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Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah
I don't.
1. Jesus and Paul had the same teaching. In the kingdom of the heavens there is no male and female.
2. However, in this age there is. To deny that is idiotic. Both Jesus and Paul encouraged abstinence from marriage, but realized for most people that would not be a viable option. Staying unmarried would go a long way to helping women have equal rights. When women are pregnant and are raising two or three kids it can be enough to derail any other career they might have aspired to.
3. Both Jesus and Paul had women in leading roles in the ministry.
4. Paul taught that the single best step that the church could take in the midst of a culture similar to the Taliban, was to "teach women in quietness". In hindsight this has been the single best strategy and no one, certainly not Awareness, has suggested any better strategy to women living in the Middle East 1,900 years ago.
5. Similar to Paul Jesus taught that the wisest path for women would be to take up His cross and follow Him. Again, wisdom that has been proven by hindsight.
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1. So then, if we take Jesus literally, equality of the sexes must wait for the general resurrection. Paul said there was no male or female in Christ. But he violated the principle every time he made a distinction between men and women as he did when he said that women should wear head covering when prophesying and men should not. 1st Timothy contradicts that teaching by implying that women should not be able to prophesy at all.
2. I agree it's literally idiotic. So we must either conclude that Paul is an idiot or look for a metaphorical meaning. The ambiguity of the metaphor leaves it open for interpretation. A common traditional interpretation has it that it means that men and women are equal before God. The idea in jurisprudence that men and women are equal before the law derives from that metaphor.
3. There is evidence that women associated with both Jesus and Paul had leadership positions, not the least of which was as financial backers. But pray tell why did Jesus name no woman among the 12 apostles?
4. Holding "teach women in quietness" as a principal in no way affords women equal rights. So you have made my case that if Jesus and Paul at any point recognized women as equal, the church backslid into once again viewing them as subordinate by the time I Timothy was written.