The Gender Wars: Is The Church A "He-Man Woman-Hater's Club"? (Part 2)

Meet Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, wild animals, healing, wilderness, chastity, and childbirth. Lovely lady, isn't she? Unless you are a professor of Greek/Roman Mythology or have a unique addiction to studying religions of the ancient world, you probably won't recognize this idol or know anything about the goddess it represents. I won't bore you with the details, suffice it to say she figures very prominently in the Word of God in Acts 19. (Roman mythology called Artemis by the name of Diana).

It seems that Paul started a near-riot by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the region of Ephesus. People got saved and began burning their books of magic and other religious paraphernalia (Acts 19:19). This activity brought the religious cultists out in droves to protest against Paul and the fledgling Ephesian church. You can read about what happens in the latter verses of Acts 19.

Space doesn't allow me room to detail the religious practices of Artemis/Diana worship, but a quick perusal of the internet on the subject will show you a couple of interesting things.

One, Ephesus was home to the Temple of Artemis; the Mecca of Artemis worshipers.




Two, Women figured very prominently in the religious practices of the Temple of Artemis. The Priestesses of Artemis held a unique and powerful position in Ephesian society. Young girls were schooled in the dances and rituals of Artemis worship as soon as they were old enough to walk and talk. Suffice it to say, women of the Temple of Artemis were a powerful and influential group; an influence that would have tried to attach itself to the young Ephesian churches.

Three, according to 1 Timothy 1:3-4, young Timothy was left in Ephesus with the explicit instructions to "charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions..."

It is not difficult to imagine the tough time the Ephesian church had with keeping "other doctrines" out of their midst. It is noteworthy to mention Christ's commendation of the Ephesian church for their hatred of the "Nicolaitans" (Revelation 2:6). For more info on who the Nicolaitans might have been (since there's no clear definition in the Word other than this verse) check out this link

So, when you read Acts 19 and pay attention to the reaction of the Artemis worshiping Ephesians toward the newly converted Christians and you mix that with even the most basic knowledge of Artemis/Diana worship rituals, especially as it pertains to women, is it difficult to imagine why Apostle Paul would write the instructions to Pastor Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:11-15?

Gnosticism, with its "fables and endless geneologies", also plays a role in the religious culture of the time. Again space does not allow me to develop this beyond this statement. Paul's invoking of Adam and Eve may have had more to do with the doctrinal battles of the day than it does in evoking the eternal punishment for womankind that most fundamental Christians interpret into that passage.

My point in bringing all of this up is it is vitally important to understand the cultural, religious and social structure of the cities and regions to which these letters were originally addressed. There are many cultural instructions in the scriptures that simply do not apply to our culture and social structure (for example the head covering instructions in 1 Corinthians 11). In short, it is folly to try to impose ancient (or even modern) Middle Eastern cultural laws onto our Western churches.

I find it interesting that my fundamental Baptist brethren in particular (although they are by no means alone in this) can explain away the clearly taught instructions on speaking in and interpreting the gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians 14 by stating those gifts were for a certain time period and a certain culture while claiming the instructions on women's roles in church from the exact same passage of scripture as timeless and eternal (1 Corinthians 14:34-35).

Of course, one could easily argue that I am guilty of the same action in reverse; namely, I believe tongues are still in effect while arguing the rules for women no longer apply today. As far as the 1 Corinthians 14 passage, I only have to point out the phrase "...as also sayeth the law" in verse 34 and ask the question, which law is Paul referring to, God's or man's? I've found no Old Testament scripture commanding silence and submission to all of womankind so unless someone can produce a passage that I've missed that rules God's law out. That said, can you think of any man-made laws in the Middle Eastern region of the world pertaining to women's roles in society that Paul might have been referring to?

It's not easy to exercise brevity on this topic so I'll wrap this up in the next post. Again, contrary to the opinion of many, I'm really not doing this to sway the masses to my side of the arguments that I bring up. I'm just trying to get the topic out there, invite people to discuss them and hopefully teach God's people how to disagree without being divisive. That said, if the e-mails and calls I've gotten on this topic are any indication, there is a lot of passion and emotion attached to the arguments. That formula normally spells disaster for the unity in the Body of Christ and that is one thing that God can not stand (Revelation 2:6)...