Ladies, We have been hoodwinked.
Turns out Saint Paul wasn't such a misogynist. He viewed women more equally than some might have you think. He viewed men who didn't view women more equally as a bit ignorant (and Paul is clearly an anti-chauvinist.)
A lot of what appears in letters to the Corinthians regarding women is a redux of what was originally in the form of a question/answer letter writing in classic "responsa" fashion to questions asked by the Corinthians--who did tend to view women more inequally, and objectified them sexually more in their licentious greek culture (Judaism had a history of female prophets, Judges, Queens and even spies and respected their wisdom and intelligence; the Jewish lineage was maternal and conveyed through the mother, Queen Esther saved her people, Debborah was a fabulous Judge and there are many women prophets throughout scripture-Judaism respected women greater than the Greek culture).
This "responsa" method followed a sort of Socratian dialogue in Greek tradition (much similar to what we do in law schools these days) in which a "hypothetical" is queried, and responded to by the one most learned; in this case Paul. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Responsa
It was followed by Paul's mentor in his legal education Gamliel in his ethical writings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamliel_I
Paul was trained in this manner of ethical teaching.
Gamliel is the one quoted in Acts 5:39 in defending the Apostles: "But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
Our current English text translation mashes together at times what the question was with the response so what appears misleadingly, and what has been taught through the ages misleadingly -if not heretically (for lack of understanding through faulty translation) is both the question and answer appearing sequentially as doctrine as though Paul said the whole thing together rather contradictorily and confusingly.
More about this later, but if you read carefully Paul's letters to the Corinthians you will find references to such things as -now about those things concerning.....or about those matters of which you wrote-clearly indicating that Paul is responding to questions raised by the Corinthians in correspondence first presented to him.
If you view the texts in that fashion, it completely turns on its head the common wisdom about Paul's women bashing.....
Now go back and re-read Corinthians 1 and 2 and sort out which verses are the questions and which verses are really the answers to the preceeding questions. You will amaze yourself.
Turns out Saint Paul wasn't such a misogynist. He viewed women more equally than some might have you think. He viewed men who didn't view women more equally as a bit ignorant (and Paul is clearly an anti-chauvinist.)
A lot of what appears in letters to the Corinthians regarding women is a redux of what was originally in the form of a question/answer letter writing in classic "responsa" fashion to questions asked by the Corinthians--who did tend to view women more inequally, and objectified them sexually more in their licentious greek culture (Judaism had a history of female prophets, Judges, Queens and even spies and respected their wisdom and intelligence; the Jewish lineage was maternal and conveyed through the mother, Queen Esther saved her people, Debborah was a fabulous Judge and there are many women prophets throughout scripture-Judaism respected women greater than the Greek culture).
This "responsa" method followed a sort of Socratian dialogue in Greek tradition (much similar to what we do in law schools these days) in which a "hypothetical" is queried, and responded to by the one most learned; in this case Paul. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Responsa
It was followed by Paul's mentor in his legal education Gamliel in his ethical writings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamliel_I
Paul was trained in this manner of ethical teaching.
Gamliel is the one quoted in Acts 5:39 in defending the Apostles: "But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
Our current English text translation mashes together at times what the question was with the response so what appears misleadingly, and what has been taught through the ages misleadingly -if not heretically (for lack of understanding through faulty translation) is both the question and answer appearing sequentially as doctrine as though Paul said the whole thing together rather contradictorily and confusingly.
More about this later, but if you read carefully Paul's letters to the Corinthians you will find references to such things as -now about those things concerning.....or about those matters of which you wrote-clearly indicating that Paul is responding to questions raised by the Corinthians in correspondence first presented to him.
If you view the texts in that fashion, it completely turns on its head the common wisdom about Paul's women bashing.....
Now go back and re-read Corinthians 1 and 2 and sort out which verses are the questions and which verses are really the answers to the preceeding questions. You will amaze yourself.
The First Evangelist was the Samaritan woman at the well who ran to tell her entire town that there was a prophet Jesus who told her all about herself. The first Post-Resurrection Evangelist was Mary Magdalene who first saw Jesus at the tomb and told Peter the Lord is Risen from the Dead, Hallelujiah.
Like it or not, you can't stop the Girls From Preaching. [You will only find yourselves fighting against God.]
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