There are various forms of a demographic that regularly circulates the
internet, of the "umbrella of authority." It will show that God
is the top, as the biggest umbrella, and the husband is under that covering,
wherein the husband has an umbrella, and under his authority and covering is
the wife, and wherein the wife has an umbrella, and her children are under
her. This teaching originated from a possible cult leader who has been
accused of allegedly sexually abusing many girls under his "authority,"
because they were entrusted to him, and they were told they had to do what he
said. Whether abused by this man, or men like him, women don't speak out, because they are taught that the Scriptures say: "Let your women keep silence in the churches:” Some of these abused women and girls go to their leading pastors about what
happened to them, seeking help, and the leading pastor quotes the following to
them from the Bible: "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man
find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto
the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the
damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he
hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and
lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die. But unto the
damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death:
for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is
this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and
there was none to save her." -Deuteronomy 22:23-27 KJV The pastor or church elder will then ask the woman or female child if she
"cried out." Of course, she says "no," and then she
is put under church discipline for being a "temptress" to that
"poor man," and not "crying out" during that man's
"moment of weakness." The man usually gets very little to no
church discipline. Meanwhile, the woman or girl is left confused, wondering how in the world
she "tempted" that "godly man" to violate her, and
wondering how she could have "cried out," because if she did, she'd
be put under church discipline for breaking "but I suffer not a woman to
teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence" from the
KJV 1 Timothy 2:12. There is NO way for the abused woman or girl to
"win" in this situation. They will always be the one who was
somehow "in the wrong." Does this seem farfetched to you? If so, count yourself lucky that you
haven't come across this very common occurrence. Let's straighten up these misused and abused Scriptures. The quote
from Deuteronomy 22 clearly states that BOTH the man, and the willingly
participating woman in the act were to be punished, not just the
woman. Second, if they are going to follow this Scripture, then both that
man, and that woman or girl should have received the death penalty.
Third, don't forget that the woman in the above scripture was engaged. Was
the woman or girl who was abused engaged to someone at the time of the abuse? Why doesn't the church follow the mandate of Deuteronomy 22:23-27 today, in
stoning people? Because that was a cultural law at the time, and is no
longer culturally significant for our time, nor does it fit under the New
Covenant, as Jesus cancelled the Law for us: "He {Jesus} canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could
create one new person out of the two groups, making peace."
-Ephesians 2:15 CEB As for the 1 Corinthians 14 passage that says that women are to be
"silent" in church, verses 34 and 35, the "silence
scriptures," was Paul QUOTING a teaching by Cato the Elder, which the
Corinthian church was trying to bring into the church. After quoting this
in verses 34 and 35, Paul goes on to REFUTE it, and teach that instead, women
are just as much allowed to speak in church as men are. The Montgomery
Translation properly shows Paul quoting someone else, and then refuting what he
quoted: ~~"In your congregation" you write, "and
in all the churches of the saints, let the women keep silence in the churches,
for they are not permitted to speak. On the contrary let them be subordinate as
also said the law. And if they want to learn anything, let them ask their own
husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church."
What! Was it from you that the Word of God went forth, or to you only did it
come? ... So, my brothers and sisters, desire the g i f t of prophecy, and do
not forbid speaking in tongues.~~ - 1 Cor. 14:34-35 and 39 updated Montgomery
Translation Note: "the law" in the above scripture was referring to an old
cultural law called the Opian Law. It was not referring to any law in the
Bible. Recall the 'women be silent in church' Scripture we are looking at was in
Corinth. There was a woman church leader of a Corinthian church that Paul
commends! Her name was Phoebe, and she was a minister and leader of the
church in Cenchrea, which was a port of CORINTH. "And I commend you to Phoebe our sister -- being a minister of the
church that [is] in Cenchrea -- that you may receive her in the Lord, as does
become saints, and may assist her in whatever matter she may have need of you
-- for she also became a leader of many, and of myself." -Romans
16:1-2 rYLT Why would Paul tell the church in Corinth that women aren't allowed to speak
in church, and yet he commends a woman preacher and church leader right there
in Romans 16? Paul was quoting Cato the Elder, and then correcting
it. He was advocating FOR women speaking in the church, not against it! What about 1 Timothy 2:12? First off, in the Greek, the word that
means "authority" is NOT in 1 Timothy 2:12. 1 Timothy 2:12 has
the Greek word 'authenteo,' which means murder, or in this case, spiritual
murder. Second, the word translated as 'quiet' or 'silent,' is NOT the Greek
word that means cessation of verbal speech. The word literally means to
be peaceful, or calm. This is such a hard verse to translate into
English, that if you look in different Bible translations, you'll see it
translated various ways, such as the following: 1 TIMOTHY 2:12 IN VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS I don’t allow a wife to teach or to control her husband. Instead, she should
be a quiet listener. CEB This verse cannot be saying that women aren't allowed to be preachers
or church leaders, and are not to teach men, because Paul commended Phoebe for
being a minister of a church, for being a leader, and even for leading him
himself - a man. Further, 1 and 2 Timothy was written to Timothy for instructions when he was
leading the church in Ephesus. In Acts chapter 18, while in Ephesus, the
woman Priscilla taught the man Apollos. Some would say "yes, but her
husband was with her." He sure was, but her name is mentioned first,
and that means SHE was the more prominent teacher, not him. This is
called "Order of Prominence." In the Bible, when 2 or more
people or groups are mentioned, unless context dictates differently, the more
prominent one is mentioned first. If women aren't allowed to teach men,
and must be "silent," then why was it shown as a good thing in the
Scriptures that Priscilla was teaching a man, and it was IN EPHESUS, where 1
Timothy 2:12 was written to? Further, the woman Priscilla went on to pastor a church, as we read about in
Romans 16:3-5 and 1 Corinthians 16:19. What of 1 Timothy 2:12, then? Well, in Ephesus, where this was written
to, there was a HUGE temple to the false goddess Artemis, and women were the
priests in the Artemis temple. Paul didn't want Artemis priest women to
teach Artemis worship in the Christian church. Instead, they were to
calmly listen to the teachings of Christianity, so that they could learn the
truth. This verse is about not bringing FALSE TEACHINGS into the church.
