Cheryl Schatz

@164 Craig,
You said:

There has been a fair bit of discussion on this blog about how bad Adam was (treachery, rebellion) and how good Eve was (not rebellious, just deceived). This may well be true, but I wonder whether that may not be what Paul is emphasizing here. He seems to be using Adam as a positive example, not a negative one.

My question is, how can Adam be a positive example when he was not deceived, yet his silence left the woman in her deception? Is it possible that we have seen Adam as a positive example because we have seen the passage with a bias towards the male?

He seems to be saying “this deceived woman needs to learn (v11,12), because Adam was formed first (v13)

It isn’t the learning that is because Adam was formed first. Rather the prohibition is because Adam was formed first and was not deceived.

You see, there would not be a need for the prohibition if the one who was not deceived was speaking out and doing something. The fact that the situation is akin to the first non-deception vs deception in the garden is the very reason why Paul is telling Timothy to do something. Adam was silent and the husband in Ephesus is silent.

(and thus learned a lot- seeing God at work in creation, naming the animals etc) and so was not deceived (v14a). This lack of deception is a good thing.

It is a good thing if it is being used to benefit those who need the knowledge. Is it truly a good thing if one sees the enemy coming and says nothing? If one is a watchman on the wall and fails to warn the city, will one get a pat on the back for seeing the enemy? Or does the good (seeing the enemy) become treachery when it is not used to warn the innocent?

The woman needs to learn doctrine just like Adam did so that she won’t be deceived.
Is this the same or different to what you are saying?

She does need to learn doctrine, that is for sure. For correct Biblical doctrine that is held onto and believed will protect one from the enemy. But the problem with the woman at Ephesus is two-fold. She not only needs to learn the truth, but she needs to let go of the error. It is very difficult for one to have one’s eyes opened when one sincerely believes the lie. I know this because my ministry has focused for years on those who have been deceived by the lie in the cults. Those who are caught in the cults do not come out readily or easily. Their deception is firmly ingrained in their soul and they truly believe the lie and will fight like crazy not to have the lie exposed. The fact is that they need help. Rarely do they get out without help. And the woman in Ephesus will not get out without help. If her husband keeps quiet and does not expose her error, she will continue to believe that she has the truth and will trust her husband’s silence. When he speaks out and walks with her to get her help, she is on her way to being freed from the snare of the devil.