...Lea Pollard THEO 202_C04_201140 Short Essay 3 The Role of Women in the Church The role of a woman in the church has been down played for centuries. However, women have played a major factor in the Church and the Gospel being spread in the world. Before the church came in to existence the role of women in the church was already ordain by God. Because of Eve’s disobedience, God redeemed woman by allowing her to bruise the head of the serpent, (Gen.3:16). God chose woman to birth the Word (Jesus Christ) into the world and she has been birthing the Word (The Gospel) every sense. First, let’s examine the history of women in the church. A Tertullian wrote that there were four orders of female church officers. There appeared to be female deacons, virgins, widows and eldressess. Therefore, some were consider clerics, giving ecclesial authority and seat with the other clergy. Deaconess ordination is persevered in the Apostolic Constitutions (VII19-20). Women elders are mention in I Tim 5:2 and in Titus 2:3 where the must be worthy of the office. Can a woman be an elder or a deacon? Yes. Before the qualifications are examine let’s look at this Bible verses. “ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s...
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...Women’s roles in the church have been a long debated topic amongst both sexes. It is wondered if it is biblically appropriate that women maintain specific roles that have been held by men since the New Testament church rose up. This essay will address what the New Testament definitions of an “elder” and “deacon” are and the biblical requirements for being permitted the office title, can women hold those positions and supporting Scripture, my personal interpretation and counter arguments, and are women limited in the church as well as outside of it. We will also discuss if women can make contributions to theology, leadership and management in their local churches. According to Towns’ Theology for Today, an “elder” in the New Testament church is someone who has been designated into the highest pastoral position that requires spiritual maturity and literally means “aged man”, while a “deacon” is an office in the church and literally means “servant.” The requirements of becoming an elder is that they must rule over their own house well, referencing 1Tim 3:4-5 which uses the word overseer, and that they should rule or lead the church by feeding them the Word as seen in Kepha Aleph (1 Peter) 5:1-2. The office title of Deacon has different requirements as referenced in Theology for Today mentioning Ma’asei (Acts) 6:1-6 which states they must be of good report, full of the Spirit, full of wisdom, and full of faith. They must also be blameless, husband of one wife, grave, not given...
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...Short Essay on the Role of Women in the Church The matriarchs and coheirs of the human race have long been subdued from reaching their full potential in society and within the church. However, there are questions that must be examined in order to determine the proper role of women in the church and what subsequent service they might shoulder. An elder, presbyteroi, had a prominent function in the New Testament Church. They are associated with the leader of the Jerusalem church, James (Acts 11:30), they were to conduct the oversight of the church as shepherds (Acts 20:28) and as the apostles and prophets ministry began to fade they were responsible to teach and preach at a local level.[1] A deacon, diakoneō, describes a servant and fits their description found in Scripture. These servants were required to be husband of one wife, manage his children well, have excellent standing in Christ, sincere, worthy of respect, not a drunkard, not pursuing material wealth dishonestly, and they must undergo scrutiny to verify their trustworthiness (1 Tim. 3:8-13). Women possessed the role of deacon in the church (Phoebe, Rom 16:1). Along with Phoebe other women such as Priscilla served with Paul (Acts 18:18). In the Old Testament Deborah held the role of prophetess in Israel (Judg. 4:4) during the time of the Judges. Galatians 3:28 points to the standing of men and women in Christ, which reflected the utmost of equality in spirit and glanced back on...
