To recap, and state the history................
The Role of Women in the Church
In Christianity women have often been denied the more prominent spiritual roles in the Church (E.g. Vicar, Priest, Bishop, Pope etc.), and have been largely assigned 'jobs' which are often perceived to be an extension of their homelife (E.g. Putting out flowers, cleaning, teaching children in Sunday School). Critics of this scheme of things claim the Church is patriarchal (serves male needs only), and as such needs to revise its structures (see
Feminist Theology). Others claim that the Church should not bow to the 'whims' of society and needs to remain firm to the clear teaching of Scripture which, according to them, denies women equality with men in these matters. They would argue that although the Bible acknowledges a women has spiritual equality with men, they are in fact assigned different roles in the Christian community (equal but different - complementary roles). A third group could be said to represent the middle ground between these two 'extremes'. These are people who claim that although the Bible
looks like it denies women equality in Church matters, when certain key texts are understood in their social and cultural contexts, it can be said that in the Church both men and women are equal in
all matters before God. However, before discussing some of the key issues in the debate here we need to consider the relevant biblical data.
Some important biblical texts
In the first creation account in Genesis we read that when God created humanity they were created equal in all matters.
'So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them' (Genesis 1:27)
Although Genesis 2 subsequently introduces the notion that man was created before women, (and so could introduce the idea of a hierarchy in human relationships), this latter account needs to be seen in the context of the former. Thus Genesis 2 seems to refer more to the notion of humans being created according to their own kind (NB. Genesis 1:25, 5:1-2) and that that they are unique in that no suitable helper (co-worker/mate?), could (or should), be found for man from among the animals.
In Genesis 3 the Fall of humanity from their initial state of perfection ('in the image of God'), is described. As a result of this fractured relationship between God and humanity certain curses are brought to bear on both human and non-human relationships. One of these is against the woman.
'To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you."' (Genesis 3:16)
Although these verses are important, and will be referred to later, the most controversial and developed statements concerning what should be the role of women in the 'Church' are found in Paul's letters. The most significant for our discussion here are these.
'For God is not a God of disorder but peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak but must remain in submission, as the Law says. If they want to enquire of something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.' (1 Corinthians 14:33-35)
'A women should learn in quietness and in full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.' (1 Timothy 2:11-15)
'There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' (Galatians 3:28)
At first glance these latter teachings attributed to Paul seem controversial and present a view of women which is 'out of touch' with the modern mindset. So before we begin understaning the relevance of these verses today, as with all biblical texts, we need to understand the social situation into which Paul was writing in order to reveal the most likely meaning behind his comments.
Background notes for exploring the Pauline material on the role of women in the Church
Pauls letters (Epistles) to the young churches in Asia Minor have been the source of much debate with regard to what the role of women should be in the Church. Even more problematic is that Jesus seemed to have an entirely different attitude towards women than the Apostle Paul seem to have later on. Was Paul developing Jesus own beliefs and practice with regard to women or was he introducing ideas of his own?
Jesus and Women
At the time when Jesus lived society had a generally negative attitude towards women. Both Jews and Greeks believed women should be limited to the domestic roles of wife and mother and also believed that they were responsible for most (if not all) sin (especially sexual temptation NB. Jewish men thanked God they were not born a woman!). However, despite the cultural limitations imposed onto women a quick glance through the gospels will reveal that Jesus had a very positive attitude towards them. He accepted and affirmed women who were neglected by society and declared them people of value. Jesus healed women who were considered ritually unclean and forgave women guilty of sexual sin. Jesus both taught women and included them amongst his followers/disciples. In his teaching they are often used as examples of people living a life of faith. Although women were not generally educated at the time of Jesus he allowed them to sit at his feet (the traditional posture of a disciple Luke 10:38-42), and taught them. We should also note that it was women (including a reformed prostitute Mary Magdalene), who first witnessed and told the twelve male disciples about the resurrection of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul and Women
Pauls comments about women are often understood as sexist and at first reading we can understand why. However, Paul, like Jesus, was a man of his time and needed to be sensitive to the opinions of society whilst also trying to work-out the new Christian faith. Pauls letters to the young churches in Asia Minor were written in response to real issues facing them at the time. When Paul writes about women he is obviously responding to questions being raised about their role and place in the new church structures. In his world, as in Jesus, society had largely negative attitudes towards women and men were considered head of the household. Roman law gave a man complete authority over his wife and her quiet submission was considered her greatest virtue. Most men married when they were in their thirties and usually to girls in their teens. As such their wives would be less intellectually challenging for them and this mainly because women were largely uneducated. There was also a concern, at the time of Paul, that new religious groups would challenge traditional Roman values. The new Christian faith liberated both men and women but if this was not to get out of hand it needed to be controlled and developed in an acceptable and responsible way.
