Lies I Heard in Church (#1)

Me at Easter, 1978.

Is this young woman more likely to be deceived than a man of the same age, education and social exposure, just because she is a woman?

When I was growing up, church was an important part of my family life. All the ministers in my church were men. They usually wore black robes and round white collars. It never occurred to me to wonder why none of the ministers were women.
When I left home I attended a more evangelical church. There I learned why none of the ministers were women. One of the reasons given was that God was protecting His Church from heresy by not having women teaching from the pulpit. Women were more easily deceived than men, just as Eve was the one deceived, not Adam. So, given the opportunity women would unwittingly lead the church astray. I Timothy 2:11-14 was a scripture verse often cited to explain this female tendency.

“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.”

I have an actual memory of expounding on this verse to a young man who attended my church, helping him “see” the truth of this restriction to women’s ministry! That was back in 1978.
Thirty years later, I no longer believe that I am more easily deceived than a man. Here’s why:
First of all, church history does not support this idea. Ruth A. Tucker and Walter Liefeld in their expansive study of women in church history (Daughters of the Church,1987) concluded: “No examples were found (in church history) of heresy or other evil effects of women’s ministry that were the clear sole result of the sex of the instigator. Cults have had their share of women members, but the leaders have usually been men….The major heresies of the early church were, of course, launched by men.” (pg 435-6)
Secondly, real life experience does not support this idea. Professionals who study human behavior say that there are four characteristics that determine how gullible and prone to error people are: age, education, geographical isolation, and amount of exposure to new ideas. Where these elements are equal, the tendency to be deceived is the same for men as for women.
So what about 1 Timothy 2:11-14? Actually, this is a very confusing passage for translators. It sounds pretty clear in English, but in the original Greek, there are several words that are uncommon and difficult to translate. Is Paul silencing women for all time based on their tendency to be deceived? I don’t think he is. Although whole books could be written (and have been!) to respond to this scripture, here are a few brief reasons:
Silencing women for all time seems to contradict God using women to speak for Him in the Old Testament, such as Deborah and Huldah
It does not fit Paul’s own practice, since he had women teachers on his ministry team, such as Priscilla.
Paul encourages women to be teachers in Titus 2: 3,4.
In 1 Corinthians 11:5 Paul encourages women to prophesy in local church meetings.

The scriptures indicate that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts, including the gifts of teaching and preaching, as He pleases, regardless of gender.
And finally, if women might deceive whole congregations full of adults, why do we consistently ask women to teach children, the most innocent and vulnerable in our midst? Have you ever thought about that?

I have concluded that Paul’s words here were to correct a local situation. Women in his day were often denied education. Their lives were sometimes narrow, lived close to home and hearth and not exposed to new ideas or people, as men were. No doubt they were easily influenced. Paul starts his admonition in verse 11 by urging women to "learn." That's a good word for us today. Let's not be afraid to hear new ideas, even if they shake up our old ways of thinking. We can trust that God gave us the ability to discern truth from error.