Journey's End: Removing "Biblical" Barriers Between Women and Their Destiny

Journey’s End

Removing Biblical Barriers Between

Women and their Destiny

Kathryn J. Riss, ThM

Writers Club Press

New York Lincoln Shanghai

Journey’s End

Removing Biblical Barriers Between Women and their Destiny

All Rights Reserved © 2003 by KATHRYN J. RISS

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Quotations from How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth—Original Edition by DOUGLAS K. STUART; GORDON D. FEE. Copyright © 1981 by The Zondervan Corporation. Used by permission of Zondervan.

Quotations from I Suffer Not a Woman by Catherine Clark Kroeger and Richard Clark Kroeger © 1991, and Women Leaders and the Church by Linda Belleville © 2000, published by Baker Books Division, Baker Book House Company. Used by permission of the publisher.

Quotations from Setting the Record Straight A Response to J.I. Packer’s Position on Women’s Ordination by Grace Ying May and Hyunhe Pokrifka Joe published by Christians for Biblical Equality, 2000, used by permission of the authors.

ISBN: 0-595-26793-9

ISBN: 978-1-4697-2772-1 (eBook_

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

To all the women who have braved the criticism, rejection and mockery of those satan used to try to stop them from preaching the Gospel. Our forerunners and role models, we thank you for your sacrifices, suffering and service. We honor your commitment and faithfulness to Christ and His people.

To all the world’s women still suffering under a yoke of oppression, fed on lies that denigrate and discourage, I bless you and encourage you to look to Jesus, Who loves you and shed His life’s blood to redeem you from every curse.

May we who give life to others live ourselves! May this book be used in the Master’s hands to heal His daughters and set them free to be all that He created and redeemed them to be.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

The Nature of the Debate

The Mask of Misogyny

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

The Social Context of First-

Century Rome

The Price We Pay: Correcting Theological Distortions

Of Eve and Eden

Authority Relationships Among Believers

God’s Affirmation of Women’s

Ministry

Understanding the "Problem

Passages " on Women

Exegesis of I Timothy

A More Traditional Approach

Journey’s End

END NOTES

Acknowledgements

In order to arrive at this manuscript, I have stood on the shoulders of giants. The names of the evangelical scholars in favor of freedom for women are numerous, both in former generations and our own. Many of them are contained in the footnote credits. Journey’s End is my attempt to verify and expand upon their efforts. Their work has challenged and sustained me.

I cannot thank enough my beloved husband, Richard, for his unconditional love, support and encouragement over the past 25 years. He kept me going when I would have given up. Truly, Richard has shown me the love of Jesus Christ.

Further thanks are due to Gerald McCray, whose book, God’s Gals, got me started on this project, and Barbara Collins, whose enthusiasm and godswordtowomen.org website provided my first opportunities to publish on this subject.

Finally, I must acknowledge the contribution of the opponents of freedom for women, especially those who promoted their views so forcefully when I was in seminary. They wounded me badly, but also provided me with the exegetical, hermeneutical and theological tools I needed to search out the truth for myself and prove them wrong.

Introduction

Over the past 23 years, I have been on a journey to resolve the tension between evangelical legalism and God’s grace in my life and the lives of other Christian women. It has been a long journey. I stumbled and nearly fell, as my aspirations to fulfil God’s call on my life were crushed by oppressive teachings from church and seminary. It took many years to face again the Scripture passages the Accuser used to crush my spirit and quench my faith. And it took many more years to develop the courage and confidence to examine them closely again.

Respecting the expertise of my seminary professors, I half-believed their explanations, yet could not understand how the same God who had sovereignly visited me, imparting an anointing to preach His Word, could disqualify me from fulfilling that calling due to a condition I could not change—my sex. I felt betrayed and rejected by the only One Who really mattered—my Lord Jesus Christ. For ten years after graduation, I made no attempt to witness, because I thought I had no testimony.

Eventually, I received enough healing by the anointing of the Holy Spirit to be able to face the issue again. After some encouragement by Rev. Barbara Collins, I began by publishing some articles I had written in seminary on women’s ministries in the early church on her god-swordtowomen.org website. This resulted in a contact by Gerald McCray, now a good friend and colleague, who requested permission to reprint my articles in a book he was writing, God’s Gals. Reading his manuscript challenged me to suggest improvements, and I eventually edited it for him.

