Stuck in a Moment...for awhile 1 Timothy 2:11-15

1 Timothy 2:11-15
11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15But women[a] will be saved[b] through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

OK, here's the deal. Dudes, I am sorry for having taken such a long time off. My excuse (not that you care), I started training for a triathlon and kind of got my priorities out of whack. This obviously needs to change...now is the time!!! (I feel like it's January 1st all over again). Here is my second deal, I think I'm going to plant on this passage for awhile. Personally, I don't like it and I try and avoid it. I have opinions, but I don't think they are very educated, and fairly one sided. So, I'm going to try and come at it from both sides (and more if there are). I will blog the journey but I suspect I will be here for a week or so. You may get bored, I understand, but I need to get some kind of a fix on it...so here goes!!!!!

Here are some preliminary questions...
1. what does quietness and full submission mean? Does it actually mean quietness or "silence" as in verse 12 or does it have the sense of being respectful?
2. what does it mean to "teach" or have "authority" over a man?
3. Is this just for in the church or other settings as well?
4. Is the foundation for these exhortations cultural or does 13 and 14 make it universal because it seems to go back to creation?
5. What is up with verse 15???????

Let me start by saying that 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 makes it plain that women and men alike have been given spiritual gifts and 1 Peter 4:10 makes it plain that we are to use these to bless each other. The question is not does everyone have them, the question is how is everyone to use them? Also, 1 Timothy 3:15 makes it pretty clear that Paul's instructions to Timothy are focused on how the institutional church should function...and it seems to me that this passage is speaking specifically on what happens within the church in that sense (I could be wrong...I could be wrong on a lot of things).

While I think that much of this passage can be looked at as oppressive through cultural eyes, one thing of particular note is the reality that Paul wants women to learn...verse 11...in those days, not many people cared if women learned, or perhaps even wanted women to learn. This in and of itself is a fairly big deal. However, the emphasis of the passage is not on whether they should learn or not, but on how they should learn. This is where it gets scary!!!!!!! (by the way, my points of this passage being scary and one I don't like is fairly culturally driven. God is good and so are His ways, even if I don't understand them. I should not be scared of what will come from this study, I should be excited...but that is not always my reality). Until tomorrow!!!!!
I'm out!

Sid