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...DeRon N. Collins 2/25/13 Short Essay 3 Theology 202 B-26 The Role of Women in the Church Since women entered public ministry and became pastor’s debates on this issue has raged like a wild forest fire. I have been studying the bible now for over thirteen years and I have seen God move through people throughout the bible and have not seen anyone or thing God could not use. I have seen God use prostitutes in the lineage of our Savior Jesus Christ (Joshua 2) Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute but she was the great grandmother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Read also the lineage of Jesus in Matthew. I have read where God allowed the donkey of Balaam to speak to him (Numbers 22: 22-28) questioning Balaam after the donkey saved his life. I have also read where Miriam the sister of Moses was led the women with her chorus in response to the great song of her brother (Exodus 15:20) where she is called prophetess. What about Deborah the prophetess in (Judges 5:2-31) cf. 4:4 (prophetess). To continue to question women’s roles in the church setting is to continue to questioning God’s decision in His use of them. Nevertheless, there is an order in which a women’s role is set in place and that is with the man as the covering, which is the hardest part for women to understand. Women of God are to lead and teach young women how to be young women of God. Deborah conferred or joined with Barak and Barak relayed the message to the men. Let’s look at Genesis 1:26; God said,...
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...William McCravy Religion 134 6 December 2015 Introduction A religion our modern world, believers of different religions responds to many different challenges in today’s world. This paper to covered common characteristics of religion that share with each other, how a specific religion is responding to challenges in the modern world and what have changed about the roles of women over time. As times change, so do people’s views and attitudes about religion. What are common characteristics the assigned religion shares with the others? There are numerous common characteristics religion share with other religions. All religions pretty much exist on the belief of its followers, religious prophecies, ceremonies, texts and writings. Most religions believe in spirits, gods or even one God, a higher power in which created everything that exists. Other characteristics which religions share, they all have a requirement of certain rituals and traditions for individuals and certain faith communities. Religions also help humans cope and deal with the cycle of life and death. All religions promote great moral codes and values for individuals and people of their faith. All religions have the promise of peace with in an individual regardless of how life can be. Most religions share the theme of helping people that are suffering from illness, being poor and less fortunate while always showing compassion. Almost every religion has a God that is the supreme judge for the way in which we...
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...traditions and rituals. Even though these traditions and rituals are performed in different ways and for different reasons, they are the foundation that holds our religions together. Finally the last similarity between the Christian, Jewish, Islam and Catholic faiths is that they originated from the same genealogy. In the Bible the reader gets to the story of Abraham. It is during this story that two faiths emerge, Jewish (Hebrew) and the Islam religion. The rest of the Bible focuses on the Jewish history and leaves behind Islam. However, it is during the time after Jesus’ death that the reader is introduced to the Christians that formed the Catholic (universal) faith. After several hundred years people became disgruntled with the Catholic Church and broke away to form many other religions with their own doctrines. In today’s world, religion is not as focused on. With the growing number of Protestants, non-believers and atheists, plus the continuous shift of morality and world challenges, the...
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...Roles, the job of a person or thing in a particular situation. It is a responsibility or a job depending on one’s position. In addition to roles, women of the early church had roles as well. The roles of women in the early church can be understood in the Acts. The roles of women in the early Church included worshipping, being gifted with prophecy, being influential and prominent, and practicing almsgiving. Women of the early Church practiced in worshipping by praying. They participated in praying with the apostles. Proof of this can be found in the Acts of the Apostles. Women also worship the apostles. In acts 1, women are said to have been incited by the Jews. This led to the expulsion of Paul and Barnabas from the city. Through this act,...
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...The Role of Women in the Church The role of women in the Christian faith has always been matter of debate. Whether women are equal to men in the eyes of the church still presents itself as a major question as we move into the 21st century. Women are still not allowed to serve as priests or hold major positions in the churches hierarchy. This inferiority is something that is seen as tradition and rarely do people question it. However, in Paul s letters he alluded to a different role that women should take on. He presents the idea that everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord as long as they have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Although he was not the first to ever express these beliefs, the idea that Paul presented was quite radical for his time and may not have been taken with the same authority as some of his other teachings. However, the basic formula that Paul used in some of his letters was also presented by subsequent writer’s years after he was finished with his ministry. The most straightforward presentation of Paul s view on the role of women is in Galatians 3:28, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. This statement brought up the idea of baptism and the key role it plays in the life of a Christian. Paul states that when you are baptized in the name of Jesus all worldly distinctions are no longer important. A person is not to be viewed based on past religion, life before baptism, or gender, he or she will now be viewed...
