Are men accountable for their wives’ actions? This article looks at the accountability of Adam and Eve (pre-patriarchy) and of Ananias and Sapphira (post-Pentecost)
When we put Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 into practice, we honour all people equally. This means giving extra honour to those lacking it.
Does Romans 5:12-21 teach that God holds only Adam, and not Eve, ultimately responsible for the first sin? How does Paul use the example of Adam in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15?
In what way (or ways) is the relationship between Jesus and the church a model for marriage? What does Paul mean in Ephesians 5:22-33?
More than a century ago, church historian Adolf Harnack was honest and approving in his appraisal of women ministers who are mentioned in the New Testament.
Chloe is a woman mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:11? Was she a pagan or a Christian? A concerned house church leader or the quarrelsome leader of a faction?
When people think of the “masters” mentioned in the New Testament household codes, they tend to think of men. Many masters in NT times, however, were women. How does this realisation affect the notion of female submission?
Here are excerpts from ancient Gnostic texts that present Adam and Eve in a very different light. Do they help us to understand 1 Timothy 2:13-14?
How are we to understand “man was not created for woman, but woman for man”? Does 1 Corinthians 11:9 indicate that service or submission is the role of women and not men?
In this short post, I look at what Paul meant by “A wife/ husband does not have authority of her /his body” in 1 Corinthians 7:4, a verse that has been terribly misunderstood by some.
In part 4 I look at the deacons in the Philippian church and at the development of church offices in the apostolic and post-apostolic churches.
We have only two lines about Phoebe in the Bible, but Theodoret of Cyrrhus has more information about her. Did Phoebe travel to Spain with Paul? Did she deliver his letter to the Romans?
Here I look at Paul’s introduction of Phoebe to the church at Rome. I also look at the ministry of certain women in the Gospels, and Tabitha’s ministry in Acts, and compare them with Phoebe’s ministry.
A short post on why Christian women, as well as Christian men, are sons of God. What does it mean to be an adopted son of God?
It is helpful to have some insight into the values and customs of the first Christians. In this article I provide a brief overview of church life in the first century and I highlight the ministry contributions of women.
Here is a brief overview of eighteen women mentioned by the apostle Paul in his New Testament letters, as well as Lydia who is mentioned in Acts.
Some people are still using 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 to silence all women in church meetings. Here is my quick take of these two verses.
Titus 2:5 contains a word which is usually translated as “workers at home,” but the King James Bible has “keepers at home.” Which is the correct phrase? What is meant by “keepers at home”?
A few Ephesian women held the position of high-priestess in pagan cults. Was there a culture of prominent women in Ephesus that influenced Christian women?
This article addresses 5 questions about Adam’s role and prominence in Genesis chapters 2 and 3. For example, did God only call Adam in Genesis 3:9?
Instructions for wifely submission and holy kisses are given in the NT, but one concept is often highlighted while the other is usually ignored.
Does Paul refer to wives of apostles or female coworkers of apostles in 1 Corinthians 9:5? Was their role companionship or teaching Christian doctrine?
Is Galatians 3:28 only referring to our identity and status before God? Or is it also about our identity and status in the Christian community (i.e. the church)?
Ignoring or highlighting the word “likewise” makes a big difference in how we understand certain New Testament passages that affect women.
What does “she will be saved through childbearing” in 1 Timothy 2:15 mean? Is being a faithful follower of Jesus not enough? What does Jesus say about this?
What are the timeless principles in Paul’s instruction in Titus 2:4-5 about the young wives at Crete? Why did he want them to be workers (or keepers) at home?
“The scriptures … offer an impressive number of examples of women exercising social or political authority without raising any questions as to the propriety of that authority.” ~ Gordon Hugenberger. Here are over 40 such women.
This 5-part series takes a close look at 1 Timothy 2:12, at what it does and doesn’t say, as well as providing some cultural context. Part 1 looks at the pitfalls of using 1 Timothy 2:12 as a proof text.
This article looks at the goddess Artemis and her magnificent temple in ancient Ephesus. Artemis had a huge influence on the Ephesians!
Paul’s main purpose for writing First Timothy was to address the heresy in the Ephesian Church, possibly a precursor to Gnosticism.
In Part 4 we begin looking at 1 Timothy 2:11-15, verse by verse, phrase by phrase.
Why are Adam and Eve mentioned immediately after Paul’s prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12? What does Paul mean by salvation and childbirth in 1 Timothy 2:15?
In this article, I look at Paul’s statements of equality and unity in ministry from 1 Corinthians chapter 12, including his instruction to give more honour to those lacking it.
In this post I quote Michael Bird who notes discrepancies between the ideology and practice of some complementarians regarding women teaching men.
1 Corinthians 11:2-16 is a difficult passage to understand, but it makes more sense when read as a chiasm. What are Paul’s concerns and instructions here?
While reading Plutarch’s “Advice to the Bride and Groom,” it struck me that some Christians sound like Plutarch ( a 1st-century pagan author), rather than like Paul, in what they say about men and women and marriage.
Some Christians think the prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12 is straightforward in meaning. The various ways this verse is understood and implemented indicates otherwise.
Are women more easily deceived than men? What does the Bible, including 1 Timothy 2:14, say about Eve and women and deception?
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul deals with the subjects of sex, marriage, divorce, and singleness. Paul’s instructions here reveal an egalitarian ethos.
This article looks at the women Paul greeted in his letters, including 10 women mentioned in Romans 16. His greetings show that Paul did not have a problem with women ministers.
In 1 Thess. 2, Paul describes his apostolic ministry in both maternal and paternal terms. It seems God does not want his people led in a purely paternal or masculine manner.
Ephesians 5:22-33 is written as a chiasm with a highlighted point at the centre of the passage. We misinterpret this passage if we miss this main point.
Here are links to over a dozen of my articles on women church leaders mentioned in the New Testament, women such as Phoebe, Junia, Priscilla, Lydia, Philip’s daughters, and more.
Christians shouldn’t dress in a sexually provocative way, but this wasn’t Paul’s meaning in his instructions for modest dress in 1 Timothy 2:9.
Some people, aware that the feminine gender of Junia, Nympha and Euodia has been obscured in the past, speculate that Stephanas (1 Cor. 1:16; 16:15-18) was also a woman minister whose gender has been obscured.
Paul wanted equality for all Christians and he wrote about this in his letters. In some verses, he even uses the word “equality.”
What does the Bible say about working women? Does God want women to stay out of the workforce and stay at home?
Does Paul’s statement in Ephesians 5:23, “the husband is the head of the wife,” mean that the husband has leadership or authority over his wife? And what about 1 Corinthians 11:3?
Who were Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3)? Were they leaders of the Philippian church? Early Church Father John Chrysostom seemed to think so.
Here are summaries of a range of interpretations of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 proposed by well-known New Testament scholars. How do these verses apply today?
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© 2021 Marg Mowczko