Women's Forum

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 6661 Location: USA

Good answer JB.

Gen 3:14 And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all [domestic] animals and above every [wild] living thing of the field;upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust [and what it contains] all the days of your life.

Gen 3:17-19 And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat [of the fruits] of it all the days of your life. (18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. (19) In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.

God did not curse them, He enumerated the curse that was upon them for what they did. The curse was the natural consequence for their actions, not a punish God imposed upon them.

hat lady · Tadpole Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 16

Consider Phoebe in Romans 16:1, 2

In verse 1 Paul calls her a diakanos. The translators chose to translate this verse as servant where elswhere in referrence to males it is translated minsiter. The Greek word here is in the male gender referring to a female. This is not a mistake of translation, it was Paul's intention to make known that Phoebe was a minister.

Verse 2 states that Phoebe is to be given whatever help she needs in doing the ministry. It is not talking about Phoebe needing food and lodging it is talking about giving her whatever she requires to do the ministry. It goes on to say that Phoebe has been in ministry with Paul as a helper to many and to Paul himself. It does not say Phoebe was an overseer like Timothy, not a pastor. But you can't get around the fact that Phoebe was a minister.

Acts 18:26 Paul talks about Prisilla and Aquilla and wherever he mentions them Priscilla is always mentioned first, he had to have a reason to do that. When Priscilla and Aquilla approach Apollos they both teach him, not just Aquilla, but Priscilla as well.

Contrary to popular belief Paul did have women be active in the church and he did have women teaching men and he did have women standing up to prophesy in the congregation. See I Corinthians 11:5.

I Corinthians 12:13 says we were all baptized into one body and made to drink of the same spirit. That means every body not just men.

There is so much more the role of women in Biblical times than just submission.

The women who followed Jesus were exceptionaly dedicated disciples and were the only ones not to desert Him in the end and He chose for them to be the first ones to see Him resurrected.

Mary and Martha is an interesting story. The expression, sit at His feet refers to more than just sitting there. In those days it was an expression that if you sat at the foot of a Rabbi you were His disciple learning at His feet. Which is why Jesus tells Martha, Mary has chosen the important part and it shall not be taken from her.

God bless.