Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!rutgers!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: hudson@athena.cs.uga.edu (Paul Hudson Jr) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Sexism in the church Message-ID: Date: 13 May 91 08:17:33 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Georgia, Athens Lines: 31 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I think you are rather critical of Paul. Most of Paul's writings about women are probably mosty in his salutations. I especially recommend Romans 16:1. The declintion of the names should tell the gender, so women can be identified. Do you think that maybe Paul's discussion of Adam might be an allusion to Adam's excuse for sinning? He said that God had given him this woman who had decieved him. Then God said that the woman would serve the man, and that the woman would have pain in child birth. It seems to be a very brief summary. If all Scripture is inspired of God, then does it not make sense that it should all agree in doctrine and that there should be no such thing as "Paulanity" or Cephasanity or Apollosanity, but that we can follow all of the commands of God and be in unity? Why would Paul's writings contradict the Gospels? The Gospels do not deal in detail with the role of women in the church in any place that I know of. Paul's writings do. How can we follow the Gospels advice on something that they do not discuss? I think that we can look at Acts and see to some extent what the proper role of women in the early church was. Women occupied the position of deaconess (servant.) Maybe an example of a deacon might be found in Acts 6. i don't know that they are called deacons, but they had positions of administrative responsibility, and I do not think that this necesarily involved any authority that would contradict Paul's instructions. Paul recognized women as deconesses. Peobe was a deaconess, and Paul told the Romans to help her in whatever she needed. There may were certain roles that Paul did not consider having authority over a man. Link Hudson