Paul of Tarsus and women
Encyclopedia
The relationship between Paul the Apostle and women is an important element in the theological debate about Christianity and women because Paul
was the first writer to give ecclesiastical directives about the role of women in the Church. However, there are arguments that some of these writings are post-Pauline interpolations
.
, and his casual greetings to acquaintances offer fascinating and solid information about many Jewish and Gentile
women who were prominent in the movement. His letters provide vivid clues about the kind of activities in which women engaged more generally.
According to Karen King, these biblical reports seem to provide credible evidence of women apostles active in the earliest work of spreading the Christian gospel.
church, women were important members of the movement. As time went on, groups of Christians organized within the homes of believers. Those who could offer their home for meetings were considered important within the movement and assumed leadership roles. The New Testament Gospels acknowledge that women were among Jesus' earliest followers.
Jewish women disciples
, including Mary Magdalene
, Joanna, and Susanna
, had accompanied Jesus during his ministry and supported him out of their private means. Although the details of these gospel stories may be questioned, in general they reflect the prominent historical roles women played in Jesus' ministry as disciples. There were women disciples at the foot of the cross. Women were reported to be the first witnesses to the resurrection
, chief among them again Mary Magdalene. She was not only "witness," but also called a "messenger" of the risen Christ. The apostles had little respect for her witness and that of the other women, saying they "seemed as idle tales."
Lastly, Paul wrote that there is "neither male nor female" because Jesus Christ unites us.
and Complementarians agree that the Apostle Paul wrote that the "husband is head…" and "wives, submit…," and that he was divinely inspired to write what he wrote, but the two groups diverge in their interpretation of this passage.
Christian Egalitarians believe that full partnership in an equal marriage is the most biblical view. As persons, husband and wife are of equal value. There is no priority of one spouse over the other. In truth, they are one. Bible scholar Frank Stagg and Classicist Evelyn Stagg
write that husband-wife equality produces the most intimate, wholesome and mutually fulfilling marriages. They conclude that the Apostle Paul's statement sometimes called the "Magna Carta of Humanity" and recorded in applies to all Christian relationships, including Christian marriage: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Christian egalitarian theologians also find it significant that the "two becoming one" concept, first cited in , was quoted by Jesus in his teachings on marriage. In those passages he reemphasized the concept by adding to the Genesis passage these words: "So, they are no longer two, but one" (NIV). The Apostle Paul cited the Genesis 2:24 passage.
A New Testament passage that has long been interpreted to require a male priority in marriage are these verses: "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord," and "the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church…." Both Christian Egalitarians
and Complementarians agree that the Apostle Paul wrote that the "husband is head…" and "wives, submit…," and that he was divinely inspired to write what he wrote, but the two groups diverge in their interpretation of this passage.
Much has been written concerning the meaning of "head" in the New Testament
. The word used for "head," transliterated from Greek, is kephalē—which means the anatomical head of a body. Today's English word "cephalic" (sə-făl'ĭk) means "Of or relating to the head; or located on, in, or near the head." In the New Testament, a thorough concordance search shows that the second most frequent use of "head" (kephalē), after "the structure that connects to our neck and sits atop our bodies," is the metaphorical sense of "source."
The Complementarian (also known as Traditionalist or Hierarchical) view of marriage maintains that male leadership is biblically required in marriage. Complementarians generally believe that the husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image, but that husbands and wives have different functions and responsibilities in marriage. According to this view, the husband has the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect, and lead his family. Wives are expected to respect their husbands' authority and submit to it. However, some Complementarian authors caution that a wife's submission should never cause her to "follow her husband into sin."
