The bible butchering continues. Galatians 3 is dealing with our life under the law versus under Christ. The entire passage is dealing with salvation, not a general manifesto on male-female relations. So when it comes to the saving grace of the Lord, there are no delineations. The foot of the cross is even. Being male or female grants you no extra advantage in being saved. Once again in his desperation Mattera mixes things that are not prohibited, such as education, work and even leadership is some areas with what remains prohibited in the key verses -- women cannot exercise authority over men in reaching and teaching within God's church.
"1 Corinthians 11:5: In the context of a church gathering, Paul allowed women to prophesy. This challenges the paradigm for those who distort Scripture to inhibit women from speaking or teaching in church (prophecy is also considered by many to be a form of preaching!). Also, a passage further on in the letter used to silence women (1 Cor. 14:34-40) has to be read in the context of chapter 10. Since Paul would never contradict himself--by saying in one verse a woman can prophesy and in another verse she must be silent--it must mean something else. A deeper contextual reading of 1 Corinthians 14 shows that the instruction had to do with a wife (who likely sat separately from her husband in church meetings) who interrupted the services by asking her husband questions. It was not referring to women in general being silent. This is why Paul admonished them to ask their husband questions at home if they wanted to learn something (v. 35). Another passage (1 Tim. 2:12-15) used to silence women in general also had to do with a husband/wife dynamic. This section of 1 Timothy is not generically referring to women (there is only one Greek word for woman and wife) since the example used is Adam and Eve--a married couple. Here Paul is saying that he does not allow a wife to exert revelatory (biblical) authority over her husband. Furthermore, the great New Testament scholar NT Wright says the accurate reading of this passage is "I'm not saying that women should teach men, or try to dictate to them--but that they should be left undisturbed" (2:12 in the "Kingdom New Testament" translation)." -- Joseph Mattera
Sigh. Prophecy is not a form of preaching. Mattera tries to muddy the waters by focusing on prophecy, which we have pointed out is allowable. Then he quotes from a warped translation that renders centuries of interpretation as wrong until NT Wright came along. Please. What is clearly worse however is the distortion of the key verses from Timothy. First of all, these verses are not used to silence women. Stop with the over-dramatization. Women can serve in the same roles as men except one area and Christo-feminists are upset they are not permitted that one area. So Mattera tries to pretend that the Timothy verses are about marriage relations, which are never mentioned in the chapter at all. The usage of Adam and Eve was not as an example but rather an explanation as to why God does not permit a woman to teach or preach with authority over men in the church. In this same paragraph Paul writes that he was appointed as a preacher and a teacher who desired all men to lift up holy hands when praying and that women should adorn themselves in modesty and respectable attire. Are these matters that deal with homelife or behavior in the church? I think the answer is obvious. These matters, including that God does not permit a woman to exercise authority over a man are clearly being directed to the young pastor Timothy, regarding the organization of his church.
"Ephesians 5:21-25, 33: During the writing of this passage, in the Roman/Greco culture, men often viewed marriage to women merely as a means for procreation. Love and romance were not usually involved. A husband sacrificing himself and loving his wife as much as themselves (v. 33) was unheard of! Erotic love and romance were often between older and younger men (read Plato's Republic as an example of how normal this was) and infrequently between husband and wife. Christianity changed all that (most specifically this section in Ephesians)! When gentile men got converted, they attempted to treat their wife the same way Jesus loved His bride--the church! Furthermore, 5:21 admonished both husband and wife to submit to one another, which framed the discussion that ensued, related to husband/wife relations regarding submission and respect. Hence, women were elevated in marriage to a place of prominence, which eventually elevated all women in society! In closing, much more can be written about this subject. The above should be enough to demonstrate that the Bible is truly the first feminist manifesto!" -- Joseph Mattera
This is quite the stretch. Yes, Jesus raised the bar across the known culture. Yes, women were to be regarded far higher than the cultures of day rendered them. While verse 21 does say to both to submit, the further passages show instruction for the woman to submit to her husband the man to love his wife as Christ loved the church. Mattera tries to warp this as he has every other scripture to fit his pre-conceived narrative. The notion that God insists that man love his wife means the bible is a feminist manifesto is borderline insane. After all of this bible twisting Mattera cannot escape the key verses and the truth they contain. God says that women can do everything man can do except one thing. Like the Garden of Eden had one forbidden tree, God sets aside one forbidden activity. Along comes the devil to whisper gently into the ears of women; "Surely God did not say
Yes He did.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- January 27, 2020