But helpful though it was, Gerald’s book did not entirely satisfy my heart. Neither did the dozens of other books and articles I read by evangelical scholars in defense of women’s ministries. Too many of them stopped short by advocating freedom for women in ministry, but not in marriage. Others seemed speculative or exegetically weak. I needed to keep studying the Scriptures and thinking through the issues until they were settled in my heart.

And so the journey continued. I was determined to leave no challenge to women’s freedom unanswered. Over the three years it has taken to complete it, God has used the process of study, prayer and thought to heal me from the faith wounds inflicted by traditionalists. Now, instead of being afraid of them, I realize they are just plain wrong. Misguided and mistaken, they focus exclusively on a few texts while disregarding scores of passages that encourage and affirm women. After researching and writing this book, I am so convinced that the traditionalist position is incorrect that it no longer hurts me. Thus, I can heal and forgive. Praise God!

For those readers who have scoured other books on the subject without becoming fully convinced, let this be the last book you will ever need to read on the subject of women in the church. For those wounded by traditionalist interpretations of Scripture and by responses that left you only partly free, my prayer is that as for me, this will be your Journey’s End.

May God bless, heal and empower you as you read this book. Then, may He fill you with joy, courage and faith to fulfill your destiny.

The Nature of the Debate

The Bible says it, I believe it! So said Kathryn Kuhlman, and so have many others after her. The vast majority of Christians would agree. Why, then, do Bible-believing Christians so often hold widely divergent views on what the Bible means to say? Some of us baptize infants, while others maintain that baptism should be reserved for adult converts. Some Christians believe the Eucharist actually becomes Christ’s body and blood, while others regard the elements as merely symbolic. Still others expect a literal, future 1,000-year reign of Christ from Jerusalem, while many insist He is reigning over His Kingdom now. But no issue in the church today arouses harsher and more bitter division than the question of the proper role of women in the church, society and family. Why is this?

I believe that much of what we believe the Bible to say and mean results not from objective Scripture study, nor from the illumination of the Holy Spirit, but from our own fallen, human mind-set. We bring all that we are to the Word of God, including our fears, prejudices, assumptions and emotional baggage. Most of the time, these are hidden away in our unconscious mind where we don’t recognize them. Nevertheless, they influence how we read, interpret and apply Scripture. Colored by this fallen mindset, we embrace doctrines that reinforce it. Then, when we hear someone contradict our cherished beliefs, what comes out of our hearts is not love or a respectful willingness to listen to and consider another person’s viewpoint, but our ugly, carnal nature! We accuse, we reject, and we demonize the person who has dared to suggest that our view of the Bible may be mistaken! Scholars, pastors, and denominational leaders are by no means exempt from this dynamic; sometimes they are its worst promoters.

At least as important as our fallen mindset is what we have been taught by others. When authorities vigorously promote their interpretations of difficult passages, ordinary believers may accept those interpretations without question, even when they don’t seem right. Passages such as I Timothy 2:11-15, I Corinthians 11 and 14:34-35 and Ephesians 5:23 seem strange in the light of the freedom Christ gives and the equality of all people before God. If it weren’t for the insistence of traditional interpreters, we might well have left these passages on the shelf, waiting for the Holy Spirit to bring clarity. Only God can show us how to understand them in the light of His love for all people and His obvious gifting and callings of Christian women throughout the centuries. But those who assume male supremacy see it in such passages, reinforced by a negative mindset toward women.

Many Christians are intimidated by the position and passion of those who promote the subordination of women. Although they feel uncomfortable about such teaching, lacking an alternative, they accept it by default. A third group, accepting the traditionalist interpretation as accurate yet rejecting gender discrimination as unjust, reject or reduce the authority of Scripture. I believe we must find a better way.

How can we come to agreement about Scriptural issues, with our different backgrounds, experiences and the emotional baggage we carry around? Only by the work of the Spirit of God, gently urging us to love one another and listen without judging until we can open up the dark corners in our souls to God’s Spirit as He gently leads and guides us into all truth.