Other places in both 1 and 2 Timothy mention men who were also bringing false
teachings into the church. The whole theme of 1 and 2 Timothy was that of
purging and preventing false teachings in the church. An example of a false teacher would be the female Pastor Jezebel from
Revelation chapter 2. She was not reprimanded for preaching to the
church, but instead she was reprimanded for WHAT she was teaching, as she was
bringing false teachings into the church. She is to be contrasted with the
godly woman pastor named Kyria, of whom the book of 2 John is addressed
to. (Kyria's children were her congregants, just as Jezebel's children
were her congregants, just as people who followed Paul's teachings, Paul
referred to as his children.) Take a look at Pastor Kyria, a godly
woman pastor: "The Elder to the choice Kyria, and to her children, whom I love in
truth, and not I only, but also all those having known the truth" -2
John 1:1 YLT "To: That dear woman Cyria, one of God’s very own, and to her
children whom I love so much, as does everyone else in the church." -2
John 1:1 TLB What about the Scriptures that supposedly specifically goes into headship
and authority? 1 Corinthians 11:3 says: "But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and
the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ." -1
Corinthians 11:3 NRSVue There's no mention of "authority" in this verse, but we'll get to
the verse that does mention "authority" momentarily. Meanwhile,
let's look at the word "head." "Head" here is being
used symbolically, as we recognize. What does it symbolize, though? If
you said "authority" or "leadership," you are gravely
mistaken. Yes, it means this in our modern English, but in the Greek,
"head" - Greek - kephale - didn't take on the common meaning of
"authority" until about 300 years after Paul. At the
time Paul was writing this, "head" meant "source,"
"beginning," or "origination." Is the above verse then saying that men are the origin of women?
NO! Look again. It says "the man is the head of the
woman." This is a specific man and a specific woman - not all men
and women. This is referring to another origination - Adam and Eve.
Adam was "the man," and Eve was "the woman." Adam was
the source of Eve, because Eve was made from Adam's DNA (side). Adam is
"the man," and Eve is "the woman." Keep reading, and
we see it then changes to "any man," and "any woman,"
no longer referring to Adam and Eve. Verses 4-9 are Paul Quoting what the
Corinthians told him in a previous letter they sent to him. Paul gives
his response after these verses. The Corinthians thought that since Adam
came before Eve, and Eve came out of Adam, that men should have authority over
women, and women should have men's authority as their covering. Paul corrects them in verse 10, where he says: "It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her
own head, because of the angels." -1 Corinthians 11:10 NIV,
2011 This verse is the only place in this whole chapter where we get the word "authority,"
and notice this verse teaches us that a woman's headcovering is her having
"authority over her own head." It is NOT any man having authority
over her. She has authority over her own head. And why? Because of
the angels. Why doesn't Paul expound on this thing about angels? Because
he just mentioned angels a little bit ago in this same letter. Take a
look: "Do you not know that we are to judge angels, to say nothing of
ordinary matters?" -1 Corinthians 6:3 Women and men will equally be judging angels when the time comes.
Therefore, Paul reminds us of this in 1Corinthians 11:10, where he says women
have authority over their own heads, because they will be judging angels.
If women will have authority to judge angels, then surely they also have authority
over themselves! As for the Corinthian church thinking that since Eve came out of Adam, men
should have authority over women, Paul quickly corrects that false assumption
in verses 11 and 12: "Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man or man
independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man comes through
woman, but all things come from God." -1 Corinthians 11:11-12
NRSVue Paul reminds them that only one woman came from one man, once, but since
then, every single man came from a woman. Therefore, if one wants
to argue that the head - kephale - source should be in charge, then women
should have full authority over all men, because every man since after Adam,
came through a woman, thus women are literally the source - kephale - of
men. This means if we want to play the headship game, women are literally
the head of men. Paul mentions head - source again in Ephesians chapter 5. Paul also
uses the word "subject." Paul defines the type of subjection in Ephesians
5:21, where it says: "being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ."
