Cheryl Schatz

Hi Craig,
Thanks for your good questions. Here is the meaning of the Greek present tense:

present — The verb tense where the writer portrays an action in process or a state of being with no assessment of the action’s completion.
Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology.

The only way that one can get a temporary meaning from the present tense is if the context limits the continuing action since the verb tense itself does not determine that there is an end in sight. There doesn’t seem to be an end to the prohibition regarding authentein and no Christian is ever given the right to authentein another person.

There is a limitation implied by verse 15 but the solution is not a lifting of a ban on a Christian woman, but a resolution that will bring the woman to salvation. This implies that the prohibition is toward an unsaved person even if they think themselves as a Christian. If the authentein is something that an unsaved person is doing spiritually, then the problem should be solved once she is saved and has come out of her deception, since authentein is not a work or a condition of a truly saved person. The issue of not teaching would be resolved when the deception is gone.

So the issue is not just about time, i.e. what she cannot do now, she can do later. The issue is about deception and salvation. Once saved the spiritual issues are dealt with and the positive side of teaching should not be an issue once she is solidly in the truth.

So, no, I do not agree that once the woman is no longer deceived that she will be allowed to authentein the man. I have personally not seen any positive rending of authentein and so I believe this to be a solidly negative term, something that allowed for anyone.

Does this help or have I missed addressing part of your question?