Anita Hoynes, a founder and the spiritual leader of FISH Inc. of Dunellen, NJ, a faith-based ministry which has for over 30 years provided food, clothing, furniture and many other essentials to thousands of the poor in central New Jersey, was a Quaker. She lived and died for those God called her to assist, opening her heart and her home, ministering to the poor as if to Jesus Himself. Although never ordained by man, Anita was an acknowledged spiritual leader in the community. She shared with me some of the reasons why she could be so patient in seeking the light of the Holy Spirit with other Quakers before making a decision. She said, if it’s God’s solution, no one gets hurt and no one gets left out. This showed me that for Anita and those who shared her faith, loving people was more important than who was right, who had their way, or how long it took to come to an agreement. To preserve love among the Friends, all had to exercise patience and forbearance during the decision-making process until they all came to the mind of Christ together. Preserving loving relationships was vital to this process.

Holy Spirit, guide our thoughts and words! Grant that we may speak the truth in love, and seek not so much to be understood as to understand. Help us in honor to prefer one another and, most of all, to be careful not to hurt Your gracious, loving heart, by wounding one another with hasty words and judgments. Help us to remember that You died for us all, not just those we agree with. Help us to love as You do and to seek Your mind until we find it, in Jesus’ name! I pray You will guide the thoughts of every reader of this book, and lead and guide them into all truth, so that we will all become united in Your love and will bring You joy and glory. AMEN.

MY PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO TRUTH

As one who believes the Bible to be inerrant in the original autographs, I accept all Scripture to be given by inspiration of God and profitable for doctrine, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man (and woman) of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped unto every good work. My goal has been to discover the mind and heart of God towards women and to unravel His truth from the distorted and hurtful interpretations I’ve been exposed to.

Like many, I have been wounded by oppressive teachings that seemed more likely to discourage, intimidate and unequip women believers than to prepare them for good works. Far from being aberrations, for over two decades, such interpretations have constituted the status quo throughout evangelical and even charismatic circles.

Knowing Jesus as I do, I cannot believe that this is His heart or His purpose. It has driven me to resolve the dichotomy I have experienced between His calling, anointing and empowering for pulpit ministry and the oppression experienced from widely held, traditional teachings of certain Bible passages. This has compelled me to study deeply in an attempt to understand what Scripture really does say and mean.

I am not one to accept a teaching just because it is widely accepted or some prominent person promotes it. Rather, I like to search out the evidence to its logical conclusions until the Holy Spirit within me witnesses that it is truth. I learned many years ago to study original sources in order to get to the bottom of things. I do my own translation work and exegesis and routinely go to libraries to look up footnotes. And I pray a lot.

I did not base these studies on concordances and other study helps designed for English readers. Although not a recognized scholar, I do have a reading knowledge of koine Greek and Biblical Hebrew. This allows me to get a greater feel for a passage than simple word studies. I’ve also studied church history, archaeology and patristics fairly extensively over the years. So what I’m writing is more than just another opinion; it’s based on extensive research. My articles on women in the early church provide some of the results of such study.1

These studies have led me to very different conclusions from what I was taught in seminary. The more I read the original Greek and Hebrew texts, the less evidence I found for male-dominated viewpoints, and the more evidence I found of gender bias in translations of the Bible into English. I also found a great deal of circular reasoning among traditionalist interpreters. And their attitudes towards women

were often quite negative, indicating bias in their methodology and conclusions.

After many years of such research, I’ve come to some conclusions. I believe that oppressive interpretations of Scripture passages regarding women are incorrect. I believe they were produced by the minds of men who, whether consciously or unconsciously, were prejudiced against women and read the Bible with that attitude. Lacking the incredible, unconditional love of God for women, they read Scripture with hardened hearts, interpreting it in ways that did not conform to Jesus’ admonition to love others as ourselves and treat them the way we would wish to be treated. This happened in the same way as in the 19th century, when oppressive interpretations of Scripture passages regarding slaves were generated by the minds of white people prejudiced against blacks.

Such people may not have been conscious of their bias. They probably intended to translate the Bible accurately and interpret it fairly. But their minds were not clear enough of self-interest to be objective and their hearts lacked God’s love towards their social inferiors. They erred by not putting themselves in the position of those they were suppressing by their teachings and so did not consider that their conclusions violated the Golden Rule and other major doctrines of Christ. Focusing on the trees of historical and cultural restrictions, they could not see the forest of God’s eternal principles of love, justice and equality. The big picture of God’s desire to set all humanity free was lost in the tiny frame of their unconscious desire to be better than other people. Like the Pharisees of old, they strained out a gnat and swallowed a camel. Already convinced that women and slaves should be forever subordinate, they jumped immediately to the New Testament passages that seemed to support their view, neglecting the example of Jesus and the weightier matters of the Law: justice, judgment and truth.

