PAUL’S TEACHINGS ABOUT WOMEN, PART 1
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The Apostolic Church began with a continuation of Christ Jesus’ exoneration of women. Men and women prayed together, as when they prayed “with one accord” to be led of God in choosing a replacement for Judas, the traitor (Acts 1:14+). “Multitudes both of men and women” were accepted as believers after the Day of Pentecost (Acts 5:14). When Philip preached in Samaria, he baptized “both men and women” (Acts 8:12). Christian women were considered such a vital part of what was called the Way—much different from the women in Judaism—that Saul, yet to be converted, persecuted both men and women of the Way (Acts 9:1-2; 22:4, 5).
After his conversion, Saul humbly took the name Paul, meaning “the little one.” But this “little one” became a giant while following his Master in lifting women to new heights. The false and poor translations of some passages in his epistles, as seen through the eyes of patriarchic Christianity that had adopted Aristotle’s diabolical ideas about women, and epistles written after Paul’s death but ascribed to him, reversed some of Paul’s positions on women and made them distorted in part, mixed at best. Thus, some passages pertaining to women were twisted to sound more in accord with Aristotle’s pagan views instead of Christ’s uplifting ones. Many of these old mistranslations of Paul’s writings, and forgeries written decades later in his name, considered either venerable or sacred, have thus been carried forward into many newer translations. In short, Jesus’ champion was, and has continued to be post-Paulinist, translated and manipulated into a patriarchal bigot.
[This is not true, as is shown in Chapter Four of Championing Womanhood Through a Higher Concept of God, and partially in blogs to come.]