Is there any thing in the Bible that suggests that a woman..

[FFC]

Can never be God's prophet? I'm writing a story for my videogame and need to know this particular detail first.

Mastermind, I don't know if you are still reading this thread, but I'm interested in knowing if you finished the story for the video game.

[kateliz]

I was suprised to see the emails alerting me that these old threads are still active. I've posted here maybe once or twice in the last, what, year or so. But after reading this revived thread again am thinking an online Christian community would be nice to have in my life again. Much has happened since I regularly posted, (obsessively is more like it,) but the one most pertaining to this thread is that God got me married. I should write of how that happened elsewhere, (quite the story and covered in God's fingerprints,) but it has caused more questions to arise in my mind regarding gender roles.

You know what's funny-- after I got married, (just seven months ago,) I took such a strong stance on being submissive that my husband had to rightfully point out I didn't take initiative as often as I should've. lol And that was the result of my trying to encourage him to step into his leadership role, (which needed a lot of work.) He was first way too passive, then I was way too passive, then he got a little too controlling, but now we must be balanced okay because that's not a problem anymore. Now I think we just nudge eachother back into balance.

We figured that one out just fine, but another issue has just come up and I really don't know what to do about it. My husband and I haven't gotten too serious about studying spiritual things in a while as individuals, but God's been putting a fire under my butt about it lately and getting me all riled up. My husband, however, is most interested in his gaming hobby. I've already been digging into stuff a little, but his own interest seems pretty dead even though he agrees we should get into it again. If he is to be the spiritual leader in the marriage, how can I help get him to pick up that responsibility without taking it into my own hands first?

Nevermind. He just came in and I showed him this post. We now have a "study date" tomorrow. "We'll start tomorrow," he said. Works for me! Gee, isn't marriage easy? Hmm. And that just taught me something: I shouldn't go online to get help with my marriage as long as it's healthy, (and I praise God it is.) If I simply told him that concern of mine he'd have stepped up to the plate. Doh! *smacks forehead* Presenting a concern about leadership isn't necessarily taking on the role yourself. Silly me for thinking that.

Thank you, Judah, for the link to that gender role site. I will bookmark it and make much use of it, I imagine. I still haven't figured this stuff out.

I have several books on Christian gender roles and relationships, but they never once mentioned this women teaching men question. Well, I s'pose I do have "Plymouth Brethren" books which include their view that women shouldn't say a word in "church" and should wear some form of headcovering. Those are the only issues on how they hold their meetings that I'm not so sure about, (unless they've changed in recent years.) And actually, this question has been bugging me lately because I'm considering visiting a local assembly with my husband. God led me to leave the last church I was in, which He led me to, but now I'm once again without one. I intend to answer this question soon because of my growing interest in visiting an assembly. I will look into it myself, but of course any input here would help. Should the head-covering part of this question be made into another thread?

[jenna]

Actually the "headcovering part" is not talking about an actual "hat", or anything like that. It is actually talking about a woman having long hair. In 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: "Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering." Also, verse 5; "But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn." These verses are plainly talking about HAIR on a woman, not a hat or other type of covering.

[Judah]

Welcome back, Kateliz. I'd noticed you had not been around for quite a while.
And married! Good one! May you both be very happy.

Have a good look around that particular website, Kateliz, as there is a wealth of information there that will answer your questions. It is rather a goldmine, in fact. The writers are thoroughly orthodox in their Christianity, straightforward Biblical, academically sound, and highly regarded by their colleagues and peers across all the mainstream denominations. They wont put you wrong.

Jen has answered the head covering question. The answer might be rather surprising because it is often misunderstood and thought that a woman is supposed to wear a hat or scarf or something, but that actually isn't so. Well, not Biblically required, that is.

In fact, the more that I look into Scripture and research the answers for myself, with recourse to those with credible qualifications to know what they are talking about, the more I find error in what I had previously thought was the case (had been taught to be so) as often cultural influences colour the interpretation. However, I find Prof Wayne Grudem and Dr John Piper to be very thorough in sifting out Biblical truth from manmade innovations, and this work of theirs on Biblical gender role issues is no exception.

Hope to see you around a bit more now.

[Judah]

Judah, if I read your article does that mean you will have authority over me?

Oops, I missed that one.

