Truth really can be stranger than fiction.
First Page - Now launched! All the stories are true, or based on real events. Unlimited reading for $4.99 / month. No downloads. Read on your phone, tablet or computer.
La verdad puede ser más extraña que la ficción.
First Page - ¡Ya está en marcha! Todas las historias son verídicas, o están basadas en hechos reales. Lectura ilimitada por $4.99 / mes. No hay que descargar nada. Lea en su teléfono, tableta u ordenador.
Manna Minutes Podcast: Eye-opening Bible study in less than five minutes! Access all episodes here.
Manna Minutes en español:
Estudio bíblico que nos hace abrir los ojos en menos de cinco minutos! Acceda a todos los episodios aquí.
Manna Minutes Podcast auf Deutsch:
Augenöffnendes Bibelstudium in weniger als fünf Minuten! Alle Episoden finden Sie hier.
Was There A Curse On Helen's Romantic Life?
The Third Man by Angela Sheffield is based on a true story. Read chapter one now!
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¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried
Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.
Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6
Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.
Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6
Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!
I Suffer Not A Woman To Teach: Commentary On 1 Timothy 2:12
Note: If you have not read our article, I Suffer Not a Woman to Teach, in which we prove through Scripture that God Himself has called women to teach in the church, we strongly recommend you do so. This article you are reading deals with why the apostle said such a thing.
If Women Are Permitted To Teach In The Church, Why Does 1 Timothy 2:12 Say, "I Suffer Not A Woman To Teach"?
Excellent question. While the Bible does not say exactly what prompted the apostle to say, "I suffer not a woman to teach", let us consider these facts that we do have:
The passage in 1 Timothy 2:12 that says: "I suffer not a woman to teach" is addressed to Timothy, the pastor of a church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a city in Greece. And Timothy was half Greek. In Acts, chapter 19, we learn that Ephesus was very pagan. The Ephesians worshiped the goddess Diana, also known as Artemis. In fact, the temple of Artemis at Ephesus is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus was steeped in Greek mythology. And Timothy had to minister in the midst of all that paganism. Ministering to the Gentiles was not--and is not--like ministering to the Jews.
The apostle Paul himself lets us know that he had to adapt to the various spiritual needs of people in order to increase the possibility of winning as many as he could to Christ (1 Corinthians 19:22). Notice that his letter to the Hebrews is NOT like his letters to the Gentiles. Although the gospel of Jesus is one and the same message, the letters do not have the same tone, nor do they focus on the same things. And we see that Paul has to teach certain things to the Gentiles that Israel already knew. If we pay close attention, we notice that these "strange" teachings about the conduct of women--especially when they are in the congregation--appear in his letters to the Gentiles...but NOT in his letters to the Jews. There is a reason for this. Notice that in his letter to the Corinthians he says that women are not even allowed to speak. Again, there is a reason why he says this in his letters to Gentiles, but NOT in his letters to Jews.
Greek mythology had crept into the church. There is no doubt about that. In fact, Paul's letter to Timothy implies that this is exactly what was taking place. We read: "...I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies..." (1 Timothy 1:3-4).
We know for certain that the Ephesians were devoted to their Greek gods (Acts, chapter 19). Now then, Greek mythology influenced the status of women. The passages of Acts 17:4 and 17:12 speak of "noble women not a few" (Greek women), and of "Greek women of distinction". It's important to know those women had authority in Greek society...a freedom and authority that Jewish and Hebrew women did not have. It is very logical to conclude that the command of the God of Israel that wives be subject to their husbands did not sit well with those Greek women.
Think about it. Timothy is the pastor of a church in Ephesus, a GREEK city. Of course there had to be many Greek parishioners accustomed to the Greek way of doing things...a way that did not always fit with God's righteousness.
There is no doubt that women were fully permitted to speak in the congregation. Miriam, along with other women, led worship in the congregation (Exodus 15:20-21). And we see women praying in a New Testament congregation (Acts 1:14). In the book of Joel we see that God said He would call women to be prophetesses. ALL prophets and prophetesses are permitted to speak in the congregation (1 Corinthians 14:31). This is our clue that something very wrong is taking place specifically in the Ephesian congregation. "I suffer not a woman to teach" must be applied to that SPECIFIC congregation, NOT to the universal church.
It should also be noted that Paul's first letter to Timothy indicates that Greek mythology had to have crept into the congregation, because AFTER he says, "I suffer not a woman to teach," he says, "nor to usurp authority over the man." (1 Timothy 2:12). Greek women of distinction could "usurp authority" over men. Cleopatra was Greek. And she was a believer in Greek mythology. She "usurped authority" over many of men. Can that be said of any queen of Israel? Definitely not. In Hebrew and Israeli culture, the male has always been the head of the female. And that is in accordance with the will of the God of Israel. But in Greek mythology, other gods enter the scene, who of course bring other doctrines, many of which contradict and oppose the doctrine of Jehovah, the God of Israel. But what most reveals that Greek mythology indeed had crept into the Ephesian congregation is something Paul says in verse 13. He says, "For Adam was formed first, then Eve".
What would have prompted the apostle Paul to say such a thing? Remember, there were people in the congregation in Ephesus who taught other doctrines and fables. This is clearly revealed in 1 Timothy 1:3-4. It is interesting that, according to Greek mythology, the first person was originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. Zeus is said to have divided that first person formed into two separate beings. That's why--according to the myth--people have to spend their lives in search of their better half. Translation: Greek mythology tells that man and woman were created at the SAME time.
Christians and followers of Judaism should find it strange that Paul takes the time to explain that Adam was created first. That is a simple truth that natural AND spiritual Israel already know. But not all Greeks coming out of the paganism of mythology would have known that. After all, would they have had access to the Old Testament scrolls? Even if they did, would they have known Hebrew and Aramaic to be able to read them? There is no doubt that "I suffer not a woman to teach" STRICTLY applies to certain congregations of GENTILES unfamiliar with the ways of the God of Israel.
Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.
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