621. I think we find another case of prejudiced translation in Isaiah 3:12. The word translated children in this verse in Isaiah, is a plural masculine participle of the verb to glean, abuse, practice. It is translated glean in Leviticus 19:10, Deuteronomy 24:21, Judges 20:45, and Jeremiah 6:9. The word has no translation such as children anywhere else in the Bible, and it occurs 21 times. Another word altogether is used for children, and child, in verses 4 and 5 of this same chapter; the sense seems to have been fixed by the supposed context, to correspond with women.

As to the word translated women: Two words, without the rabbinical vowel points, are exactly alike. One is pronounced nosh-im and the other na-shim. In appearance the only difference is a slight mark under the first letter of the Hebrew word na-shim. The first word means exactors; the one with a vowel mark under the initial letter means women. The entire decision, therefore, as to whether the word means one or the other depends upon OPTION. Those who pointed the word, evidently thought the nation could sink no lower than to pass under women rulers, and then translated the word children to match it. Commentators frequently call attention to the alternate reading. See Adam Clarke on the passage. The Septuagint translates: As for my people, tax-gatherers (praktores) glean them, and exactors (apaitountes) rule over them.

622. There seems little in the context to support the translation children and women. But study the context as regards the other reading. After complaining of the gleaners, (that is, tax-gatherers) and extortioners, they are threatened in the following language: The Lord standeth up to plead and standeth up to judge the people. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people, and the princes (rulers, masculine, not feminine gender) thereof for ye have eaten up the vineyard (the conduct of extortionate tax-gatherers), and the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye crush (R. V.) my people, and grind the faces of the poor? Because of this context, we believe that OPTION took the wrong turn when it decided to translate this verse as it stands in our English version; and that this translation would have had a strong showing up of its sophistries, had educated women been on the last Revision Committee. (emphasis mine)

Women in the New Testament

Since it has been established that scripture does not present God as the one shaming or placing restrictions on women, then who would believe that this same God would command or even imply that women followers of Jesus should be more restricted or shamed than their Old Testament sisters? Or that God would begin to show favoritism, or break his long-standing habit of going against social norms, which as the next section will show, have been overwhelmingly patriarchal throughout history? There is no flesh-based entitlement, no exception, no fine print under Jesus’ command, Not so with you; whoever would be the greatest must be the least. Look at some notable women as the New Testament presents them:

In all of Jesus’ interactions with women, not once did he shun or shame them, or treat them as inferior. Not even the Apostle Paul, formerly a top Pharisee, disparaged women; in fact, he praised quite a few as co-workers, leaders, even apostles. Are we to believe, as some teach, that both Jesus and Paul contradicted themselves by also ordering that women treat their husbands as they would the Lord, that women must not utter a word in a worship service (while also saying how they can prophesy!), that women cannot be apostles, ministers, teachers, or leaders of any sort? Do we see any hint in scriptre that women lack the ability, permission, or gifting to serve as fully equal members of the Body of Christ, or as spouses? The scriptural answer is a resounding no.

Women in secular history

Just looking at one topic, science, we see in this article how women have often been snubbed, marginalized, dismissed, and outright robbed of the credit due them for their accomplishments:

Space does not permit the listing of all the women on this and other topics who have been denied justice solely because they were women, not the common competition of rivals. This hardly means that men never suffer injustice; rather, it means that women have suffered additional injustice for no other reason than their flesh.

Conclusion

Even with the worst possible interpretations of scripture, the Bible treats women far better than secular or religious communities have done. The Christian community needs to reject gender roles for Christian roles, flesh-based permission for spiritual gifting, and chains of command for mutual service. The truly humble don’t fight for the last place in line or forbid others to join them there. Authority to teach or preach never lies with the speaker but with the indwelling Holy Spirit, who does not dispense gifts in pink and blue (i.e. by the flesh). This renders moot the entire question of Christian women’s permission.

Let us stop hobbling the Body of Christ, and start treating all fellow believers as equals, with humility and compassion. Only the proud are afraid of equality, and such pride harms the Christian community and our witness to the world. Remember what Jesus warned in Mat. 19:30 and Mark 10:31: But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.