two sundays ago, i visited irving bible church which is literally a 1 minute drive from my house. it was much like austin stone, except they owned the building. after worship and announcements, i was utterly amazed when a woman stepped up to the podium with a bible, notes and a bottle of water and proceeded to teach the gospel. this is the very first time i have ever witnessed a woman preacher.
i’m looking for your thoughts. how do you interpret 1 timothy 2:11-12 – “a woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” is irving bible church breaking the law written in the bible… a book that is held in highest reverence with nothing false within? or are they onto something refreshing and enlightening?
i’d love to hear jackie’s response, as i’m sure she gets this question quite often. but for now, i’d like to hear yours.
I think you have to look at a lot of passages in the context in which they were written and who the intended audience was. I haven’t done a ton of research, but it’s my understanding that women were generally not educated and more susceptible to false teachings. Obviously in this case you wouldn’t want them leading/teaching a group of people.
Gid once had a talk about how many parts of the Bible were one step ahead of society at the time pointing at the direction that God wanted people to go. There are a lot of examples of this, like how slaves should be treated, etc.
So, there’s the passage you mentioned above, but there are also examples of women who were deacons, judges, etc. IMO, I would be fine with a woman preaching.