Plagued by the concept of 'Status Inconsistency' where people in Roman society were judge by two sets of criteria. The first consisted of education, skill, power, intelligence and wealth. These factors could be outweighed by the social categories such as origin, birth, language, legal rank, social desirability, occupation, age and gender. When these categories collided, it created Status inconsistency/Dissonance, when one's achieved status is greater than the status attributed. The earliest Christian movement, most notably Paul’s movement was very attractive for wealthy women and widows. They often opened their houses for worship by particular religious movements or practices, such as Oriental cults. In the 1st century a woman's place was in the home and the otherwise private areas of life. By turning the private domestic setting into the public religious setting, opened up opportunities for religious leadership. Pauline Christianity did not honour its rich patron, instead it worked within a 'motif of reciprocity' by offering leadership roles, dignity and status in return for patronage. Through building up their own house church, women could experience relative authority, social status and political power and renewed dignity within Paul's movement. This concept is reflected in Paul's relationship with Phoebe, Chloe and Rufus's mother.
, O.P., in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, agrees that the verses not favorable to women were "post-Pauline interpolations":
Both man and woman are human beings to an equal degree, both are created in God’s image. However, he does not permit women to be ordained into the priesthood.
went with the majority of the middle class
in opposing the trend toward equality for women. By the year 200, the majority of Christian communities endorsed as canonical the "pseudo-Pauline" letter to Timothy. That letter, according to Pagels, stresses and exaggerates the antifeminist
element in Paul's views: "Let a woman learn in silence in all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or have authority over men; she is to keep silent." She believes the letters to the Colossians and to the Ephesians, which order women to "be subject in everything to their husbands," do not express what she says were Paul's very favorable attitudes toward women, but also were "pseudo-Pauline" forgeries
.
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
was the first writer to give ecclesiastical directives about the role of women in the Church. However, there are arguments that some of these writings are post-Pauline interpolations
Pauline Christianity
Pauline Christianity is a term used to refer to the Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul of Tarsus through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of...
.
Evidence
By the time Paul began his missionary movement, women were important agents within the different cities. The letters of Paul, dated to the middle of the first century CEChristianity in the 1st century
The earliest followers of Jesus composed an apocalyptic, Jewish sect, which historians refer to as Jewish Christianity. The Apostles and others following the Great Commission's decree to spread the teachings of Jesus to "all nations," had great success spreading the religion to gentiles. Peter,...
, and his casual greetings to acquaintances offer fascinating and solid information about many Jewish and Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
women who were prominent in the movement. His letters provide vivid clues about the kind of activities in which women engaged more generally.
- He greets Prisca, JuniaJuniaJunia or Junias was a 1st century Christian highly regarded and complimented by the apostle Paul: Paul describes Junia as kinsmen, fellow prisoners, and as being "in Christ" before Paul's dramatic Damascus road conversion...
, JuliaJuliaJulia is usually a woman's given name or a surname. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julius. Julius was a Roman family, derived from a founder Julus, the son of Aeneas and Creusa in Roman mythology, although the name's etymology may possibly derive from Greek "downy-[haired,...
, and NereusNereusIn Greek mythology, Nereus was the eldest son of Pontus and Gaia , a Titan who with Doris fathered the Nereids, with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea. In the Iliad the Old Man of the Sea is the father of Nereids, though Nereus is not directly named...
' sister, who worked and traveled as missionaries in pairs with their husbands or brothers. He also sends elaborate greetings to TryphenaTryphena of RomeTryphena of Rome is a Christian woman mentioned in Romans 16:12 of the Bible According to Wiktionary, the name 'Tryphena' is of Greek origin meaning 'dainty' or delicate' although Strong's Concordance derives the name from the Greek truphe, meaning 'luxurious'.The name is rarely given now but had...
, Tryphosa, who "labour for the Lord's work", and to Rufus' mother.
- Priscilla or Prisca is mentioned seven times in the Bible, as a missionary partner with the Apostle Paul and the wife of Aquila. Of the seven times Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned as a couple, her name appears before Aquila's five times.
