Marg Mowczko

Kristen:
I believe that the reason Paul mentions Adam and Eve in the way he does, is because he is addressing a gnostic heresy that was being taught by the woman being discussed in this blog post.

Gnostics loved to reintepret Bible narratives. In many gnostic writings Eve came first, and even created Adam; and Adam was the one deceived. (In some writings the serpent is viewed as a heroic figure.) Gnostics also loved to combine Biblical accounts with pagan beliefs.

Gnosticism would become a huge threat to the Christian chuch in the second and third centuries, but it is clear from some of Paul’s references in 1 Timothy 2:12f and elsewhere that an early form of Gnosticism was already being introduced into the church.

Paul corrects the gnostic heresy by saying that it is Adam who was created first, and then Eve, and it was not Adam who was deceived. Moreover the woman would be be kept safe through childbirth if she continues in faith, love, etc . . . [rather than by putting her faith in Artemis, the goddess of fertility and the ubiquitous deity of Ephesus.]

I have written about 1 Timothy 2 in the context of the Ephesian culture. http://newlife.id.au/tag/1-timothy-212/