Women and the Curse: The Role of Women in the Church

By Rodney L. Thomas

The book explores the matter of sexuality from the creation into the long history of Judaism and the church. In this book I highlight how many of the preconceived notions of how God perceives women and roles that He has for them are not the way most people that attend our churches perceive them. We have been dramatically effected by Greek thoughts regarding women and have also been dominated in our thinking by warfare mentality. The value of a person has been weighted by their ability to wage war. Even in this arena there are women who have proven their giftedness and their skill.

I believe that if you carefully examine the matters set out in this book you will come to understand that so much of the evidence for the role of women in the church is based upon flimsy and biased evidence. If you open your heart and mind I believe this book can help you to see a new way forward in helping the church promote the spirit of unity and respect between human beings that God desires and has Himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664276017

Rodney L. Thomas

I grew up being taught a certain perspective on women and their place in the church. Over the years that perspective has been shattered by the evidence that I have found in Scripture and in history. I have studied these Scriptures in multiple languages and in great depth. I am a specialist in Biblical languages and have a BA in Biblical Languages, a Masters in Theological Research and a PhD. in New Testament Theology. I studied with some great scholars while in Durham, England: scholars such as Loren Stuckenbruck, James D. G. Dunn, and Robert Hayward. I believe that all of my research and study has opened my eyes to a major flaw in the way most Evangelical churches treat women and utilize their God-given gifts.

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Copyright © 2022 Rodney L. Thomas.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-7602-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7603-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7601-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022915531

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/11/2022

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture in this manuscript is the author’s own translation.

Scripture quotations marked (CEB) from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE.

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1Genesis 1:26-28

Chapter 2Genesis 2

Chapter 3Genesis 3

Chapter 4Examples of Women in the Time Before the New Testament among the Jews

Chapter 51 Timothy 2:8-15

Chapter 6Ephesians 5:21-33

Chapter 71 Corinthians 11:2-16

Chapter 81 Corinthians 14:34-36

Chapter 9Galatians 3:28

Chapter 10Examples of Women in the New Testament

Chapter 11Some Excerpts from History

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

All biblical citations in this work are translations from the original languages, unless a citation is given referencing a specific translation.

As we come to any issue of practice or belief regarding the Kingdom of God, we surely must seek to understand the directions and teachings of our King. Especially in the tradition of those known as Churches of Christ, it has been understood that of the highest earthly authority regarding such questions is the Word of God. We have in the past understood this; and, still today, this is very much our understanding and desire, though at times much less our actual practice. We are people of the Book, and we believe we must look to the Book for our answers. As we approach this topic of study, Scripture will stand at the core of our discussions as it stands at the core of our motivations for looking at issues that concern our working together as God’s community of faith.

As we do this, however, we must ensure that we do not become hardened into believing our relationship with God is in some sense a contractual arrangement that leaves us in the position of becoming like the Pharisees were in the time of Jesus. They were hardened by their belief that they understood the Law and what it meant to be righteous in a way that hardened their hearts, clouded their understanding, and brought them into conflict with Jesus at every turn. We certainly are not immune to the same things as we hold tightly to long-held traditions and beliefs without really understanding what the Scriptures say and being open to the possibility that there might be something more for us to learn. We have not yet arrived at the fullness of Christ, or a full understanding of the glorious riches brought to us through the power of His grace and lovingkindness.

Rabbi Yochanan makes what some see as an audacious claim about the cause of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A. D. 70, which led to approximately two thousand years of exile for the Jewish people:

Jerusalem was destroyed … only because [the judges] based their judgments [strictly] upon biblical law, and did not go beyond the line of the law. (b. B. Metz. 30b¹).²

There is the recognition, at least by some, that there is a connection between the disfavor of God expressed in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the overly strict adherence to the letter of the law without applying the spirit of the law.

One of the difficulties involved in this endeavor, however, is found in defining what an interpretation and understanding of Scripture means for the Church. We today are separated by many centuries as well as by significant cultural differences from the audiences for which these writings were initially produced. Throughout the history of the Church there have been many different methodological approaches used in the quest to comprehend the message of Scripture, the meaning that God intended to convey to His people. In our own era, the historical-critical approach has been the most widely accepted and certainly has been the methodology that has been dominant among Churches of Christ throughout their history as a modern movement.

The historical-critical methodology grew out of the Age of Enlightenment. This age values reason, logic, and systematic methodology. With such an approach comes a certain amount of baggage that would not have been borne by the original audiences of these sacred texts. Our perception of how the world works is just one example. They would not have shared our modern conceptual understanding of how the world operates at all. For historical-critical methodology to be truly good methodology, it must consider matters like this and a host of others as well, especially culture and language. Things like idioms that are unique to a particular language and culture can prove critical for understanding. For us today, reading scripture can be fraught with a great many pitfalls. We are reading a document produced in another language, for another culture, in another era, in another place, for specific people. Opportunities for misunderstanding abound, and, without careful research, careful consideration, and detailed analysis, we are bound to come off the rails and miss the original point intended by those Scriptures. If we misunderstand the message of God for that original audience, we will also miss His true message for us today.

