Strange that the subject of “women” can be seen in so many different interpretations. Some will not attend a church if women are elected ministers or deacons. Paul’s letters to Timothy has a statement that women are never to teach men. Yet Acts records that Phillip had four daughters who were evangelists. In ancient Israel, women had to stay behind a certain point while the men were allowed to gather much closer to the priests and worship leaders. After synagogues were developed during the Babyonian captivity, women could worship where the men were but beyond a veil so the men could not see them.
Only men were authors of the books of the Bible though Deborah and Ruth and Esther were highly honored.
Even in early Christian times, women were not allowed to sit with the men but were required to be seated across the aisle from the men. Only in recent history have women been allowed to vote on business matters in church business conferences. The Southern Baptist Convention was slow to allow women to attend the regional or national conventions and only in recent years have they been elected to serve as officers and speak before the convention. For many years, girls were not accepted at our seminaries.
Music helped break some barriers down as women were often the instrumentalists and singers and Sunday Schools discovered it would be women who would volunteer to teach all ages. When foreign mission boards opened up missions around the world, three women volunteered to every man who volunteered.
In most of the Muslim world, the female is to be silent and subservient. Our guide in Egypt showed us a new high school. A teacher in our group asked where the girls were for all you could see was boys. The guide answered, “Girls are taught only through the fourth grade for they will not need the education the man will need.” The female is a second class citizen in most Muslim countries. And in China with around one billion people, women are not allowed the opportunities of men. Until recently, if a child was born when the family faced a famine or hard times, boy babies were allowed to live but girl babies were buried.
Now a woman is leader of Germany, a woman led Great Britain, In America women are elected to the Senate and Congress and cabinet positions. Some denominations have female leaders and many have priests, ministers and officiating officers.
John Bunyon, in Pilgrim’s progress, leaves us his observation about women. “I will say again that when the Saviour was come, women rejoiced in him before either man or angel” (Lu. 1:42). I read not that any man did give unto Christ so much as one groat; but the women followed him and ministered to him of their substance (Lu. 8:2-3) ‘Twas a women that wiped his feet with tears (Lu. 7:37ff) and a woman who anointed his body at the burial (John 11:2) They were women who wept when he was going to the cross (Matt. 27:55) and sat over against the sepulcher when he was buried (Matt. 27:61) There were women who were first with him at his resurrection-morn. (Lu. 24:1) and women that brought tidings first to his disciples that he was risen from the dead (Lu:22:22). Women, therefore are highly favored and show by these things that they are sharers with us in the grace of life.”
What did Paul really think of women? I quote from Paul’s letter to the Galatians to end:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for all are one in Christ Jesus.”