We need to practice scholarship with an attitude that invites God to undo the damage that traditionalism has done to women and minority people. We need to read the Bible with an unprejudiced, teachable spirit. We need to be open to the Spirit of the God Who inspired Scripture. And we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts and guide our minds into all the truth.

I can’t promise to be free of my own bias when studying Scripture. I bring what I have learned, experienced, and concluded to Scripture, just as others do. But I can assure you that I seek the enfranchisement of all people. And I can also promise you that I have studied the Hebrew and Greek texts to try to determine as accurately as possible what they say. My conclusions may not always be correct and will doubtless differ from others you have read. But I hope they will give you some new information and a fresh perspective on some Scriptures that are vital to the lives of women in the church.

QUESTIONING THE STATUS QUO

There is probably no area of human life that carries a heavier load of emotional baggage than the relations between men and women. Our issues with fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, ex-spouses, sons, daughters and most of all, ourselves all come up to bat, fully armed and loaded! Added to them are extremely strong and powerful, if often unspoken, cultural taboos. To speak out on behalf of freedom for women often triggers extreme reactions in the evangelical subculture. That is why typically, evangelical women have not dared to raise publicly the issues that affect them so deeply.

A great deal of what is written and preached on the subject of women reflects this dynamic. Cultural stereotypes are promoted as if fact and defended as if Gospel, often with no supporting evidence or consideration of their implications and consequences. Blame and guilt are cast in no uncertain terms upon any who would dare question the traditionalist party line. Supposedly Christian authorities against those who question their policies often use even raw intimidation.

Typically, women exposed to such loaded dynamics don’t dare to raise questions about traditional teachings, rightly perceiving that to do so would invite judgment, condemnation and ostracism. As a result, such teachings are left unexamined and their consequences never confronted. Yet, all doctrine affects practice, and teachings that belittle and restrict women arouse attitudes that can produce a harvest of injustice, oppression and even violence. But the supposedly Christian or pro-family cultural status quo must not be questioned, so violations of God’s love are overlooked, the sufferings of women ignored, and their subjugation justified on the basis of family values. These truths are not pleasant, but we need to sweep them out from under the rug and address them if the Body of Christ is to be healed. Nobody, man or woman, would want to be treated in this way, but unfortunately, it is not new.

SCRIPTURE MISUSED TO HURT, NOT HEAL

Traditional interpretations of Paul’s writings have been used for centuries to oppress women. Atrocity and injustice have commonly been perpetrated upon the female half of the church in Paul’s name. Women who wished to be free to obey God’s calling and use His gifting or otherwise improve their lot have been accused of inferiority, immorality, deception, rebellion—even witchcraft! In the past, such accusations led to torture or burning at the stake on the supposed basis of Scripture.

The first European woman to use a painkiller during childbirth (she was carrying twins in breech position) was burned at the stake as a rebel against God’s supposed curse of the female sex. In Europe, whole towns were wiped out of all women and even little girls in the witch-burning crazes of the Middle Ages. This insane cruelty lasted 500 years, during which as many as 1,000,000 women were murdered by the church. Quaker women preachers were whipped, imprisoned and hanged, both in Europe and America.

For a millennium, women who wished to serve Christ turned to asceticism in the convents as their only outlet for full devotion to Him.

Julian of Norwich is an example. After her husband died, her options were either to marry again or to join a convent. Not wishing to be subject to a husband or a prioress, she chose to live as an anchoress, confining herself to a cell in the wall of St. Julian’s church, which later became part of Norwich cathedral. There, enjoying a measure of independence, she sought God and in 1373 received a series of 16 revelations, which she wrote in her book, The Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love, 20 years later. As word spread of her insight and wisdom, people came from all over England and eventually from all over Europe to seek her counsel. This included many of high rank. Julian was too important to be suppressed, but many other medieval women suffered persecution for their faith.

Like the Inquisitors, those who promoted such injustices thought they were serving God and honoring Scripture. Their certainty that their position was correct blinded them to the cruelty of their actions. Certain they were right, they forgot that inasmuch as they did it to the least of these, they did it to Jesus.