Hopefully, we are not so arrogant as to believe that we have God and His message for us all figured out, so that we understand perfectly and precisely what He means and what He wants from us in every instance. Do those of you who are married fully understand your spouse? Is there never any misunderstanding? If you can answer each of these questions in such a manner that shows that you have these things figured out perfectly, I would say that you are either deluded, or that we need to talk so that you can share with the rest of humanity your great wisdom and understanding! God is far more complex and far more difficult to understand than your spouse. Certainly, a part of what makes God who He is, is the fact that He knows and understands far more than we do. God is, in so many ways, still mysterious to us. One of those ways is His capacity for infinite love; a love that knows no bounds and moves God to perform unfathomable sacrifices on behalf of His beloved. Another difficulty is that God communicates to us using human language with all its frailties, nuances, and inherent difficulties.

All these thoughts must act as a prelude to this study, indeed to all good study of Scripture which seeks to explore the will of God and His desires and goals for His children, His image-bearers, as participants in His Kingdom and as participants in His plans of redemption for His creation. We seek His face and His will with all our being and with all our heart. While we know that what we seek is lofty and grand beyond even our wildest imaginations, it is still our goal. We must approach God, and the seeking of His face, with a certain humility and with the realization that, in our weaknesses and limited understandings, there are a great many opportunities for misunderstanding. We approach the presence of God as we seek His will, with reverence and humility, knowing that He seeks to guide us and that He sent His Holy Spirit to aid us in this task. Please be prayerful and open to His Spirit as we seek to examine the Scriptures for the will of God in our lives as His people. We will examine many intricate details and our hope and prayer is for unity. A unity that can only come through the interceding of God’s Spirit, a unity that is the true mark of the presence of God, a unity that stands near to His heart. God has a desire for our relationship with Him and with each other to become as one, a unity in which we have an opportunity to reflect His nature more fully and bear His image more completely in this dark and damaged world. We seek to honor the words delivered in the prayer of Jesus given in John 17:21-23: I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. ²² I’ve given them the glory that you gave me so that they can be one just as we are one. ²³ I’m in them and you are in me so that they will be made perfectly one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you have loved them just as you loved me.³

We also must remember to infuse everything that we do with love. My hope is that you will approach this study in the spirit of love. I especially need your love as I try to navigate this difficult path in order to follow Jesus and His will more in love. I must constantly be reminded of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.⁴

Too often we have been greatly influenced by our fascination with Greek philosophy, which has deeply impacted the Enlightenment and our current understanding of patriarchy within the church. Of incredible influence was Aristotle (Born 384 B.C. - Died 322 B.C.), called by some the father of science, because of his methodology of systemizing study. He and many others from Greek and Roman cultures have had a dramatic effect on the thought processes and methodologies of study within the world and within the church. The river that runs through Greek and Roman cultures carries much sediment that has been deposited within the belief systems of the church. We must ask how much this influence has created for the modern church, traditions that were not a part of the early church or the intent of God?

This single precept of Aristotle perhaps has had more influence on our modern perceptions than it should have had. He addresses male and female and their relationship with one another. Aristotle wrote:

Also, as between the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject. And the same must also necessarily apply in the case of mankind generally;¹³ therefore all men that differ as widely as the soul does from the body and the human being from the lower animal (and this is the condition of those whose function is the use of the body and from whom this is the best that is forthcoming) - these are by nature slaves, for who to be governed by this kind of authority is advantageous, inasmuch as it is advantageous to the subject things already mentioned.⁵

This passage from Aristotle states a clear and unwavering belief in the superiority of males over females, the strong over the weak, and the clever over the less clever. His argument seems much more closely aligned with the views of the world than with the views of God. In Scripture we are told repeatedly of God defending the weak, the poor, the widow, and the orphan.⁶ As I mentioned before, these words from Aristotle have been greatly influential upon western civilization.

Martin Luther, the great reformer of the church, seems to have brought into the Reformation the ideas and concepts of Aristotle as well, as he says: Men have broad and large chests and small, narrow hips, and more understanding than women, who have but small and narrow breasts, and broad hips, to the end they should remain at home, sit still, keep house, and bear and bring up children.⁷ The equal worth ascribed by God at creation has been heavily eroded through the centuries, not only in the wider world, but also within the community of the church. Often it has been the case that a variety of Scripture passages have been reinterpreted in light of ideas that seem to have originated outside of the text, but have been drawn into the text as interpretive touchstones that color and mandate the meanings we see and understand.

