Cheryl Schatz

@Holly #110,
You asked,

Given the cultural barring of women from learning or speaking to men in public, why do we assume that women teachers are included within the deceived teachers of 1 Tim 1?

We can assume that at least one woman was among the deceived teachers in 1 Timothy 1 because Paul specifically sets out to stop “a woman” from teaching “a man” in chapter 2. When we understand that nowhere did Paul ever tell Timothy to stop the godly teachers from teaching the truth, we can assume that in the context of deception, that the teaching that was stopped in chapter 2 was deception. Would it seem reasonable that Paul was stopping the teaching of truth? That can’t be because when there were some who were teaching the truth of the gospel but their motives were bad, Paul didn’t stop them from preaching the gospel but rejoiced that the gospel was preached even if through impure motives.

Philippians 1:15–18 (NAS)
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,

If Paul would not stop those who were preaching the gospel in order to hurt him, then why would he stop the preaching of the gospel by a woman? The evidence is clear in Paul’s character and habits that he did not stop the preaching of the truth by anyone. He only stopped error and deception.