Doctrinal Misconceptions - Protestant Apocryphal/Teaching - True or False -According to the Bible.... -Paul hated women and could not get along with them. -It is a common myth, often repeated by liberal theologians, that Paul held to the common belief of Jews that it was better to born a donkey or a dog than a woman. -Paul was opposed to women ministering in the church.
Dear Prayer Warriors, Each week, I will be posting a series of true and false questions, with the answers appearing below. The object of these questions is for you to test yourself--not a test of obscure Bible trivia but a test of whether you are holding on to Biblical revelation or to myths and legends passed down by ignorant men. You should ask yourself, “If I have believed this myth, what other myths do I believe?” The goal is that you will be challenged to faithfully read and study the Holy Scriptures and base your convictions on the holy, eternal, inerrant written Word of God. Paul and the Apostles: Part One 1. Paul hated women and could not get along with them. FALSE: This is a common, slanderous myth, perpetuated by non-Christians in the secular educational system, and, even worse, liberal theologians within the Christian educational and publishing industry. In reality, there are many references to Paul’s excellent working relationship with women in the church. A few of the many examples are… a. Acts 18:18 – Priscilla and Aquila. Acts 18:26 states that with his blessing, they ministered as a couple. b. Philippians 4:3 - Paul had women who were “fellow workers” with him. c. At the end of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, in chapter 16, a number of women are singled out for special mention for their labors in the church, including Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphos and Olympas. There are many other passages in Holy Scripture that show Paul’s good working relationship with women in the church. d. In fact, you cannot find a single passage where the Apostle Paul speaks out against women as a gender. So where do these slanderous myths arise? They originate from a problem secularists and liberals have with God the Holy Spirit--not with the Apostle Paul. The Holy Scriptures, as inspired by God the Holy Spirit, do have special commandments for women (as they do for men) which liberals and secularists rebel against. To aid them in their rebellion, they spread the report that the Apostle Paul had personality problems and ingrained prejudices against women. This is a lie and should not be allowed to stand. 2. It is a common myth, often repeated by liberal theologians, that Paul held to the common belief of Jews that it was better to born a donkey or a dog than a woman. True: This is a common myth and slanderous lie repeated by liberal Bible teachers, who align themselves with pagan secularists. This so-called prayer is actually a paraphrase by a third century liberal rabbi of a statement by Socrates. It was never said by Paul and was never sanctioned by any writings in the early church. This attitude cannot be attributed to the early church in any way, shape or form. The earliest appearances of this statement are some 200 years after Christ. It would be like attributing a view of women by Baptist ministers today based on a statement made by a Jewish rabbi in the 1800’s. It is simply ludicrous. These liberal theologians look for any quote, whether authentic or not, which will free them from the constraints of Holy Scripture. What is even worse-- there is no academic evidence of it being held by the early church, or any primary source document, or that it was even a true representation of third-century Jews. There are, in fact, no primary source documents--whether Biblical, Christian, Jewish or secular--from the time of Paul, which make insulting remarks towards women by Christian ministers or men in the church. It is time for men to stand up and challenge these wicked teachings whenever and wherever they are promoted. As God the Holy Spirit exhorts in 1Timothy 5:20 - “Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.” And what greater sin is there than attributing to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Apostles or the leadership of the early church, slanderous statements which were never made. 3. Paul opposed women ministering in the church. FALSE: See #1
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon Director – Grace Community Int. Grace Community International goes mobile! The Grace Community International free app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is now available on the App Store. Now available as well on Android Listen to sermons and workshops delivered at conferences around the world. Keep up-to-date with Rev. Mahon's blog. View Grace Community International ministry photo albums. Search "Grace Community International" on the App Store today!
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