Christianity: Gender and Sexuality

Question 1

Complete this quote:
“I . . . . . . . to you our sister . . . . . . , a . . . . . . of the church at Cenchreae…”
Who said it?

Answer 1

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae…” - St Paul (Romans 16:1-2)

Question 2

Complete this quote:
“And do you not know that you are each an . . . ? … You are the . . . . . . . . . . . . . … You are the first . . . . . . . . of the . . . . . . law…”
Who said it?

Answer 2

“And do you not know that you are each an Eve?…You are the devil’s gateway…You are the first deserter of the divine law…” - Tertullian (c155-c240 - Came after St Paul)

Question 3

Give three historical events that impacted on the spiritual role of women from the 5th century.

Answer 3

• 5th Century: The Church forbade the ordination of women as deacons. The only position of authority in the Church women could achieve was the Mother Superior of a abbey e.g. Hildegarde of Bingen
• 16th Century: The Bible was translated into English as a result of the Reformation and women could read and understand it for themselves. They could maybe see that customs concerning conflicted with other teachings such as those about agape.
• 19th Century: Women’s rights grew, and they were no longer as constricted by men as they were in the last century. Women also grew more empowered spiritually: Catherine Booth (wife of the founder of the Salvation Army) said that women who spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit were vehicles for its message, not trying to claim authority.

Question 4

What are the three main features/considerations of biblical criticism?

Answer 4

1. Translations/Original Language
2. Form of the Writing (e.g. letter? liturgy? poem?)
3. Background and/or Context

Question 5

Define biblical criticism with reference to liberal criticism

Answer 5

Biblical criticism is the study of the Bible using a range of different approaches in order to come to a fuller understanding of the text and its meanings
Liberal criticism is the most popular from of criticism in current times - it sees the Bible as a text subject to analysis like any other piece of historical writing

Question 6

Why would some Christians object to biblical criticism?

Answer 6

• Conservative Christians (e.g. Evangelical Protestants) believe the Bible is inerrant, so no further examination is needed
• Catholics value Apostolic Tradition and Succession, which means that the Bible can be correctly interpreted by the Church
• Some Christians see ‘criticism’ (i.e. critical analysis and examination) as criticism - looking at the Bible in that way undermines the Word of God, and therefore his authority

Question 7

What was Karl Barth’s objection to biblical criticism?

Answer 7

• The role of the Bible is to challenge the human assumptions of what is right, so it should not be analysed scientifically or historically.
• The Bible is the Word of God, and therefore should have authority to inform human reason. It doesn’t make sense, then, for humans to judge the Bible with that same inferior reason.

Question 8

What is the fundamentalist/literalist challenge to biblical criticism?

Answer 8

• God’s word as seen in the Bible was intended to be straightforward, meaning that anyone with the Holy Spirit can read and understand scripture for themselves.
• Biblical criticism is unnecessary as the Bible was intended to be understood literally, and it should not have to conform to modern ideals
• For example, specific Bible teachings on gender and sexuality are still relevant in a modern society as they were accepted and followed by the Early Church

Question 9

What is the liberal Christian counterargument to fundamentalism?

Answer 9

• The precepts of our modern society, such as gender equality and acceptance of sexuality, can be reconciled with the themes shown in the New Testament by Jesus, namely agape love.
• Jesus accepted women as followers as readily as men, and was kind to social/religious outcasts.

Question 10

Complete this quote:
“…There is neither Jew nor . . . . . . . , neither . . . . . nor free, nor is there . . . . and . . . . . . , for you are all one is . . . . . . . . . . .”
Who said it/which book did it come from?

Answer 10

“…There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one is Christ Jesus.” - St Paul (Galatians 3: 26-28)

Question 11

Critically analyse Romans 16:1-2 (Phoebe)

Answer 11

• A deacon is a prominent position in the Church, suggesting that women were respected enough as equals to achieve such a role.
• Phoebe being mentioned by name also connotes a level of respect
• Other women are mentioned by name by St Paul, and are called “fellow workers” - suggests that Phoebe is not just an isolated occurrence, but one of many respected women in the Early Church
• But this is likely to be an uncommon event based on geography. Some of the areas that converted to Christianity had commonly had priestesses, so this may be a tradition carried on to aid the conversion process - probably only happened in certain places, especially as “Cenchreae” is specifically mentioned

Question 12

Critically analyse this quote:
“Women should be silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.” - 1 Corinthians 14:35

Answer 12

• This is an excerpt from a letter addressing a specific question from a church in Corinth - it probably refers to a specific incident, so should not be taken to be a broad doctrinal statement
• This is written by St Paul, who has no divine authority compared to God and Jesus
• Odd change from the reverence of Phoebe - it could be the case that women saw the position of Phoebe as norm, and began to act in a way considered inappropriate
• The education level of women was very low at this time, so they may have acted more crudely than the educated men in church
• This may be part of St Paul’s wider disapproval of the large numbers of new Christians speaking in tongues

Question 13

Complete this quote:
“Wives, . . . . . . yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the . . . . . For the . . . . . . . is head of the . . . . as . . . . . . is head of the church”
Who said it/which book did it come from?

Answer 13

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the church…” - Ephesians 5:22-23 (St Paul?)

Question 14

Critically analyse Ephesians 5:22-23 (“Wives, submit…”)

Answer 14

• Clearly shows a power dynamic between men and women that must be upheld - Christ will always be head of the Church, so men shall always dominate their wives.
• This statement is not as blatantly unequal as it first appears as it is followed by the instruction that men should love their wives, and wives respect their husband - relationship of mutual respect
• This is now not thought to be written by St Paul, so it does not carry as much weight as other passages that were. This also explains the differences between this passage and Romans (Phoebe) and Corinthians (“All One in Christ”)

Question 15

Complete this quote:
“I desire then that in every place the men should . . . . , lifting holy hands without . . . . . and . . . . . . . . . . . ; also that women should adorn themselves . . . . . . . . …Let a woman learn in . . . . . . . with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have . . . . . . . . . . . . . men…”
What specific passage is this from?

Answer 15

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger and quarrelling; also that women should adorn themselves modestly…Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men…” - 1 Timothy 2:8-15

Question 16

Critically analyse 1 Timothy 2:8-15

Answer 16

• It seems that this is a letter written in response to a specific issue in a church in Ephesus (seen in the particular references to the “anger and quarrelling” and the “gold, pearls and costly attire” - not valuable in a modern context as it likely was not intended to be used outside of the context it was written
• This passage precedes a chapter that explains that bishops’ wives must be respected - reinforces the fact that this is a specific issue
• Women had poor education at this time, so they were not suited to teaching roles in the Church - no longer true in a modern society, so it is a weak argument
• The wording of the passage suggests that the women were speaking out of turn and arguing with the men, which was against the patriarchal norms at the time - that may have been the root of the issue for the author?
• This passage is now considered by most scholars to have been written after the time of St Paul, meaning it has less value than was once ascribed to it. Although, it may not matter either was as it is not a direction from God or Jesus, so it has no real authority
• The phrase “have authority over” may have been incorrectly translated from Greek as words tend to have several meanings. The word used only appears once in the Bible, so there is no way to fully grasp its meaning from context.