Essay/Blog 5: 1 Timothy 2:1-15 and Thecla

            Although neither 1 Tim 2:1-15 nor The Acts of Paul and Thecla were written by the Apostle Paul himself, both may still serve useful in examining the attitudes of early Christians with regard to women, most especially when they are directly compared with one another in how they treat women. There is no easy answer, one quickly discovers, when attempting to identify how early Christians viewed women in the church and in authority positions, for as we will see in measuring 1 Timothy and The Acts of Paul and Thecla against one another, women are depicted and discussed in strikingly different ways that seem to reflect the inconsistencies in views toward women among early Christians. The Acts of Paul and Thecla portrays a woman that seems to violate almost every command given to her by the author of 1 Tim 2:1-15, from her position as a teacher to her state of celibacy and her devotion to it.

            To evaluate Thecla as a character in terms of the non-Pauline attitude toward women in 1 Timothy, it will first be necessary to examine the commands given to women by the author of 1 Tim 2:1-15 in relation to the church. Women are told in these verses that they must "learn in silence with full submission" and that that may not "teach or…have authority over a man" (1 Tim 2:11-12 NRSV). The justification for these commands is the notion that Eve, not Adam, was deceived in Genesis by the Serpent, thus implying that these commands are not to protect women but to punish them (1 Tim 2:14 NRSV). Indeed, we are told that women may redeem themselves "through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty" (1 Tim 2:15 NRSV). Women in this verse, it appears, are told that they must be married and must bear children in order to atone for Eve's sin.

            How does Thecla, the heroine of The Acts of Paul and Thecla, measure up, so to speak, to these rules of 1 Timothy? The primary theme of this work is celibacy and the resistance to marriage as that which "defile[s] the flesh" (Acts of Paul 12). Thecla, after hearkening ardently to Paul's teachings in Iconium, refuses to wed her betrothed Thamyris and devotes herself to Paul's philosophy (Acts of Paul 10). For her disobedience, she is twice condemned to be killed yet is miraculously saved, each time crediting her rescue to God: "I have believed in him in whom God is well pleased, His Son. For his sake not one of the beasts touched me" (Acts of Paul 37). God is on her side, Thecla believes, and we as readers agree with her as well, for we are meant to sympathize with Thecla and identify with her as a would-be martyr who risks her life for her beliefs. Thecla believes that she is meant for a life of celibacy, which is a lifestyle that seems to wholly deviate from that commanded to women in 1 Tim 2:15, which states that childbearing will result in a woman's salvation. Not only does Thecla choose to remain unmarried and childless, but she also chooses to follow in the footsteps of Paul and become a teacher "enlightening many with the word of God" (Acts of Paul 43). It is notable that Paul, a man, does not attempt to stop her or hinder her, but enthusiastically encourages her. "Go and teach the Word of God!" Paul instructs when he learns of her victory over her oppressors (Acts of Paul 41). It is clear that both Thecla and Paul are violating the commandment of 1 Tim 2:11-12 that orders a woman to remain silent and without any kind of position of authority over a man.

            Thecla is the heroine of her story. In the narrative, she experiences trials which she prevails over and ultimately transforms into a powerful apostle, a feminine equivalent to Paul. The image of this kind of woman who rises out of adversity and becomes that which she has aspired to be stands in stark contrast to the image of the quiet, submissive woman of 1 Timothy. Thecla, as a woman of agency and conviction, represents the antithesis of the thinking of 1 Timothy, reflecting the variety of viewpoints among early Christians regarding women and their place in the church.