TL

What Mike is doing is what I call helicopter theology or cut and paste. He is not reading Scripture in context or according to how it was written. He is lifting out these 8 Greek words and allowing them to mean whatever fits his thinking.

But if we read in context following the flow of context of the author, we have to acknowledge first the whole thought in that instance which was that Timothy was to let the woman learn. Then we need to back up into chapter one and see that Paul was concerned about those who were trying to teach, but really didn’t know the Scriptures. They were involved in fables, endless geneologies, and debates instead of loving from a pure heart. They were likely legalists since Paul reprimanded them about the law being for sinners if used rightly. (which should give pause in this subject). He then goes on to admonish all to pray instead of fighting – inferred by lifting the hands without wrath)

And so on……

We also need to take into consideration the fact that within a very short time of this epistle Paul has said that women should consider whether to pray and prophesy (prophesy was also considered to include teaching – not mystical speaking only as we do today) with their head covered or not. He also praised Prisca for her teaching, Phoebe for her leading, and other women for their leadership.

To think that Paul flip flopped back and forth on the subject is sloppy thinking IMO.

Also, we have to take into consideration the whole of Scripture. The whole of Scripture has Deborah teaching the Torah in the course of her administration of Judge over Israel, of which she was appointed by God. God does not flip flop back and forth over whether or not He will use women in speaking forth His Word.

There is so much more to show that it simply is not feasible to think that Paul could possibly set down a new law that women cannot teach men or exercise authority over them. And then the really crazy part is when people interpret an order of creation (Adam was created before Eve) to mean men can teach/lead and women cannot. LOL besides being absolutely contrary to how God does things, to believe that, means that for 4000 years God forgot that’s what He meant by creating the male first and went ahead and used women to teach and lead. ?????

All one has to do is to learn to read Scripture in context instead of helicoptering verses and pieces of verses out of their flow of thought and out of their relationship to the whole scheme of things.

🙂