university of oregon, spring 2015
The Pastorals considered that Gnosticism was a false teaching because they were establishing a true Christianity. Because Gnosticism proclaimed knowledge, promoted myths and genealogies and taught a realized eschatology it was an opponent to the true Christianity that the Pastorals were working on. They thought that Gnosticism engaged in “profane chatter”, and the genealogies promoted… Continue reading Discussion Question: 5/28 Blog Group 4, Q2
Pastorals wants to promote a type of Christianity that was aligned with the patriarchal values of the Roman world. These values were 1) men were superior to women 2) men were active in public spaces 3) women should always be under the guardianship of a male figure. Males take a leadership role over the church… Continue reading Women vs Patriarchal Values
In the church, men took the leadership roles as pastors or bishops. They watched over the people in the church and spoke the word of God while the women were seen as nurturers and teachers to the youth. Women were not allowed to be ahead of a man in leadership roles. As stated in 1… Continue reading Discussion Question 1
1 Timothy is thought to be a letter that was directed to early Christian Gnostics as a way of devaluing their beliefs and promoting early Christian values. This letter, specifically, focuses on the living standards and social interaction of a “good” Christian community; such qualities included: how people were to pray, behave toward elderly, widows,… Continue reading Discussion Question 2
In the pastoral letters, the focus is put on a specific Christian movement called gnosticism. It is very evident in the letters that the writer does not agree with these people and what they do, so 1 Timothy can be seen as written to the Christian gnostics to tell them what living a Christian life… Continue reading Question 2
Question 1- We can deduce from all the exhortations in 1Timothy that “Paul” is writing to men for men. “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Tim 4:16) Since he has already established that women are not permitted to teach… Continue reading Male Domination in the Pastoral Epistles
The deutero-Pauline author advocated for men in leadership roles and women in subservient positions. He explicitly states, “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent” (1 Tim 2:12). This is representative of the domestic order of Roman times. He alludes to Genesis 2-3 and links… Continue reading The Pastoral Letters (and Paul) on Patriarchal Christianity