-Ephesians 5:21 NRSVue What type of subjection? -Mutual subjection to one another. The next
verse says in most Bible translations the following: "Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord" Yet, the most reliable manuscripts of the Bible do not have the
word "subject" in this verse! This verse is more accurately
translated in the Tree of Life Version: "wives to your own husbands as to the Lord." - Ephesians
5:22 TLV The verb "be subject" is to be carried over into verse 22, as
defined by verse 21. This means verses 22-24 are telling wives how to
be subject to their husbands, and verses 25-31 are telling husbands how to be
subject to their wives. They are to give of themselves for them, and to serve
them, as Christ did the church, during His earthly ministry. The household code of Colossians chapter 3 is an abbreviation of this one in
Ephesians 5. Both the churches in Colossae and Ephesus received both
letters of Colossians and Ephesians. It was a given that the mutual
subjection of Ephesians 5:21 was also for the household code in Colossians
chapter 3. As for the household code in 1 Peter chapter 3, Sarah didn't actually obey
Abraham, but Abraham obeyed Sarah! This is clear if you read the Genesis
account. The Greek word translated as "obeyed" in 1 Peter 3:6 also
can be translated as "answered," as translated in other places in
many Bible versions. The word translated as "Lord" in this verse
by some Bible translations is also translated as "sir," in other
places in the Bible in many Bible versions. Thus, this could be translated as
"thus Sarah answered Abraham and called him sir." Now THIS
actually matches the Genesis 18:12 account! 1 Peter 3:7 starts with the word "likewise," or the phrase
"in the same manner," or similar, depending on which Bible version
you are reading. This word or phrase is supposed to call us back to the
main verb or topic at hand, which in this portion of the chapter was the word
"submit" Therefore, some Bible translations carry the verb over
to help it make more sense in the English. The CEB Bible does an
excellent job of this, and translates 1 Peter 3:7 as thus: "Husbands, likewise, submit by living with your wife in ways
that honor her, knowing that she is the weaker partner. Honor her all the more,
as she is also a coheir of the gracious care of life. Do this so that your
prayers won’t be hindered." -1 Peter 3:7 CEB Now back to "head." In Ephesians 5:22, we saw that the word
"submit" isn't actually there in the Greek, but was carried over from
verse 21, where "submit" was defined as mutual submission.
Verse 23 says: "for the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of
the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." -Ephesians 5:23
NRSVue Notice this verse specifically says "the husband," and "the
wife," while later in this chapter, it will change to husbands and wives
in the plural. This is because verse 23 is referring to Adam and Eve,
just like 1 Corinthians 11:3 was. The husband - Adam, is the head -
source of the wife - Eve, just as Christ is the head - source of the
church. This verse is not talking about authority, but about source, or
origination. This is comparing how Eve came from Adam to how the church came
from Christ. Verse 24 says: "Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in
everything, to their husbands." -Ephesians 5:24 NRSVue This verse sounds intense, but not if we understand what "subject"
means. The Greek word behind what is translated as "subject"
has two meanings. It has a military meaning, and a non-military
meaning. The military meaning means to arrange troop divisions under a
leader. The marriage is not a military, so we use the non-military definition,
which means to cooperate with someone, be devoted to someone, or to support
someone. We just saw in verse 23 that Christ is the source of the church, symbolized
as a head, and that the church is the body. Your physical body supports your
head. Just as the body supports the head, wives are to support their
husbands, and as per verse 21, so also husbands are to support their
wives. Some Bible translations translate this verse in a more accurate,
understandable way, such as the following: "In the same way the church is devoted to Christ, let the wives
be devoted to their husbands in everything." -Ephesians 5:23 TPT Many churches and well-meaning people think that the Bible teaches that the
husband is the spiritual head of the wife, and perhaps even the head of the
home. However, as you've seen from the above, no Scriptures teach
that. Ephesians 5:23 is teaching that the original husband, Adam was the
source for the original wife, Eve, as an example of how Christ is the
originator of the church. Therefore, both wife and husband have the same head - Christ, and Christ is
God, and God created all. God is our source/originator: "For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, but all
things come from God." -1 Corinthians 11:12 NRSVue Eve came from Adam, but since then, all men come through women, but all things
- women and men, come from God. God is our source, thus God is our
spiritual head - not any human being.
and
"But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man,
but to be in silence."
These Scriptures are from 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and 1 Timothy chapter 2 in
the King James Bible. Many of the women and girls in this situation and
situations just like this in churches all over the world, but especially in the
Southern United States, keep silent and endure the abuse, because they've been
taught that the above Scriptures mean that they have to be quiet, and they can't tell their predator abuser "no,"
because that could be seen as having "authority over the man," which
they are taught is a sin.
Moreover, in the area of teaching, I am not allowing a woman to instigate
conflict toward a man. Instead, she is to remain calm. ISV
I don’t advocate that the newly converted women be the teachers in the church,
assuming authority over the men, but to live in peace. TPT
I'm not saying that women should teach men, or try to dictate to them; rather,
that they should be left undisturbed. N.T. Wright Translation
I do not permit a woman to teach that she is the originator of man, rather she
is not to cause a disturbance. REV