- According to Bart Ehrman, Paul praises JuniaJuniaJunia or Junias was a 1st century Christian highly regarded and complimented by the apostle Paul: Paul describes Junia as kinsmen, fellow prisoners, and as being "in Christ" before Paul's dramatic Damascus road conversion...
as a prominent apostle who had been imprisoned for her labor. Junia is “the only female apostle named in the New Testament”. Ian Elmer states that Junia and AndronicusAndronicus of PannoniaAndronicus of Pannonia was a 1st century Christian mentioned by the Apostle Paul: According to that verse, Andronicus was a kinsman of Paul and a fellow prisoner at some time, particularly well-known among the apostles, and had become a follower of Jesus Christ before Paul's Damascus road conversion...
are the only "apostles" associated with Rome that were greeted by Paul in his letter to the Romans. Steven Finlan says Paul greets this couple as "kinspersons and fellow prisoners" and says that "they are outstanding amongst the apostles." According to Ian Elmer, the fact that Andronicus and Junia are named as apostles suggests a priori that they were evangelists and church-planters like Paul.
- Phebe or Phoebe. Paul attaches to her three titles: diakonos meaning a deacon (lit. "servant"), sister, and prostatis meaning "a woman in a supportive role, patron, benefactor". There is no difference when the title of deacon is used for Phoebe and Timothy. Diakonos (Gk.) is grammatically a masculine word, the same word that Paul uses in regards to his own ministry. Phoebe is the only woman to be named 'deacon'. discusses the criteria for Deacons in the early Church which is explicitly directed to both male and females. Phoebe was especially influential in the early Church seen in Jerusalem from the 4th century inscription: "Here lies the slave and bride of Christ, Sophia, deacon, the second Phoebe, who fell asleep in Christ." Women flourished in the deaconate between the 2nd and 6th centuries. The position required pastoral care to women, instructing female candidates and anoint them at Baptism. They were also required to be present whenever a female would address a bishop. In Romans Phoebe is seen as acting as Paul's envoy. Phoebe is named as a Patron of Paul, meaning that she would have been financially contributing to Paul's mission.
- Mary and Persis are commended for their hard work.
- Chloe, a prominent woman of CorinthCorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, appears to be the head of a household of an extended family. She and her household told Paul of the divisions in the congregation of Corinth.
- Euodia and Syntyche are called his fellow-workers in the gospel.
According to Karen King, these biblical reports seem to provide credible evidence of women apostles active in the earliest work of spreading the Christian gospel.
Cooperation with female disciples
From the beginning of the Early ChristianEarly Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
church, women were important members of the movement. As time went on, groups of Christians organized within the homes of believers. Those who could offer their home for meetings were considered important within the movement and assumed leadership roles. The New Testament Gospels acknowledge that women were among Jesus' earliest followers.
Jewish women disciples
Disciple (Christianity)
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
, including Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
, Joanna, and Susanna
Susanna (disciple)
Susanna is one of the women associated with the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. She is among the women listed in the Gospel of Luke at the beginning of Chapter 8 as being one of the Myrrhbearers.-See also:*Myrrhbearers...
, had accompanied Jesus during his ministry and supported him out of their private means. Although the details of these gospel stories may be questioned, in general they reflect the prominent historical roles women played in Jesus' ministry as disciples. There were women disciples at the foot of the cross. Women were reported to be the first witnesses to the resurrection
Resurrection appearances of Jesus
The major Resurrection appearances of Jesus in the Canonical gospels are reported to have occurred after his death, burial and resurrection, but prior to his Ascension. Among these primary sources, most scholars believe First Corinthians was written first, authored by Paul of Tarsus along with...
, chief among them again Mary Magdalene. She was not only "witness," but also called a "messenger" of the risen Christ. The apostles had little respect for her witness and that of the other women, saying they "seemed as idle tales."
Lastly, Paul wrote that there is "neither male nor female" because Jesus Christ unites us.
Silence in the church
- "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law saysBiblical law in ChristianityChristian views of the Old Covenant have been central to Christian theology and practice since the circumcision controversy in Early Christianity. There are differing views about the applicability of the Old Covenant among Christian denominations...
. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."
Instructions for Timothy
- "I desire that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting, and the women likewise [or 'in like manner']"
- "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet."
