"But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." - 1 Timothy 2:12
Speaking of takings out of context!
First of all, Paul was human and an admitted sinner who received mercy, and I Timothy is phrased as his hope and preference as he struggled to form ideas of a good and godly society, NOT the direct Word of God.
Second, context: Timothy 2:8-10:
"I
desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands
without anger or quarreling;
also that women adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire 10but by good deed..."
- this is human, mortal man's "desire" and idea of what is right and holy. What follows are also his human ideas of the order of things.
- "without anger or quarreling." Just saying.
Third, in Timothy Chapter 3, Paul goes on about men who would be leaders in the church:
"The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task. Now a bishop must be
above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible,
dignified,
hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard,
not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. "
"He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil; moreover he
must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."
Those sound like a set of ideal qualifications in a job description written by HR, not God's Word, but if you think Paul's words are as immutably good as God's own [wow, completely anti-Christianity], I hope you demand from leaders/exemplify the same if you are one, formally or informally.
Anything not strictly following the man Paul's "desires" is absolutely wrong and against the natural and godly order, yes?
And even if you're not aiming for leadership, Paul says later in Timothy, "treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, younger women like sisters, in all purity."
Can you honestly say you follow these
prescriptions absolute requirements straight from God? I encourage a review of your comments here.
Or do Paul's admonishments and historically bound concepts only apply in the abstract, when convenient, and/or when it serves to give a personal preference the veneer of divine decree?