Make Up Your Mind Paul!

            The title of my post was made in jest, but for the uninitiated this could be a common thought after reading the inconsistent views of women in the New Testament.  We know that the authorship of several of Paul’s letters is in dispute and that fact gives a likely explanation for why some of these passages are contradictory. It would seem that there was an effort to marginalize women within the early Christian ministry, yet the Furnish reading shows us that this is a rather blatant contradiction of Paul’s ministry. 

            Women played important roles within Paul’s ministry.  In Romans 16 he writes about Phoebe, whom was a deacon and he mentioned Priscilla, who he calls a co-worker in the ministry.  Furnish compares Priscilla and her husband’s title of “co-worker” with Timothy and Titus whom were also called “co-workers” by Paul.  This is meant to illustrate the parity between Priscilla and Timothy and Titus, and it suggests that she had a role that was just as vital as the men’s role. 

A passage in Ephesians tells women to “submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church.  He is the Savior of his body, the church.  As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything” (Ephesians 5:23-24).  There are many items to unpack here, but I’ll start by mentioning that the authorship of Ephesians is disputed.  The author does claim to be Paul and I feel that this gives us some insight into the kind influence Paul must of have had.   The part of the passage about women submitting everything to their husbands is at odds with what we know about Priscilla and her husband Aquila; they are equal partners in the ministry.  I would not expect Priscilla to submit to her husband as to the Lord, if they are truly equal partners.  I mentioned earlier that Phoebe was a deacon; she’s in a position where men would have to submit to her leadership and wisdom, not the other way around.  I think Ephesians 5:23 is important to notice because it infers a pretty significant gap between men and women.  In this scripture, the author compares Christ as the head to husband as the head.  Christ is obviously more significant and valuable than the church, but does that same reasoning translate to the husband’s importance versus his wife’s?