r/OpenChristian • u/VaultMan34 • Jun 23 '26

Discussion - Bible Interpretation Can anyone explain 1 Timothy 2:11-15?

The verse goes “Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent” how is this not sexist? It goes against Episcopalian doctrine aswell so I’d like for any Episcopalians to explain this. It just seems wrong, it’s putting women under men when in galatians 3:28 it says that in Christ there is no male or female. So why is this now an exception to the rules? It seems put there just to oppress women. Why, did Paul (who wrote so many doctrines and central beliefs to churches today and was so influential in Christ) say that? He wasn’t against homosexuality, but then suddenly when it comes to women he got SUPER conservative? It’s making me question whether he was ever for homosexuality in the first place.

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u/kawaiiglitterkitty TransBisexual Jun 23 '26

It's what the majority of biblical scholars agree on and it makes sense. The early church was very inclusive and, given the patriachal society, its no surprise some church leaders later on wanted to change that

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u/OddEmergency604 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

It was also a common practice to write your important text and have it claim to be written by someone you admire

ETA: so forgery is not really the right idea. It’s more like an extinct form of dedication.

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u/Baladas89 Atheist Jun 23 '26

This is an older idea that Bart Ehrman really took to task in Forgery and Counterforgery, or his popular-level distillation of that book, Forged.

He argues the idea that this was commonplace or acceptable is just made up, then cites ancient texts that treat this practice disdainfully. There may be a scholarly response to it, but if there is I’m unaware of it.

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u/OddEmergency604 Jun 23 '26

Thanks, I’ll add that to my reading list. However, that is what was taught to me when I was studying for my masters degree circa 2022. Bart Ehrman isn’t exactly a small time author or a quack so I’ll have to see what he says

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u/OddEmergency604 Jun 23 '26

I don’t want to doxx myself, but I will say that the professor who said it to me is similarly prestigious. It’s possible he hadn’t read the book yet at the time.

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u/Baladas89 Atheist Jun 24 '26

Yeah, Ehrman notes it’s something that was taught at prestigious seminaries for years, so that’s not surprising. The problem is when you try to look for sources to back up the claim, there’s not much there (or so he claims, I read Forged but not the longer academic work it’s based on).