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Excerpts Some verses in Paul's letters mislead women into thinking that God considers them to be inferior beings—passages such as, "I do not allow a woman to teach," "A woman must not speak in the ecclesia," "Man came before woman," and so forth. In Eve Raised, Martin Zender turns orthodoxy on its head, demonstrating that, not only do these verses not disparage women, they actually show woman to be a superior creation worthy of protection. ***************
My goal in writing is not only to tell the
truth, but to cause that truth to soothe and heal
hurt feelings between the genders. The misconstruing
of Paul’s “women can’t teach” passages
have turned women not only against God and
Paul, but against men. Some men have deserved
it. They have treated women—at least in their
attitudes—as second-class saints. These passages,
to men, have become text-weapons with which
to belittle the female rather than protect and
cherish her. The males, flattering themselves,
read Paul’s words and crown themselves kings.
Strange. These passages, rightly grasped, make
the men dedicated guardians of the fair sex.
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Women, as we have seen, are our better selves. It is our duty to keep them from struggle and harm. They are too precious to be exposed, challenged, shot at, stoned, tortured, shipwrecked, and raped. Why not spare the sons of Adam, that is, males? Because Adam was first molded, thereafter Eve. He is the expendable one; the one of whom we require this kind of sacrifice. The woman is his glory, and her we must preserve.
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Whenever I hear men gloating about being the heads
of their homes and receiving more exceeding
honor, I happily point out that God gives exceeding honor
to that which is deficient. Pharaoh was deficient in every way
to Joseph, yet still occupied the throne. “Congratulations on
your exceeding honor,” I say to the husbands. “This proves that
you are deficient.” It’s true. The husbands walk away sulking.
I always pray that they swallow their pride and learn how
rewarding it is to serve the superior gender. |
