Cheryl Schatz

sm,
You are correct in your understanding of what I was saying.

The problem seems to be a miscommunication from what I am saying and Mike is hearing. I say “teaching” and he hears “authority”. He is trying to put words into my mouth that I have not said or even thought. The hierarchist seems to operate only on an authority/submission mindset and cannot seem to think outside that box. That means that Mike has to interpret my words within his own mindset. But the “mindset” of scripture is not one of authority but of submitting to service. That means that the one who is to be the greatest is to be the servant of all. “Servant” and “authority” do not go together. A servants position is not “taking authority” over the sheep. It is a position of offering one’s service with humility and love for God. When I teach I do not “take authority” over anyone. I give them my wisdom and they are then required by the scriptures to evaluate what I have taught by the scriptures. This means that the scripture is the ultimate authority, not the teacher since the teacher is to be subject to the Word.

I have had much experience since the late 1980’s of successfully helping Jehovah’s Witnesses find freedom in Christ. To do this I had to understand what their words meant (they can use the same terms but the meaning is different) and then speak in a way that they can understand. I used their own language to expose the scriptural errors and teach the truth. I admit that I have not yet completely figured out how to communicate with a hierarchist to stop him from twisting my language and placing it in his own understanding.

Perhaps what I need to keep remembering to say is what I am NOT saying. i.e. I am NOT saying that teaching means a woman holds an authority over anyone. A woman teaching another woman is NOT taking authority over her because the student is to evaluate the teacher by scripture, therefore the teacher is not the FINAL authority.

Perhaps we need to ask the hierarchist to define authority. What authority does a teacher take over his/her student? If giving out information makes one in authority over another person, then look out because a woman cannot give directions to a man who is lost. A clerk cannot answer a male customer’s questions. Don’t call the telephone company because the woman who is answering questions about your bill might be in authority over you? It just seems like hierarchists live and breath authority. It all goes back to Adam. God gave Adam and Eve rule over the world and after sin entered the world Adam’s lust for authority was turned towards ruling people instead of the world.

That’s my two cents 😉