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...participation and religious organisations (33 Mark) Statistics have shown that women tent to be more religious than men across most cultures globally. This is reflected by the Church Census records as it shows that participation in churches and denominations in England and Wales between 1979 and 2005 women were consistently more likely to attend. There are various reasons why females are more religious than men ranging from socialization, exploitation to patriarchy in traditional religions. Women’s sexuality has always been a dangerous factor in religion; this is because women menstruate and give birth they are considered to have a great capacity to pollute religious rituals. This can be seen in the Adam and Eve story in Christianity as Eve has ‘seduced’ Adam in order to eat the apple which God had forbidden to do so. This shows that the presence of a female can distract men from performing religious rituals and worshipping God. Bird argues that sexuality is an important factor in many religions. In Roman Catholic churches priests are expected to be celibate meaning they have to deliberately refrain from sexual activity while in other religions such as Islam are opposed to homosexuality. This means that in order for priests to carry out their duty appropriately there needs to be a degree of policing of the body; and the presence of women makes it more difficult. Due to patriarchal ideologies women have refrained from serving as priests in many of the traditional and great...
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...The Role of Women in the Church – SE3 Within the church and throughout church History, there has been a question as to the women’s role in the church. Can a women be a pastor? An elder? Or a deacon? In light of the debate of egalitarianism vs. complementarianism, we will take a look at what the bible says biblically. Equalitarianism is the right of all men and women to have the same rights and responsibilities and complementarianism holds the view that only men should have such pristine positions. What does the bible say? The Old Testament law makes it very clear that women have no place in authority. The men served as the master of their household. The topic of women serving in ministry is of much debate – even in today’s culture. My belief as a reborn again Christian is that Jesus came to break the barrier between men and women and that we are all equal in the body of Christ. Galatians 3:28 backs up my belief by stating, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Also, the church I am part of, Assemblies of God teaches that women can have a role in ministry. The term “deacon” and “elder” are New Testament terms and came forth after the church established in Antioch. The definition of an elder is someone who is highly esteemed within the church. An elder is a spiritual leader. A pastor, church leader or overseer. The position of elder should not be taken lightly. James 3:1 says, “Dear brothers...
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...Women’s Role in Medieval Society Southern New Hampshire University SHORT PAPER 1 Discussion Sadly in Medieval Ages women had a secondary role to men. A women in medieval time life was torn between marriage, religion and family. A women’s forced concern during these times were procreation. In medieval times a person’s family was so large that the role for a woman was to be a good mother and a good wife. If a women attempted emancipation they were shunned by the church for betraying the man which in turn control public opinion (The Role of Women, 2009). Also for women that attempted to fight back against the conditions that there husband and society placed on them would fall victim to chastising by the church and would be victims of abuse from not only their husbands but also their society. Sadly the only way for a women to be safe was to please the husband. The women during these times always been made to look inferior and weak compared to men for the status quo could remain in effect which was created by the church. The women during these times were taught to provide meals, clothes for husband and children, and tending on the house. Some women during these times would be forced to sell products to provide extra income for the household and on top of providing extra income they would still be forced to do all the work they require of a wife. Women during medieval times had little to no rights if they were married. However women that were...
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...critique: two views on women in ministry ___________________ A Paper Presented to Dr. Dietmar Schulze Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary ___________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course THEO 530 Systematic Theology II ___________________ by Peter Heikkinen February 17, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………..….1 SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………………….1-3 EGALITARIAN EQUALITY…………………………………………………………..1-2 COMPLIMENTARIAN ROLES…………………………………………………….…2-3 CRITICAL INTERACTION……………………………………………………………………3-6 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………....6-7 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………....8 Introduction Within Christian controversial topics that divide the Church as a whole Woman in Ministry is one of the most divisive. The two main sides of this debate are; egalitarian’s who believe there are no role differences in gender to authority or teaching in the church biblically. The complementarian view also known as the traditional view holds that men have a position of authority before God in church teaching and authority in the church and home governing. James Beck gathers four New Testament scholars two for each side on the issue and sets out to show case two arguments for each side and room for rebuttal in consideration of the New Testament scripture dealing with woman in ministry. With my own view being that of a soft complementation; women have a role in teaching and authority...
