PAUL’S TEACHINGS ABOUT WOMEN, Part 3
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To get a clear picture of Paul’s thought, let’s start with a passage that did not get mistranslated: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The message is straight forward: among Christians, there is equality among nationalities; there is equality among social classes; there is equality between the genders. Males and females were equal in the sight of Christ.
What a reversal of both Jewish and Greek religious beliefs and customs, which were definitely highly patriarchal! In both of these cultures, women had few if any rights. They were to remain obediently silent. In the synagogues, women were to be located so that the men could not see them. Neither culture allowed women to gather in large groups to carry on womanly discussions. Now Paul comes along and says not so in Christianity. Men and women are equal, both made in the image and likeness of that God described in the first chapter of Genesis. It was difficult for the Aristotelian-minded translators to screw up this passage. So it got by unscathed and revealed the true Pauline position on women.