Sun 14 Sep 2008 06:09:48 AM EDT

New Testament Notes

Paul and Women

In terms of gender Paul was a radical egalitarian; unfortunately he has an opposite reputation, especially to sensitive women. The truth is the 'sexist' statements attributed to paul were not written by Paul at all, but by writers of a later generation who claimed Paul as their author (cf crossan.)

The Pauline letters were Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1st Thessalonians and Philemon. Crossan cited Galatians 3:28 to prove Paul's 'radical egalitarianism.

Here are the offending passages:

I Timothy 2:11

In I Corinthians 14:34-5 an insertion was made by a disciple of Paul to the same effect.

To support his thesis Crossan and Reed (his coauthor) described a grotto, dug out of solid rock with a "Byzantine frescoe" showing Paul with his hand raised in a teaching gesture. Beside him is a woman, her hand also raised. But later 'interpreters' defaced the woman, and especially her hand.

Here we see the gradual corruption of the original teaching by social conformists in the direction of the general anti-feminine prejudice. (They had it then, and we have it now.)