Hello friend
All in all, I salute your rational thought process. If you go back to my original post here in this thread, it was intended to tell SOT that there are many ways to interpret what the Bible says. I then explained my denominational tradition, informed him that he would hear other, sometimes opposite doctrines, and suggested that he study for himself with prayer and humility and an open spirit (well, I may not have said all of that, but you get the point).
Anyway, what I find remarkable is that for me, it is perfectly normal for others to read, study, and prayerfully understand scripture differently than I. Others seem to struggle with that. Perhaps it is my denominational stance on finding God's will for our lives as I explained above to SOT.
While I still see some of your answers as making a judgement call to accept some parts of Timothy as mandatory and others as not or as illustrations, I accept and even understand your position.
To me, there are always things scriptural that SEEM to be contradictory. You and I probably agree that when faced with such a situation, it is up to us to rectify that discrepancy as we cannot simply disregard some part of the Bible. Take for instance the Scirpture that crazy liz (maybe not so crazy afterall
) put forth. It says that Priscilla and Aquilla explained to Apollos "the way of God more adequately" (NIV). Additionally Timothy says (as has already been posted) "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent." (again, NIV).
You and I both, as we study diligently to rightly divide the word, seek God's assistance through the Holy Spirit, we neither want to teach that which is contrary to the Word. So, we begin to study other scriptures and related texts. Perhaps we study commentaries and theologians to get their perspective--and we continue to pray. Without realizing how much, most of us are affected by our theological upbringing--the doctrine and teaching we received when our faith was in its formitive years. It affects us enough that it can color our understanding of scripture (Wesley would say this is the experience factor).
As it is all said and done, both of us choose that one of the passages should be taken more at face value than the other. For you, you see Paul's instruction to Timothy as an etched in stone mandate for all, therefore, the passage in Acts of Prescilla's teaching Apollos needs some further explaination that makes sense in light of the literal reading of Timothy, so you say, "
This Scripture does not say that Priscilla taught Apollos. It shows that Aquilla and Priscilla taught Apollos. While Priscilla was definitely a part of this interaction, she was there alongside the headship of her husband. So truthfully, we really don't know what the nature of the interaction here was. There are many times when my husband and I will minister to others. Although this is a joint effort, I am supporting him in this endeavor and working alongside him to minister. We also know that many women were co-workers of the apostles, but that does not mean that were given places of authority over them or any man."
As for me, I read it and the passage in acts (as the only book of a Historical genre in the New Testament) seems more like face value stuff to me. Luke was doing his best to leave us a history--and I take into account that while women in minstry were rare in my early days as a Christian in the United Methodist Church, they did exist--so I accept what is said in Acts at face value. Apollos accepted instruction in their own little house church from a woman. So, then--I now have to decide what is to be done with Paul's letter to Timothy, so after much study and prayer, I believe that Paul was writing to a specific pastor of his own rules for a church, but they were by no means meant to be classified as rules that would still be in context for every church of every day.
This is the point, for me. You and I have some things we have agreed on in other posts--others we have not--this one, we do not--but we both are sincere in our efforts, both seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and both come to different understandings. Can we both be "right?" Tough question. My answer? We're both probably right and wrong about things. We both agree that Jesus Christ is the son of God and our savior, so I'm not worried if one of us or both of us misunderstand the other stuff--it'll work out in the end and we'll laugh about it in Heaven (you, me AND our spouses!). Can we both be right? Who knows, in our limited understanding of God, perhaps he actually has some way that is completely beyond our understanding to make that a reality.
And of course, I will pray for you and continue to share with you.
God bless
Tommy
Be BLESSED by the BEST and stay within the confinements of PEACE