As we engage in the body of this study, I will begin by stating that it is my belief that God had, and still has, a design, a plan, for His creation.⁸ I also believe that this is not a secret plan, but a plan that He reveals to those that diligently pursue an understanding of that plan,⁹ though it is certainly the case that people often misunderstand, distort, and forget His plan. Humans, as His creations, are called to trust God, to comprehend that He knows what is good, desirable, and best for them beyond even their greatest imaginings. We start with Genesis one, at the very beginning, with God’s creation of the first human beings. If the initial trajectory of a journey is wrong, then it is much more difficult to adjust course and to get back onto the correct trajectory.

One of the problems that is often encountered in studies takes place because people begin their study in the wrong place or launch from that initial starting point in the wrong direction. Sometimes studies actually begin at the end rather than at the beginning, and then move backward seeking to align everything with the end conclusion rather than beginning at the beginning and allowing the journey to unfold. They realign everything in between to fit what they have already concluded was correct from the very outset of their study. Their information and conclusions unfold from the text under examination based on their preconceived notions rather than from the reality of what is inherent in the text or given situation. They impose their preconceived understanding upon that text and all the others that they examine, which is not exegesis but is eisegesis (reading meaning into the text). Therefore, I choose to begin with Genesis one, to seek to explore its meaning and message first, which is the actual starting place in the context of Biblical literature. Surely it was intended that our journey must begin here, at the beginning, and not at the end of the story. This is the starting point for beginning to understand who God is and His purposes for His creation, especially His purposes for human beings.

In these initial verses of Genesis, we can begin to find a defining of the purpose in creation and perhaps also an indication of the intended relationship between the male and the female human beings that God created. Perhaps we can also comprehend more clearly the relationship between God and human beings and the nature of God’s desired goal for their existence as a part of His good creation. There is much debate regarding the meaning of Genesis one and how it should be interpreted, as might be anticipated. Many people want to move quickly onward as they do not find what they are looking for in this text: perhaps this is because they have a preconceived agenda, and so focus little attention or effort here. Perhaps they do not find what they are seeking here because their understanding of this matter was not actually the intent of God from the beginning? Often the questions one asks dictate the answers one receives. If someone asks the wrong questions, then it is highly probable that he/she will find the wrong answers or generate the wrong conclusions.

Often it is far easier to accept what others have said or what others believe than it is to form our own conclusions based upon our own careful investigation. To be fair, investigating Scripture and theology takes time, energy, effort, and a lot of commitment. I personally have invested decades investigating Scripture, learning languages, studying cultural backgrounds, reading commentaries, books, archaeological reports, and so forth in order to make a more informed and reasoned investigation. I have not arrived at my final destination yet, far from it, and there is still so very much for me yet to learn. I am not of the school that believes that any person can just pick up the Bible and immediately understand everything written there without careful, and, at times, agonizing effort. I believe instead that we are called to wrestle with God as Jacob wrestled with Him at Bethel.¹⁰ When God touches us, it is often more than our hip socket that is wrenched out of joint. Many times, things that we hold to be dear beliefs and sacred traditions are uprooted and destroyed as our understanding grows. I hope to produce in this study a careful, reasonable, balanced, investigation of the passages of Scripture and traditions that are, at least in my view, relevant to the matter before us. I have also tried to make my reasonings accessible to the non-expert, those who are not highly trained linguists, or highly trained theologians. I pray that I create more clarity than fog and that the thoughts included in this study will spur those who read it to study, to learn, and to wrestle with God more fervently and with more intensity of desire as they pursue the truth of God.

For those who already have made up their mind, nothing that I can write or reveal to them will open their closed minds. They likely will not even open this book because they are of the view that they know what is correct and proper in this arena already. For those of this ilk, this work, and the thoughts contained in it, are heresy and not even worthy of consideration. This book is not for you. This book is for those who do not yet have everything neatly categorized and completely understood regarding the relationship that God intended to exist between men and women, and the purpose for all human beings. This book is for those who are still active explorers, searchers for truth. Hopefully, as we explore God’s words to His ancient people Israel, and those written to the early church, we can begin to understand more fully His heart and His desire for humanity.

