Neither Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople in the early 400s, or Atto, bishop of Vercelli in the 900s, were feminists swayed by an egalitarian culture, and neither were known for being politically correct. Yet Chrysostom saw in the New Testament that women were church leaders, and Atto saw in church tradition that women had been church leaders. And both seemed to have thought women leaders were a good thing.
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John Chrysostom (d. 407) praised Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, and Junia, and acknowledged that these five women were leading ministers in their churches.
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When we understand “preaching” words in the way New Testament authors and understood and used these words we see that some New Testament women preached.
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Here is a list of over a dozen early and medieval scholars who took Junia’s name in Romans 16:7 to be feminine. Junia was a woman and not Junias, a man.
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In this article, I look at four passages from the Hebrew Bible: Leviticus 27, Numbers 30, Ecclesiastes 7:28 and Isaiah 3:12. These verses are sometimes brought up in comments that diminish women.
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Here are 3 reasons why I believe 1 Timothy 2:12 may be about a particular couple in the Ephesian church and does not contain Paul’s general thoughts on women in ministry.
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Paul included women, as well as men, as ministry partners. And he used the same ministry terms for his male and female co-workers. None of Paul’s statements, when understood in context, restricts the ministry of godly and gifted women.
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In 1 Corinthians 16:16, Paul tells the Corinthians to submit themselves to coworkers and labourers. Paul refers to several women by these ministry terms.
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Timothy well knew Paul’s views on ministry. So it doesn’t make sense that 1 Timothy 2:12ff represents the apostle’s general teaching on women in ministry, a teaching that Timothy needed to be told or reminded of. What’s going on in this verse?
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I was recently asked if 1 Timothy 3:4a (“managing his own household well”) is a command that shows men, and not women, are to rule or lead their households. Here’s my response.
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This article looks at Junia, a Christian missionary mentioned in Romans 16:7 who was persecuted for her faith and may have known Jesus personally. Was she also known as Joanna?
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A few verses in Paul’s letters are frequently cited by Christians who exclude women from some ministries. Did Paul really restrict women in either ministry or marriage? This is part 3 of a series on gender roles in the Bible.
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