My pastor also ASKED me to teach a bible study months ago. I went before God on this matter and asked Him what do HE want me to tell HIS people. God told me and the entire church was blessed by the teaching. When I got up to teach, it wasn't me but it was God speaking through me. Whatever I do, I do unto God and for His glory. I seek to do His will and not my own. I am a woman who God has used numerous of times to teach His word. All of the time, I am asked by the Pastor to do it.
As a woman, I know I am not supposed to usurp authority over a man. If I teach under the leadership of men, how is this then usurping authority over them. I pray for those who are not understanding what God is saying in His word about women teachers. I pray for God to open your eyes even now. May you all be blessed.
We're spinning wheels, it seems.
Ok, once more, the first verse:
1 Timothy 2:12 - But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
Please pay very close attention to this verse. I'll use different words, meaning the same thing, so it'll be easier to read.
1 Timothy 2:12 (paraphrasing) - But I DO NOT ALLOW a woman to teach, (keyword coming up)
NOR allow them to take authority over the man, but to be in silence.
See that "NOR"? That means a separate thing that he does not allow. He doesn't allow teaching, nor the taking over of authority. He has them remain silent. Where does it say "besides when the authority (pastor) allows it"?
And the second verse:
1 Corinthians 14:34 - Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. 35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
If it is a shame for women to speak in church, where does the "besides when the authority (pastor) allows it" part come in? If it is not permitted, where does it say "it's alright if an authority figure (pastor) says it's alright"?
I would like to bring you back to
Genesis now, to oil the gears a bit. Please bear with me, I know this will be a long post, and I know patience wears thin on message boards, but this is worth the read.
Genesis 3:1 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Now, I am
not pointing this out to back up
1 Timothy 2:14 (And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.),
but to show you why we are having this discussion.
The devil, in his slithering form, deceived Eve by playing to her pride.
By telling her she was
below God, and he didn't want her to eat of the fruit because she would be like God,
the devil made her feel a great injustice. She believed what the devil was saying: that
God Himself was deceiving her, because he wanted to be the only God and not share the power with her (and her husband).
The devil will try to convince us of
loopholes and technicalities of the Bible, and unfortunately, like our original mother and father, we will fall for them from time to time. We try to convince ourselves that we are above that because we know better now, but we're not. Unless we bury our heads in that Bible and take it for exactly what it means, and not try to inject what we feel are "
MODERN SOCIAL NORMS", we will continue to fall just as they did.
A pastor is not above this.
Now, I am not claiming to be smarter or more biblically educated than your pastor, but unfortunately, as far as I can see, he is missing the mark. If you will be offended, all I can do is point you back to
Galatians 1:10. Until you can
BIBLICALLY (not with "it's accepted in modern times") prove to me where I am wrong, I stand my ground.
I am only saying what I am reading from the Bible and
will not apologize for that.
If you prove otherwise,
I will apologize fully and as publically as possible. If not, please be patient with me. I am assuming we are both children of God, and as such, I love you and feel no hard feelings whatsoever, and expect no less from you, my sister in Christ.