Some background information:
Ephesus, where this letter was delivered housed the most famous shrine ever built to the great earth mother, and it did wonders for the tourist trade. They called her Artemis and her magnificent temple attracted thousands of worshippers from far and wide every day. Supported on a hundred massive columns, it was one of the seven wonders of the world. I saw the remains of some of those columns, on a day trip to Ephesus as part of a package tour to Turkey, a welcome relief from lying on a beach in rows with hundreds of other British tourists. Judging by the massive bits and pieces still remaining, the temple must have been quite breathtaking - a vast ornate building that seemed to reach up to the heavens. Inside the temple, stood a huge statue of the goddess. She wore a high crown, representing the walls of a city, built on her benevolence. In cities other than Ephesus her devotees praised her perpetual chastity. In Ephesus they worshipped her for her surrendee to love without restraint - no doubt an attractive option for pilgrims. Sexual ecstasy was a means of direct contact with the deity herself.
Living in such an eroticized culture, it is easy to see how some of the church members might have confused ancient mythology with Christian doctrine, Artemis with Eve, the first mother. Whatever their hersy, it seems clear in Paul's letter to Timothy that it was preached by none other than the Church leaders or teachers (1 Timothy 1:3,7), and that their greatest fans were a number of women who had not only opened their homes to them, but were now actively involved in propagating ideas themselves. Presumably this particular group included a number of widows. In 1 Timothy 5, Paul appears to imply that young widows are universally wanton gadabouts, idle busybodies, and gossips. It's not really likely however, that Paul thought all young widows everywhere were morally suspect. He calls these particular widows 'gossips' and 'busybodies' (1 Tim 5:13). The greek for gossips phlyaroi has nothing to do with passing on tasty titbits of information. It means to talk nonsense or untruthfulness. The actual translation of 'busybodies' or periergoi is 'workers of magic'. In other words, he describes these particular widows in the same terms as the false teachers - foolish, empty headed (1 Tim 4:1). They had been seduced by an early form of gnostic hersy which turned Christian truth on its head. According to the Clark Kroegers, this heresy said that the Creator, the God of the Bible, was evil, because he had made the material world. The serpent brought salvation by helping human beings to shake off the deception, and Eve who brought this secret knowledge in the world when she ate from the tree, was the mediator between human beings and Satan. Sexual license was therefore a religious experience, an acceptable way of connecting human flesh with Eve, the divine mother figure.
It's hardly surprising therefore, that Paul is so outspoken in this letter to the young pastor he has so carefully mentored. The evils of society were all there in Ephesus, and they cannot be allowed to encroach on the Church.
Authentein was the greek word translated as 'authority' in this sentence is particularly strong, and not used in any other part of the New Testament. It had no suggestion of usurping authority until the third or fourth century. In Richard and Catherine Clark Kroeger were forced to turn to greek drama for clues to its original meaning. They concluded that authentein was in fact an extremely rare verb. It's literal meaning was 'to thurst', presumably with a sword, and it was used by greek dramatists to refer to murder or suicide. In greek mythology, there was often a close association between sex and death. The sword was also a phallic symbol, which gave authentein a slang meaning at the time of Paul. It was in fact a rather coarse word for sexual relations. Why would a nice jewish boy like paul, a rabbi at that, resort to such strong language? It would appear that these women in Ephesus were using their sexual charms to seduce and ensnare susceptible men, to entice them in as new followers of their heresy. This is not just erroneous, but downright evil.
'For Adam was formed first, then Eve' Paul continues. 'And Adam was not the one deceived, it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.' This has nothing whatsoever to do with superior male intellect or moral judgement. Nor is Paul suggesting that woman is more vulnerable or susceptible to sin. In fact, in his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul lays the blame for the fall firmly at Adam's door. (1 Cor 15:22). Nor is Paul establishing a hierarchical order in creation. That would be a denial of the God given equality of all human beings, irrespective of race or gender. Rather Paul is issuing an out and out challenge to the way certain women in Ephesus were manipulating the Genesis story. He had to explain to them that Eve was not the earth goddess and couldn't reproduce without a relationship with Adam. Greek mythology was often confused with Christian teaching. At creation, men were not given authority over women, nor were women given authority over men. It was a partnership, check out the first few chapters. Women were never intended to use their sexuality to control, subvert, manipulate, or dominate men. Paul was setting the record straight. It is hradly surprising therefore that he told timothy to silence this pernicious group.
'Learning in quietness' does not mean, shut up, but rather with a quiet demeanour. Carefully translated in context, the verse begins to look like this: 'I am not permitting these women to teach while they seduce men and claim they are the author of man. Instead they are to learn with humility, because Adam was created first, not Eve. In other words, they were not to be given a platform until they could prove they had learned the basics of true christian doctrine and were disabused of their subversive dangerous ideas. There would be no more revealing clothes, no more eyeing up anything in a toga, no more flirting or suggestive behaviour all condemned by Paul in the strongest terms (1 Timothy 2:9). Instead they would submit to learning a greater wisom and truth.
This could be applicable to any group easily decieved, and confusing christian doctrine with other ideas/philosophies. Surely some of u can see not all women are like that, and some are very godly women, clearly filled with the holy spirit, and capable of teaching others, and yes can even know something that some men don't. Spiritual maturity comes to how submitted to god u r, how much u read his word and be filled with his wisdom - not on what gender you are.
Among quite a few christians, there seems to be a deep seated fear that to look at a passage in its cultural context must somehow reduce its relevance and contradict Paul's teaching that 'All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.' (2 Timothy 3:16). 'But Christians unlike the Jewish people, often only have a remedial knowledge of their history. They have no sense of where they came from or how they got here. There seems to be an assumption that the church simply landed one day, like a flying saucer, in its present form.
I find, putting something in its historical context, far from reducing Paul's teachings, understanding the backdroop to his letters makes it more accessible and expands its potential breadth of its application. Seeing how it was applied then, can guide us on how it should be applied today
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