22.10

Women and Ministry in the Pastoral Letters

The Pastoral Letters evince attitudes toward women and toward the role of women in church and society that have been the focus of much discussion.

What the Pastorals Say about Women and Ministry

In general, women are to concentrate on bearing children (1 Tim. 2:15; 5:14), managing their households (1 Tim. 5:14; Titus 2:5), and being submissive to their husbands (1 Tim. 2:11; Titus 2:5). Modesty is a prime virtue for women (1 Tim. 2:9, 15); they should shun such worldly distractions as jewelry, fashionable hairstyles, and expensive clothing (1 Tim. 2:9) and cultivate a life of good works that demonstrate reverence for God (1 Tim. 2:10). Such attention is needed because young women in particular tend to become alienated from Christ by sensual desires (1 Tim. 5:11); they are also prone to becoming idle busybodies and gossips, gadding about from house to house (1 Tim. 5:13). They need to learn to be quiet and to “learn in silence with full submission” (1 Tim. 2:11). In terms of ministry, there is an office in the church for aged widows (1 Tim. 5:9–10); some women may also serve as deacons (1 Tim. 3:11), but women should not be permitted to teach or to have authority over men (1 Tim. 2:12). One reason for this seems to be that women are more likely than men to be flighty or “silly” and to be confused by their desires (2 Tim. 3:6); they are, at any rate, more easily deceived than men, as has been evident ever since Eve was tricked by the serpent in the garden of Eden (1 Tim. 2:14; cf. Gen. 3:1–7; 2 Cor. 11:3; but see also Rom. 5:12–19, where Eve is not even mentioned).

Reception and Interpretation

Not surprisingly, this theme has been considered problematic by many Christians. It seems sexist and unreasonable, and much of the language employed seems unduly harsh (e.g., 1 Tim. 5:6). The restrictions also seem incompatible with the fact that Paul is elsewhere depicted as having female coworkers (e.g., Prisca/Priscilla in Acts 18:2, 18, 26; cf. Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19), and as encouraging respect for women in positions of leadership (e.g., Phoebe in Rom. 16:1–2; Junia in Rom. 16:7).

A few attempts have sought to explain the situation that would give rise to these texts:

Conclusion

Three general views are discernible among Christian interpreters today:

1. See Stevan L. Davies, The Revolt of the Widows: The Social World of the Apocryphal Acts (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1980); Dennis R. McDonald, The Legend and the Apostle: The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1983).

2. See Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson, Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 450.

3. See Sharon Hodgin Gritz, Paul, Women Teachers, and the Mother Goddess at Ephesus: A Study of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 in Light of the Religious and Cultural Milieu of the First Century (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991).

4. See Craig Keener, Paul, Women and Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992), 101–32.

5. See Linda L. Belleville, Women Leaders and the Church: Three Crucial Questions (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2000), 162–80; Richard Clark Kroeger and Catherine Clark Kroeger, I Suffer Not a Woman: Rethinking 1 Timothy 2:11–14 in Light of Ancient Evidence (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1992).

6. See Andreas J. Köstenberger, Thomas R. Schreiner, and H. Scott Baldwin, eds., Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:11–15 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1995).

7. See Linda M. Maloney, Searching the Scriptures, vol. 2, A Feminist Commentary, ed. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (New York: Crossroad, 1994), 361; Frances Young, The Theology of the Pastoral Letters, NTT (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 145–47.

Bibliography

Baumert, Norbert. Woman and Man in Paul: Overcoming a Misunderstanding. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996.

Beattie, Gillian. “Women in the Deutero-Pauline Literature: The Pastoral Epistles.” In Women and Marriage in Paul and His Early Interpreters, 83–106. JSNTSup 296. London: T&T Clark, 2005.

Belleville, Linda L. Women Leaders and the Church: Three Crucial Questions, 162–80. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2000.

Bilezikian, Gilbert. Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says about a Woman’s Place in Church and Family. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Blankenhorn, David, Don Browning, and Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, eds. Does Christianity Teach Male Headship? The Equal-Regard Marriage and Its Critics. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.

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Gritz, Sharon Hodgin. Paul, Women Teachers, and the Mother Goddess at Ephesus: A Study of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 in Light of the Religious and Cultural Milieu of the First Century. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991.

Holmes, J. M. Text in a Whirlwind: A Critique of Four Exegetical Devices at 1 Timothy 2:9–15. JSNTSup 196. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.

Keener, Craig. “Learning in Silence—1 Timothy 2:9–15.” In Paul, Women and Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul, 101–32. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992.

Köstenberger, Andreas J., Thomas R. Schreiner, and H. Scott Baldwin, eds., Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:11–15. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1995.

Kroeger, Richard Clark, and Catherine Clark Kroeger. I Suffer Not a Woman: Rethinking 1 Timothy 2:11–14 in Light of Ancient Evidence. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1992.

Witherington, Ben, III. “The Pastoral Epistles.” In Women and the Genesis of Christianity, 191–97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.