1 Timothy 2 Part II

"For Adam was first formed, then Eve." 1 Timothy 2: 13 KJV

One has to read all of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 to get the full impact. Women must adorn themselves in modest apparel, learn in silence,and not usurp authority over a man. And why? Because man was made first, and woman was the first to be deceived. And the way to salvation is by having children, but not by having children alone. One also has to continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

To me, reading those verses without biblical context makes it sound like men are naturally level-headed and virtuous, but women are "hysterical", and need to be managed like children. Seen but not heard. What is especially frustrating about these verses is that over the centuries, they have been used to tell women they are less, that in the eyes of God, men come first.

Ironically, Christianity was the feminism of its day, and it's liberal views on women is one of the main reasons the church grew so quickly. Converts from pagan religions in particular, coming from belief systems were women were worshiped as virgins or whores but never treated as equals, wholly embraced the concept of "neither male nor female" in Christ (Galatians 3:28).

I wasn't there. I can't say for sure, but I imagine these liberated women freaked the steeped-in-tradition Jewish converts out much in the same way the "Greek" believers who rejected circumcision rocked the early church. I am not convinced 1 Timothy 2 is an edict for all time about the status and role of women before God, but an attempt to keep the peace in what was a very divided religion.

I do appreciate the concept of keeping the peace, and not causing another to stumble because of my freedom (Romans 14: 13-15).  And yes, I do have freedom, but I try not to force it on anyone else, and if I find myself surrounded by people who are offended by my freedom, I leave.