- "[I desire women] to array themselves in a befitted catastola, with reverence and restraint, not with braids, or gold, or pearls, or costly garments. But as becomes women proclaiming godliness, with good deeds."
- "Let a woman learn, quietly, in all subjection [to God]."
- "Now I permit a woman neither to teach nor exercise authority over a man, but let her be in quietness. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived [when he sinned]; but the woman, having [first] been thoroughly deceived, became [involved] in the transgression [of Adam], and she will be saved by the Child-bearing [i.e., the bearing of Jesus Christ], if they abide in faith, and love and sanctification with self-restraint."
Bishops and deacons
- "Here is a trustworthy sayingFaithful sayingThe faithful sayings are sayings in the pastoral epistles of the New Testament. There are five saying with this label, and the Greek phrase is the same in all instances, although the KJV uses a different word in 1 Timothy 3:1. George W...
: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach...."
- "A deaconDeaconDeacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well...."
- "The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint eldersElder (Christianity)An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is a clergy person who usually serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of Word,...
in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient."
Criteria for deacons
- "Deacons likewise must be serious, not double tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serves as deacons. Women likewise must be serious, not slanders, but temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their children and their households well; for those who serve well as deacons gain good standing for themselves and the great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus."
Headship
A New Testament passage that has long been interpreted to require a male priority in marriage are these verses: "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord," and "the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church…." Both Christian EgalitariansChristian Egalitarianism
Christian Egalitarianism , also known as biblical equality, is a Christian form of the moral doctrine of Egalitarianism. It holds that all human persons are created equally in God's sight—equal in fundamental worth and moral status...
and Complementarians agree that the Apostle Paul wrote that the "husband is head…" and "wives, submit…," and that he was divinely inspired to write what he wrote, but the two groups diverge in their interpretation of this passage.
- "But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man."
Christian Egalitarians believe that full partnership in an equal marriage is the most biblical view. As persons, husband and wife are of equal value. There is no priority of one spouse over the other. In truth, they are one. Bible scholar Frank Stagg and Classicist Evelyn Stagg
Evelyn Stagg
Evelyn Stagg, née Evelyn Owen , was a trailblazer for Southern Baptist women in ministry. She was an authority on classical studies, which led to her extensive research on the cultural/historical status and treatment of women in the ancient world, and in the world into which Jesus was born. Married...
write that husband-wife equality produces the most intimate, wholesome and mutually fulfilling marriages. They conclude that the Apostle Paul's statement sometimes called the "Magna Carta of Humanity" and recorded in applies to all Christian relationships, including Christian marriage: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Christian egalitarian theologians also find it significant that the "two becoming one" concept, first cited in , was quoted by Jesus in his teachings on marriage. In those passages he reemphasized the concept by adding to the Genesis passage these words: "So, they are no longer two, but one" (NIV). The Apostle Paul cited the Genesis 2:24 passage.
A New Testament passage that has long been interpreted to require a male priority in marriage are these verses: "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord," and "the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church…." Both Christian Egalitarians
Christian Egalitarianism
Christian Egalitarianism , also known as biblical equality, is a Christian form of the moral doctrine of Egalitarianism. It holds that all human persons are created equally in God's sight—equal in fundamental worth and moral status...
and Complementarians agree that the Apostle Paul wrote that the "husband is head…" and "wives, submit…," and that he was divinely inspired to write what he wrote, but the two groups diverge in their interpretation of this passage.
Much has been written concerning the meaning of "head" in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. The word used for "head," transliterated from Greek, is kephalē—which means the anatomical head of a body. Today's English word "cephalic" (sə-făl'ĭk) means "Of or relating to the head; or located on, in, or near the head." In the New Testament, a thorough concordance search shows that the second most frequent use of "head" (kephalē), after "the structure that connects to our neck and sits atop our bodies," is the metaphorical sense of "source."