On a lesser scale, encouraged by repressive teachings on marriage, Christian husbands have sometimes used the Pauline passages about women to justify selfish, unloving and even brutal treatment of their wives. In many cases, they failed to consider that the Golden Rule should apply to all, including those of the fair sex.

To quote just one example, hear the testimony of a chaplain:

…Not long ago…five women—all of them nurses—visited my office and confided details of their abuse at the hands of their husbands or boyfriends. Although during my 17 years of service I’ve had many victims share their stories with me, these disclosures were particularly unsettling, because in each case the perpetrator had cited Scripture to justify his abusive behavior. And each of the victims herself offered biblical explanations for why she ‘deserved’ punishment.²

He quotes one victim, My husband says the Bible demands a man to rule over his wife. So when I’m out of line, or do stupid things, Rich has to put me in my place. Otherwise, he says, he’s not truly a man of God.3

Most pastors today are silent at the violence and sexual abuse suffered by women and girls in their congregations, fertilized in its anti-feminist atmosphere. Many, when informed by such women that deacons, elders or their husbands abused them, told the victims to keep quiet about it. Often, they implied or stated that the abuse must be the victim’s fault. This sorry situation has been thoroughly documented in many studies and books4.

I personally remember a situation in which the wife of one of the elders in the church where I was serving as pastoral intern confided in me that her husband had been beating her for years and was now starting in on their children. When I asked her if she had told their pastor about it, she replied that she had done so many times, but that he had repeatedly told her to go home and submit to your husband more. Instead of confronting the elder with his violent behavior, this pastor enabled it by counseling the victim to submit to a violent situation, which continued to escalate.

This pastor’s low view of women was probably an important factor when he later left his wife and family and ran off with the church organist. After all, if a man believes that he has the right to assault his wife, why should he not also have the right to abandon her for a younger, more attractive woman who pleases him better?

Such breaches of pastoral responsibility are disgraceful but hardly surprising in view of the teaching conservative seminaries promote on women’s roles. Without stating it directly, some conservative theological institutions lead men to assume that women are their inferiors by forbidding women to be professors, excluding them from pastoral courses, and teaching a gender-based hierarchy as God-ordained for society, church and home. The implications of male superiority and lack of regard for the rights of women are clear.

While no Christian would directly advocate abusive behavior, more subtle means of domination are commonplace. In many conservative pulpits, coarse, misogynist humor is frequently heard. Mother-in-law jokes, wife jokes, sermon illustrations that routinely show women in a negative light and men as positive role models all play their part. Even illustrations in many Sunday School materials and Christian magazines favor men. A recent issue of a popular evangelistic magazine I subscribe to is typical. Photos of people in an evangelistic meeting showed eight men and boys for every two women and girls. This does not reflect the actual proportion of attendees; rather, it subtlely but effectively promotes the idea that males are more important than females. Look over the Christian literature you receive, and you will see that this is common practice.

As Marshall McLuhan pointed out, the medium IS the message. When women are excluded from leadership, inequality is built into theological education. Then, when male pastors accept calls to churches, they find it easy to settle into a familiar, male-dominated power structure which also excludes or marginalizes women. Once women are left out of decision-making processes, their interests and concerns move all the way to the back burner. Without intending to be unjust, male-only decision-making bodies cut themselves off from a woman’s viewpoint and insulate themselves from accountability for decisions affecting women.

All of this effectively works to maintain the cultural status quo. Whenever people are marginalized or regarded as inferior, the dominant group, either condones their mistreatment by active participation or silent assent. These dynamics maintain a power imbalance and keep the weaker group subordinated.

Relegating the ladies to frivolous activities while the men make the decisions and carry out the church’s mission also makes a strong statement about the value placed on members of each sex. Putdowns, verbal, physical and institutional, have been a steady diet for women in American evangelical circles. And women who ought to protest such un-Christian attitudes and behavior are expected to join in the laughter at their own expense.

Efforts by Christian women to point out evangelical injustices typically evoke accusations and rationalizations. Asking for fair treatment evokes accusations of home-destroying feminism. Traditionalists claim that inclusive language is unnecessary, because when they say man they actually mean human. My question to them is, ‘if you MEAN human, why don’t you SAY human? If you think men really includes women, just try attending a men’s breakfast or men’s conference some time! What those who refuse to use gender-inclusive language are really doing is excluding women and making them invisible. This forces Christian women to make a mental effort to include themselves when