Making a case for women in leadership

[Blain]

^
This post was meant to be a joke like I believe Blain was making a joke in his reference to identifying as a cat 😺

Yeah I thought it was pretty funny I was tempted to reply saying I could make a kitty cult

 

[lrs68]

Yeah I thought it was pretty funny I was tempted to reply saying I could make a kitty cult

Lol that would have been hilarious 🤣

 

[Snackersmom]

@Magenta

True.....

In college I remember having discussions with the campus pastor about the pastoral requirements, for instance in the pastoral epistles.

One view was that the husband of one wife only applies to polygamy, multiple wives.

Another view of the passage was one wife at a time; meaning you could legitimately marry and divorce 5 times, as long as you were married at the time of the office.

Another was that you had to be married and at least have a child on the way, as in wife must be pregnant .
That was a discussion that I had with a previous pastor who hired an assistant and ordained him.

Then there's the view that a single guy can pastor as long as he's not a novice.

There's probably more, but those are what I surprisingly remember.
I was serious about the thread and my initial post. Tonight I'm not taking anything too awful seriously because I need sleep to function well tomorrow.
Besides, I've been down the debate road a time or two on this one with a former pastor.

For whatever its worth.... the Greek text literally translates "a one-woman man". Polygamy wasn't common in Ephesus at the time, but divorce/remarriage/adultery/fornication were all very common. Polygamists would definitely be disqualified, but I'm guessing the instruction was speaking more towards:

-Adulterers

-Men who were keeping relations within marriage but divorcing and remarrying for non-biblical reasons

-Single guys who were "playing the field"

-Just any guy in general (married or single) who was known for seeking out the romantic attention of multiple females, even if he refrained from sexual contact.

I could be wrong of course, but "one woman man" does seem to me to refer more to heart attitude than marital status..... Paul himself was single, and he oversaw much.

 

[lrs68]

For whatever its worth.... the Greek text literally translates "a one-woman man". Polygamy wasn't common in Ephesus at the time, but divorce/remarriage/adultery/fornication were all very common. Polygamists would definitely be disqualified, but I'm guessing the instruction was speaking more towards:

-Adulterers

-Men who were keeping relations within marriage but divorcing and remarrying for non-biblical reasons

-Single guys who were "playing the field"

-Just any guy in general (married or single) who was known for seeking out the romantic attention of multiple females, even if he refrained from sexual contact.

I could be wrong of course, but "one woman man" does seem to me to refer more to heart attitude than marital status..... Paul himself was single, and he oversaw much.

Those evil wicked male Gentiles

 

[Snackersmom]

Those evil wicked male Gentiles

Lol I doubt the women were any better! 😜

Keep in mind that a lot of new converts were being added rapidly.... Paul knew Timothy would be fighting against ingrained mindsets and cultural norms that would wreck the church if not guarded against 😬