The Complementarian (also known as Traditionalist or Hierarchical) view of marriage maintains that male leadership is biblically required in marriage. Complementarians generally believe that the husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image, but that husbands and wives have different functions and responsibilities in marriage. According to this view, the husband has the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect, and lead his family. Wives are expected to respect their husbands' authority and submit to it. However, some Complementarian authors caution that a wife's submission should never cause her to "follow her husband into sin."
- Further reading: Paul FiddesPaul FiddesPaul Stuart Fiddes is a British Baptist theologian. He is Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford and was formerly Principal of Regent's Park College and Chairman of the Theology Faculty...
, "'Woman's head is man': a doctrinal reflection upon a Pauline text", Baptist Quarterly 31.8 (1986), pp. 370–83
Submission to one's husband
- "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, people have never hated their own bodies, but they feed and care for them, just as Christ does the church— or we are members of his body."
- "Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them."
Theory of an egalitarianism
In Paul maintains that "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Given the amount of greetings to women in Romans 16 and the commissioning of Phoebe who is the only person to have been commissioned by Paul, there is a lot of evidence supporting Paul being relatively egalitarian for his time.Plagued by the concept of 'Status Inconsistency' where people in Roman society were judge by two sets of criteria. The first consisted of education, skill, power, intelligence and wealth. These factors could be outweighed by the social categories such as origin, birth, language, legal rank, social desirability, occupation, age and gender. When these categories collided, it created Status inconsistency/Dissonance, when one's achieved status is greater than the status attributed. The earliest Christian movement, most notably Paul’s movement was very attractive for wealthy women and widows. They often opened their houses for worship by particular religious movements or practices, such as Oriental cults. In the 1st century a woman's place was in the home and the otherwise private areas of life. By turning the private domestic setting into the public religious setting, opened up opportunities for religious leadership. Pauline Christianity did not honour its rich patron, instead it worked within a 'motif of reciprocity' by offering leadership roles, dignity and status in return for patronage. Through building up their own house church, women could experience relative authority, social status and political power and renewed dignity within Paul's movement. This concept is reflected in Paul's relationship with Phoebe, Chloe and Rufus's mother.
Post-Pauline interpolations
Father Jerome Murphy-O'ConnorJerome Murphy-O'Connor
Reverend Dr Jerome Murphy-O'Connor O.P., is a Dominican priest, a leading authority on St...
, O.P., in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, agrees that the verses not favorable to women were "post-Pauline interpolations":
Both man and woman are human beings to an equal degree, both are created in God’s image. However, he does not permit women to be ordained into the priesthood.
Belated marginalization of women
Theologian Robert Cramer agrees that the "pseudo-Pauline" epistles were written to marginalize women, especially in the church and in marriage:Second century deference to society
Elaine Pagels maintains that the majority of the Christian churches in the second centuryChristianity in the 2nd century
The 2nd century of Christianity was largely the time of the Apostolic Fathers who were the students of the apostles of Jesus, though there is some overlap as John the Apostle may have survived into the 2nd century and the early Apostolic Father Clement of Rome is said to have died at the end of the...
went with the majority of the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
in opposing the trend toward equality for women. By the year 200, the majority of Christian communities endorsed as canonical the "pseudo-Pauline" letter to Timothy. That letter, according to Pagels, stresses and exaggerates the antifeminist
Antifeminism
Antifeminism is opposition to feminism in some or all of its forms. Modern antifeminists say that the feminist movement has achieved its aims and now seeks higher status for women than for men.-History:...
element in Paul's views: "Let a woman learn in silence in all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or have authority over men; she is to keep silent." She believes the letters to the Colossians and to the Ephesians, which order women to "be subject in everything to their husbands," do not express what she says were Paul's very favorable attitudes toward women, but also were "pseudo-Pauline" forgeries
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
.
Further reading
- Paul FiddesPaul FiddesPaul Stuart Fiddes is a British Baptist theologian. He is Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford and was formerly Principal of Regent's Park College and Chairman of the Theology Faculty...
, '"Woman's head is man": a doctrinal reflection upon a Pauline text', Baptist Quarterly 31.8 (1986), pp. 370–83