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...Bradley Isbell Doctor James Strange Life and Letters of Paul 5.6.2010 Biblical Studies and the Gender Question in the Church The role of gender in the church is one of the toughest issues facing the church-body today. In fact, the role of women in all parts of society has come under scrutiny over the years. Concern and sharp disagreements across the globe are shedding light on the role women should play, do play, and are restricted from playing in the church. Many answers have emerged but no definitive conclusions have come to the surface. This is in part due to the apparent conflicting evidence that we see in biblical texts. It seems that everyone has an opinion on what it actually says. While some churches whose traditions and practices are less rigidly tied to Biblical doctrines have begun placing women in leadership positions such as pastor or teachers, others that interpret the Bible more literally have been slow to adopt changes. The opposing egalitarian and complementarian views on gender illustrated by the following interpretations can be attributed to differing approaches to exegetical techniques, hermeneutical principles, outside authorities, and contrasting ideas on authenticity both literal and situation-specific in scripture. These ideas will be explored a bit later. To begin our discussion we need a general explanation of what is meant by an egalitarian or complementarian view. Egalitarianism is a moral code that holds that everyone should be...
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...WOMEN IN MINISTRY BY IMOEKOR OSCAR INTRODUCTION Supernatural manifestations and gifts of the Holy Spirit have played a distinctive role from the origin, development and growth of the Church. From the beginning of creation until now, Spiritual gifting has been evident in the ministries of many outstanding women. Divine enablement has been seen in the spiritual leadership of women in the body of Christ. The true body of Christ-the Church believes that the outpouring of the Spirit is a true fulfillment of scriptural prediction, “Your daughters shall prophecy…and upon your handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28, 29). The history and current practice of the true Church give demonstration that God can and does bless the public ministry of women. Yet, there is much debate concerning women in Spiritual leadership and ministry. So, it is appropriate to ask if scripture describes any limits to this public ministry. The scripture must be our final authority in setting questions of faith and practice. As born-again, Spirit filled Christians, following proper hermeneutical principles; let us not be dogmatic in support of one position. We affirm the inerrancy and authority of the Scripture and desiring to know what God expect of us. When we come to sure understanding of His divine Word, we are committed to declaring and obeying those instructions but also exercise caution in giving authoritative importance to interpretation that do not have indisputable...
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...one God in most contemporary religions, Hinduism being an exception, men and women tend to view that God differently. Davie showed that women see God more as a God love, comfort and forgiveness whereas men tend to see more as a God of power and control. It could be argued that these traits that men and women tend to associate with God are similar to typical masculine and feminine values e.g. Power and control is stereotypically a male trait. In the majority of religions, males are given the more significant roles. An example of this is Christianity which is seen as inherently patriarchal with men made in ‘the image and glory of God’ and women made ‘for the glory of man. This is supported by the Old Testament which states ‘...for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.’ There are many female characters in the biblical texts and some are portrayed as acting charitably or bravely, however the primary roles are reserved for males. All the most significant Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Moses are male, while in the New Testament all the apostles are men. The most prominent females in the Bible, Eve and Mary mother of Jesus can be interpreted as reinforcing patriarchal idea regarding, on one hand, the dangers of female sexuality and on the other, the virtues of motherhood. Similarly in the Quran, the sacred text of Islam contends that ‘men are in charge of women’. Even Christianity and Buddhism are dominated by a patriarchal power structure...
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