Essay 5

Ashlee Odell In 1 Timothy 2:1-15 woman are treated very differently then Paul has treated them before. In this passage he instead tells woman to "learn in silence with full submission". He also says "I permit no woman to teach or have authority over a man, she is to keep silent".( 1 Tim. 2:11-12) In the Acts of Paul and Thecla Thecla follows this version of a woman to a T. She sits for 3 days not eating or sleeping or really even speaking, on a window seal just listening to Paul. She at no point tries to talk to those listening nor does she move from that spot. She does talk to her fiancé at the time and tell both him and her mother what she had learned but not in an authoritative sort of way. She also shows her faith in god when she is about to be killed by lions and she prays for god to let her go meet Paul. The lions do as they are told and start to be submissive to her(acts of Paul 243). She amazes everyone as she does this and in a way does do a bit of teaching to the people through this faith, which could be seen as going against what 1 Timothy says about women's role in the church. Thecla also finally gets to meet Paul at the end of the story and when she does she and Paul speak opening which could also be seen as going against 1 Timothy as she is not just in silence but instead plays an active role in her learning and trying to understand.