135
Q.
Why the seeming contradiction?
In many gospel stories and in what scholars accept as the authentic
writings of Paul, women are accorded equality with men. Paul’s statement in
Galatians 3:28 is foundational: “... there is no longer male or female; for all of
you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Contemporary scholars make strong arguments that this text, and other
writings that indicate women in leadership roles—the evangelist/teacher
Prisca, the female in a male–female traveling couple in the early church (also
Phoebe in Rom. 16:1–2, where she is given the same leadership title as men
have)—describe the roles women were accorded. Many scholars take writings
such as “Women keep silence in the churches” as pushback forces by later edi-
tors rather than as authentic expressions of Jesus’ way.
The Bible does not express only one voice. Rather, the Bible is a living
book expressing conversations and arguments both within particular commu-
nities and over time between communities. It is our privilege to be able to join
the conversations and the arguments.
Scriptural References
Romans 16:1–2, 3–7, 12; 1 Corinthians 11:5, 13; 14:31–40; Galatians 3:28;
Philippians 4:2–3; 1 Timothy 2:12, 15
Suggested Additional Sources for Reading
- Christians for Biblical Equality: http://www.cbeinternational.org.
- Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Bread Not Stone: The Challenge of Feminist
Biblical Interpretation (Beacon, 1995). - Peter J. Gomes, The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart
(HarperOne, 2002), especially chap. 7, “The Bible and Women: The
Confl icts of Inclusion.” - Amy-Jill Levine, with Marianne Blickenstaff, eds., A Feminist Companion
to Paul (T & T Clark, 2004). - Alister McGrath, Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth (HarperOne,
2009). - Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe, The Women’s Bible Commentary
(Westminster John Knox Press, 1998). - John Reumann, Ministries Examined: Laity, Clergy, Women, and Bishops in a
Time of Change (Fortress Press, 1987). - Krister Stendahl, The Bible and the Role of Women: A Case Study in
Hermeneutics (Fortress Press, 1973). - Phyllis Tribble, Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical
Narratives (Fortress Press, 1984). - Gary Wills, What Paul Meant (Penguin, 2007), especially chap. 5, “Paul
and Women.”