Chapter 1

GENESIS 1:26-28

G enesis chapter one represents the beginning, the very first words of Scripture about God and His creation of the universe and the many forms of life that He created. This account is most likely meant to counter the creation perspectives of the other nations that lived around the Jewish people and, at times, those nations that dominated Israel. Spending over four hundred years in Egypt certainly will have left a mark on the theology of the Jewish people. In a time when literacy undoubtedly was not as high as it is today and when the cost of written materials made them very expensive and beyond the reach of most people; what was written was extraordinarily precious and important. In Genesis one, we find the important beginning words that Moses intended to pass onto a newly formed nation that was being fashioned around their God rather than around territory, as was the case with other nations. These initial words are critical words that will begin the process of forming and shaping a people through whom will ultimately come the Messiah. This nation will be a vehicle of change for the world, indeed for the whole of the cosmos. The One who will come will bring about changes that are unprecedented since the very beginning of creation. Here, in Genesis, we begin to be challenged to envision the nature of this God of Israel, His goals, His tenderness, His Justice, and His great compassion.

In these initial words, images are formed in the hearts and minds of the people pulling them away from their pagan conceptions of the gods and away from the pagan explanations of creation as well as the purposes they claimed for humanity. In this account, we find God using His great power to bring into being the universe in all its majesty and glory. We also see that there is a progression of His creating things as a great master builder might begin with the foundation and then proceed to building a structured universe upon that initial foundation. The emphasis of this text is ultimately focused upon the creation of humanity, the creation of the first human beings. In the creation of humankind, it becomes apparent to any careful reader that this phase of creation (the creation of humankind) is different from all that was created before. There is a certain intimacy and level of importance inherent in the fact that God makes the male and the female human beings in His image. God blesses them and then goes further by announcing that He created them to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, the wild animals, and everything that creeps upon the earth. The stage is set for humanity to begin an exploration regarding their place in the plans of God. Humankind was created on the sixth and final day of creation therefore marking the culmination, the apex of the creative actions of God in creating the heavens, the earth, and all living things that dwell therein.

Sarna speaks of the sixth day of creation in these terms, The drama of creation is moving toward its final act, the production of animate beings whose natural habitat is dry land. The unusual expansiveness of this section, the enhanced formula of approbation, and the exceptional use of the definite article with the day number indicate that the narrative is reaching its climax.¹¹ There is the sense that all which God has been doing in the creation up to this point is building, is moving, toward an apex; and, indeed, that high point of creation is expressed as the creation of humankind. The unique status of the creation of human life is communicated in several ways: not the least of these by the simple fact that humankind is last in a manifestly ascending, gradational order.¹² The language used here changes and takes on a more personal tone and texture than was the case in the previous acts of creation. Even without telegraphing what we know to be the case regarding the creation account of humankind that is found in chapter two, there is an air of personal connection and intimate investment in this creative action that is not found in the actions of creation that went before it.¹³

This is one of only three passages in the Book of Genesis where the author introduces the concept that humankind was created in the image and in the likeness of God.¹⁴ As we explore those instances, we will learn some things about how the author of Genesis uses words and language. The word humankind used in verses 1:26-27 (אָדָ֛ם – adam in Hebrew; ἄνθρωπον – anthropon in Greek) is a collective singular in both the Hebrew and the Greek texts. The Hebrew term adam is generally used as a generic term for humankind; it never occurs, in Hebrew, in the feminine, or in the plural form. In the first five chapters of Genesis, it is only rarely used as the proper name Adam. The term is used to encompass both the male and the female, human beings as is clearly demonstrated in 1:27-28 and 5:1-2, where it is construed with plural verbs and terminations.¹⁵ In stark contrast to the other animals, which are made each after their kind, or type, mankind is made in the image of God.¹⁶ The account given here in Genesis one applies not simply to the male nor simply to the female, but to both equally. Both are in fact created in the image of God. There is no indication that one, the male, or the female, is more the image of God than the other.

There is some sense here in which the singular image and likeness of God is represented by humankind in both the male and the female human beings. This is, in my opinion, a very important point and it needs to be explored in order to understand the nature of God. As the text continues in verse 28, God will issue the directive to these two human beings that they are to have dominion over the earth. We must take care in our understanding of what dominion means so that we do not distort what it means in this context. It is perhaps an indication of our own modern conceptual frame of reference that dominion has come to be thought of as more a male province than a female province. There is no indication of any such distinction in Genesis one. As we think of the beginning of a whole new world, one that has never been stained by blood, death, or injustice, it is perhaps the case that the concept of dominion should be conceived of in different terms than it is commonly conceived of for us today, where there has been so much bloodshed, death, and injustice. Perhaps a part of what God is doing here in communicating to His people is challenging them to see things from a fresh new perspective, without all the baggage that comes from a realm that has not lived under the dominion and rule of God as was originally intended. Dominion in Genesis one surely means something like to take care of, to nurture, and to help create an environment where health, well-being, and justice could, and would reign. God, after all, does speak of this creation as being very good.¹⁷

If it is the case that our understanding of dominion is perceived of as being achieved