Post by TheFirebrand on Mar 1, 2012 11:59:02 GMT -6
1 Samuel 15:23 "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king."
There are many objections to this rejection of women in ministry. Of course there would be. Satan loves to incite rebellious behavior. A common one is that Paul restricts women from teaching because in the first century, women were typically uneducated. However, *1st Timothy 2:11-14* nowhere mentions educational status. If education were a qualification for ministry, the majority of Jesus' disciples would not have been qualified. Also God never changes. so for people and society to change has no bearing on His Word. A second argument is that Paul only restricted the women of Ephesus from teaching (1 Timothy was written to Timothy, who was the pastor of the church in Ephesus). The city of Ephesus was known for its temple to Artemis, a false Greek/Roman goddess. Women were the authority in the worship of Artemis. However, the book of 1st Timothy nowhere mentions Artemis, nor does Paul mention Artemis worship as a reason for the restrictions in *1 Timothy 2:11-12.* It is basically a general rule for all churches ...
Yet another frequent objection to this interpretation of women in ministry is in relation to women who held positions of leadership in the Bible, specifically Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament. This objection fails to note some significant factors. First, Deborah was the only female judge among 13 male judges. Huldah was the only female prophet among dozens of male prophets mentioned in the Bible. Miriam's only connection to leadership was being the sister of Moses and Aaron. The two most prominent women in the times of the Kings were Athaliah and Jezebel—hardly examples of godly female leadership. Not to mention that these positions of authority were either taken by witchery or simply given to them by unlearned men.
Most significantly, though, the authority of women in the Old Testament is not relevant to the issue. The book of 1st Timothy and the other letters present a new paradigm for the church, the body of Christ, and that paradigm involves the authority structure for the church, not for the nation of Israel or any other Old Testament entity.
Similar arguments are made using Priscilla and Phoebe in the New Testament. In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila are presented as faithful ministers for Christ. Priscilla's name is mentioned first, perhaps indicating that she was more “prominent” in ministry than her husband. However, Priscilla is nowhere described as participating in a ministry activity that is in contradiction to *1st Timothy 2:11-14.* Priscilla and Aquila brought Apollos into their home and they both discipled him, explaining the Word of God to him more accurately (Acts 18:26) Which is something that is encouraged in Scripture to do and we have become very lacking in that ...
Furthermore, if there are women in your church telling men that they need to keep coming, they are essentially asserting authority over them, and I see this happening in many churches. I see those same churches being run by women, programs controlled by women, and I see women leading song worship which gives them a spiritual authority, talking to each other in the back pews during service and speaking out during the preaching ...
Whats worse is the men and the ministry both tolerates and allows this to continue and grow. They have been bewitched and there is a spell of rebellion over that church ...
There are many objections to this rejection of women in ministry. Of course there would be. Satan loves to incite rebellious behavior. A common one is that Paul restricts women from teaching because in the first century, women were typically uneducated. However, *1st Timothy 2:11-14* nowhere mentions educational status. If education were a qualification for ministry, the majority of Jesus' disciples would not have been qualified. Also God never changes. so for people and society to change has no bearing on His Word. A second argument is that Paul only restricted the women of Ephesus from teaching (1 Timothy was written to Timothy, who was the pastor of the church in Ephesus). The city of Ephesus was known for its temple to Artemis, a false Greek/Roman goddess. Women were the authority in the worship of Artemis. However, the book of 1st Timothy nowhere mentions Artemis, nor does Paul mention Artemis worship as a reason for the restrictions in *1 Timothy 2:11-12.* It is basically a general rule for all churches ...
Yet another frequent objection to this interpretation of women in ministry is in relation to women who held positions of leadership in the Bible, specifically Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament. This objection fails to note some significant factors. First, Deborah was the only female judge among 13 male judges. Huldah was the only female prophet among dozens of male prophets mentioned in the Bible. Miriam's only connection to leadership was being the sister of Moses and Aaron. The two most prominent women in the times of the Kings were Athaliah and Jezebel—hardly examples of godly female leadership. Not to mention that these positions of authority were either taken by witchery or simply given to them by unlearned men.
Most significantly, though, the authority of women in the Old Testament is not relevant to the issue. The book of 1st Timothy and the other letters present a new paradigm for the church, the body of Christ, and that paradigm involves the authority structure for the church, not for the nation of Israel or any other Old Testament entity.
Similar arguments are made using Priscilla and Phoebe in the New Testament. In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila are presented as faithful ministers for Christ. Priscilla's name is mentioned first, perhaps indicating that she was more “prominent” in ministry than her husband. However, Priscilla is nowhere described as participating in a ministry activity that is in contradiction to *1st Timothy 2:11-14.* Priscilla and Aquila brought Apollos into their home and they both discipled him, explaining the Word of God to him more accurately (Acts 18:26) Which is something that is encouraged in Scripture to do and we have become very lacking in that ...
Furthermore, if there are women in your church telling men that they need to keep coming, they are essentially asserting authority over them, and I see this happening in many churches. I see those same churches being run by women, programs controlled by women, and I see women leading song worship which gives them a spiritual authority, talking to each other in the back pews during service and speaking out during the preaching ...
Whats worse is the men and the ministry both tolerates and allows this to continue and grow. They have been bewitched and there is a spell of rebellion over that church ...