The Bible says that the woman was created as a helper for the man, but what does that mean? What does it mean to help, and how is she supposed to help? This scripture does not mean women/wives are only “the help” as in maids.
Continue readingMatthew, Mark, Luke, and John all tell the story of Jesus being anointed by a woman with oil (identified as Mary Magdalene in some accounts), and she is rebuked for it (by Judas in John’s account). Still, some details don’t seem to harmonize across all four Gospel accounts. Are they different events but with similar actions, or in the same event with conflicting information?
Continue readingWhy does the Bible mainly focus on women committing adultery? Numbers chapter 5 describes a purity ceremony that determines if the wife cheated, but there is no equivalent for men. It may be that the classification of adultery differs under a polygamous system.
Continue readingIn Deut 30:19, God says, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Previously, I wrote an article called “Contraception in the Bible”, which may lead some to ask if abortion is a form of contraception. What is the definition of abortion, and does it match the definition of murder?
Continue readingSome people have used Deuteronomy 22:5 to suggest that women can’t wear pants, because it is considered “men’s clothing.” Is that correct? Are they men’s clothing? Also, can Deut 22:5 even be applied to non-Jews outside of Israel? Should Gentiles also put tassels on their clothing to remember the law, as Deut 22:12 says?
Continue readingShould Christian women cover their hair? It seems like that is what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11:1-15, but cultural context reveals that there is more to this.
Continue reading1 Tim 2:11-15 and 1 Cor 14:34-35 are often cited as sexist verses in the bible that require women to be silent in church. However, proper examination of the original language and context of this letter reveals that it’s not like that. First of all, if women weren’t allowed to speak at all, then why does Paul instruct them on how to pray and prophesy in 1 Corinthians 11:5, both of which require speaking? Women who were prophets in the Bible can be found in Exodus 15:20, Judges 4:4-5, Luke 2:36, Acts 2:17, and Acts 21:9.
Continue readingThere are three interpretations of 1 Timothy 2:12-15 concerning the role of women in the church. Both letters to Timothy were written to help him deal with an uprising of false teachers in the Ephesian church. These false teachers are Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus. These men were either influencing some rebellious women or being influenced by them.
Continue readingThe Old Testament primarily only defines physical virginity, which is defined by a woman having an intact hymen, so men have not ever been labeled virgins in scripture, nor in most ancient cultures. However, as I will explain further, there are some spiritual principles revealed in ritual purity laws of the Old Testament that feed into the definition of sexual immorality in the New Testament. Eunuchs are recognized as not interested in marriage, but that doesn’t mean they are all virgins; some may have had sex before getting castrated. Only procreative sex acts deal with virginity, so same-sex intercourse and bestiality didn’t count, but those were violations of the moral laws and punishable by death. Some may use this to argue that they can escape virginity loss by having oral or anal sex, however, the spiritual aspects of this apply to what happens in the heart and mind regarding the subject of sex.
Continue readingSome suggest that the apostles (especially Paul) are sexist, but I have doubts about that. If one were to look up famous women in Rome, one would find that most, if not all, of the women recorded were daughters or wives of government officials. There was little room for ordinary women to have any value in Roman history. If a common woman were to have accomplished anything significant in history from that era and culture, it would likely be overlooked. Remember that women discovered Jesus’ tomb, so if the apostles wanted to lie about the resurrection, why did they admit that women were the first witnesses? In first-century Judah, a woman’s word was invalid in court, so eyewitness accounts by women didn’t count because that is how sexist the culture was. Considering the culture, it would make more sense to lie and say the men found the tomb empty, since a woman’s words are considered gossip and unreliable by the men of society. It did the apostles a disservice to even mention that women were involved; this point brings us to Paul.
Continue reading