1 Timothy 2:9-12
9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. 11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
Not every passage in the Bible is crystal clear. Many times we argue over the unclear and ignore the crystal clear. And sometimes we get so angry at people who are anti-God or anti-us that we would rather wipe them out than win them over. It's hard to follow God if you are at war with the universe.
Here's a great text to keep this danger in check: "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, (but rather that they turn from their ways and live.)" Ezekiel 33:11, NIV
Also, when considering the writings of Paul (and their high "yikes" factor), it's good to recall that even Paul's contemporaries knew that Paul was often hard to hear and understand: "[Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:16 NIV
Three things to keep in mind when dealing with a "Yikes" text:
1. Scripture is best understood as a whole piece of fabric; not every thread can equally represent the whole. People love, of course, to pull out specific verses that they can use to "prove" or "disprove" things, but the best way to use it is as a whole, with an emphasis on the life and ministry of Jesus.
2. Scripture is best interpreted within a community of faith. The community of God's people provides accountability and support when discerning the truth of a particular interpretation of the Bible.
3. The power inherent in Scripture can best be identified by it's fruits (Matthew 7:16). Are people's lives transformed more into the image of Christ's by a particular understanding of scripture? Is God honored by the way a particular scripture is understood? Are people inspired to come to Jesus?
What to do if there is disagreement over a "Yikes" text:
1. If it’s a TIGER issue, and it's black and white and crystal clear – divide over it.
Tiger questions are those which lead directly to or away from one's salvation. They are about foundational issues of faith. Some examples are: Is Jesus the son of God? Does God love all creation? Is the Holy Spirit a real and active power? Is there such a thing as sin?
2. If it’s not a Tiger, and it isn't clear, unity is more important than uniformity.
"Avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned." 1Titus 3:9-10
Loving one another, and jealously guarding the unity of the church can be a much more difficult task than deciding whether women should speak in church. Consider the witness of 1 Corinthians 13: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."
It is a great and noble task to love one another, and that's something worth staking your faith, your salvation, and your life on.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
What to do with a "yikes" scripture
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1 comment:
This is excellent advice for approaching all sorts of "yikes" scriptures. I would also like to add a couple of specifics regarding this passage, because it's one that I have heard used so often for (imho) inappropriate positions. Pulling a verse apart word by word and looking for historical context is invaluable because we all bring our own bias to scripture and everything else we read.
The word used for 'have authority over' (as in, a woman should not have authority over a man) is only used one time in scripture, which is remarkable considering that that topic is repeated quite a few times. It means to usurp authority or take it inappropriately. I would submit that none of us are supposed to do that, but that there was some reason that in this church a woman was being counseled not to.
The most interesting thing I have read about these verses has to do with women learning silently and in submission. I have seen references to very similar wording being used for the way rabbinical students were supposed to receive instruction. I believe Paul is not saying that women need to be controlled, I believe he is telling the church that women cannot be excluded from teaching but must be allowed to be taught *just like* the men.
My favorite part about this passage though is that at the end of the chapter Paul adds something crazy - that women are saved through childbirth - that is as difficult to explain as the rest of the passage about women in this chapter. Had he not put that verse in, I think it would be harder to illustrate that not everything is as literal as it would seem at first blush, that it pays to dig, study, and pray about what God was intending by leading Paul to write this letter.
Can't wait for chapter 3, much good stuff lurks in there.
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