FFC, I see that you are still just as cheeky as ever. Keep it up. It is rather endearing. BTW, are you still eating your breakfast over the kitchen sink? That's the image I have of you from some other conversation way back.

Jen, you are welcome to any authority over him that you can scrape up.
Meanwhile, I'll just drop his posts into the Garbage thread if he gets too stroppy.

[jenna]

Thanks Judah. I'll just WIPE up anything that's left over.

[kateliz]

Well now I'll really have to dig into that site, because how I and everyone I know read those verses says that the head-covering was likened unto hair, and that they weren't just talking about hair. But I'm trusting you guys on this, and am rather glad about this interpretation, actually. I felt uncomfortable about the head-covering idea, to be honest, and this is a relief to me. Hmm, does that mean spiritual discernment was kicking in? I chalked up that discomfort to not being certain about it, the legalism that gets associated with such outward acts, and with it being culturally foreign to my American self. Now that I think about it, I've felt this same discomfort with other things and knew it was discernment kicking in, but I guess I let my head cloud how I viewed this particular discomfort.

And if that's the case with that, I might also go with my "instinct" and say that I inwardly feel that if I as a woman has some spiritual truth that, in a co-ed setting, (church buildings do not define what's an ekklesia or church,) could benefit men that are present, it would be wrong for me not to share with them what God shared with me, so long as I didn't act as if I could exercise authority over them. Simply sharing truth shouldn't be a form of exercising authority, and shouldn't disrupt God's ordering of the genders. As for women speaking in a co-ed setting more frequently than men, if I similarly went with my "instinct" I'd say that the women shouldn't dominate it, but should use their communication skills to help encourage the men to step up to the plate. Women should be able to create openings for the men in what they say, and then the women should remain silent until the men speak up. Kind of like giving a toddler who's learning to walk some space from you as you outstretch your arms so as to encourage them to progress. If the men need it, we nurturing and intelligent women should know to give it to them! Eventually they'd learn to speak up more often? Or even to take the lead if the women refuse to? Just like the balancing act I caused to happen with my husband regarding his leadership in our marriage, couldn't it be done with men in co-ed gatherings? But all that's just what I'd say if I went with my "instinct".

[Judah]

Kateliz, now you're getting the hang of it! What you are saying makes good Biblical sense to me.

A mature Christian friend of mine, one who knows his Bible extremely well, has written to my website here the following comment: Concerning women teaching men, I am convinced that Paul's instruction cautions men and women to observe God-ordained authority and hierarchy and is not a blanket prohibition against men learning from women. It is possible for a woman to instruct a man without exercising authority over him. If men couldn't learn from women we would be very unbalanced indeed.

Yes, there is a lot to be said about how a woman shares her faith and the knowledge given her by God - not that we can't or shouldn't, but that we do so in the way that God would have us do so.

[FFC]

Judah, if I read your article does that mean you will have authority over me?

Oops, I missed that one.

FFC, I see that you are still just as cheeky as ever. Keep it up. It is rather endearing. BTW, are you still eating your breakfast over the kitchen sink? That's the image I have of you from some other conversation way back.

Jen, you are welcome to any authority over him that you can scrape up.
Meanwhile, I'll just drop his posts into the Garbage thread if he gets too stroppy.

Yes I am, Judah. It's the perks of being a batchelor...

...and Jenna, you better behave because I have friends in high places here as well!

[jenna]

Hey FFC. I too have friends in high places. They are God and Jesus. Can your friends match up?

[FFC]

Hey FFC. I too have friends in high places. They are God and Jesus. Can your friends match up?

Yeah, I got Byblos and his finger is no the trap door you are standing on, girl!

[jenna]

Sorry, but even he can't match up to MY friends! The ground I stand on is solid ROCK. Can't put a trapdoor under that.

[oscarsiziba]

There was Anna the prophetess(In the times Jesus was born) and Noadiah in the Old Testament.
They can be prophetesses.....no Jew or Gentile,a male or female,slave nor free....

[brother jim]

Women are encouraged to speak, teach, mothers instruct daughters, evangelize, prophecy etc. But to step into
the office of a pastor would be "putting on the wrong clothes"

[B. W.]

Women are encouraged to speak, teach, mothers instruct daughters, evangelize, prophecy etc. But to step into the office of a pastor would be "putting on the wrong clothes"

Joel 2:28, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit."
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