The Sin of Women Preachers

The Sin of Women Preachers!

By David J. Stewart

"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer [allow] not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." ””1st Timothy 2:11-12

Feminism is of the Devil. One subject you'll never hear a woman preacher preach about is feminism. As with the Homosexual Movement, the Feminist Movement has changed the Word of God into a lie, "Who changed the truth of God into a lie..." (Romans 1:25). Feminists have even fabricated their own Feminist Theology. This is rebellion against God.

Here are some words of warning, likening harmful lodges to WOMEN PREACHERS, from the mighty evangelist and founder of the Sword of the Lord, Dr. John R. Rice...

"The lodges, I know, teach men to subdue their passions, to exercise brotherly love, to help each other in trouble. The lodges have helped some men to live better moral lives, and I have known rare cases in which the lodge ties were used to win souls. Many, many earnest, upright men strive to help themselves and to help others to a higher, nobler life by the lodges. Yet many Scriptures expressly forbid Christians to yoke up with unbelievers in the lodges. And the lodges, I have no doubt, as a general thing, deny the deity of Christ, deny the need for a new birth, and deceive millions of people who think they are saved without being born again. The lodges do good, but they do infinitely more harm.

So it is with women preachers. They do good, but how much harm they do! First, the rise of women preachers has meant the rise of multiplies sects of people with false doctrines of every kind. The Fox sisters and Spiritism, Mrs. White and Seventh Day Adventism, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science, Mrs. Filmore and Unity, Mrs. Aimee Semple McPherson and the so-called 'Foursquare Gospel,' Pentecostalism and its vast majority of women preachers with the blight of sinless perfection doctrine, radical emotionalism, 'speaking in tongues' and trances, its overemphasis on healing that leads thousands to despair after false pretenses of healing””these things surely should warn us that there is infinite harm in women preaching.”

SOURCE: Bobbed Hair, Bossy Wives and Women Preachers; by Dr. John R. Rice; pg. 58; Sword of the Lord Publishers, P.O. Box 1099, Murfreesboro, TN, 37133; copyright 1941; ISBN: 0-87398-065-4

Amen! Women preachers do some good, but the harm they do far outweighs the good. The Bible plainly teaches for women to keep silent in the Church. 1st Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer [allow] not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” The best way to win souls is to obey God, and to do things God's way.

Women are Scripturally forbidden to be pastors, preachers or leaders over men in any capacity. The average woman today is a feminist in her philosophies. This is tragic and a curse upon America. This is why the sin of abortion is commonplace. This is why the sin of divorce is so prevalent. One sin begets another. Women preachers and feminism are synonymous.

Women have equal human rights, are of equal worth, and are not inferior to men in any way; BUT, woman do not have a right to usurp authority over men. Feminism DEMANDS equality in the area of authority, and cries "inequality" if they don't get it. This is what Lucifer said in Isaiah 14:14... "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Lucifer just wanted EQUALITY, wanting to be "like" the most high.

Feminists claim they are simply asking for equality, to be "like" men in authority. Today, America is infested with women in authoritative power positions, and America is going to Hell because of it. Homosexuality is commonplace, abortion has become completely shameless, pornography is considered normal, divorce is highly encouraged nowadays, etc. Sin! Sin! Sin! Feminism is a Trojan Horse sin, that brings with it a slew of godlessness and woeful evils. Feminism and the Word of God are DIAMETRICALLY opposed to each other!

Meet Carter Heyward””an Episcopalian priest, a militant feminist, a lesbian who performs same-sex marriages, and a promoter of child sacrifice through abortion...

"If women were in charge, abortion would be a sacrament, an occasion of deep and serious and sacred meaning."

SOURCE: Carter Heyward, Massacre of Innocence, from a newsletter published by the National Abortion Federation.

Do you see what happens when women enter the pulpit? It was Solomon's wives who turned his heart away from the Lord, and introduced child-sacrifice to the pagan god Molech again in Israel (1st Kings 11:4-8).

Catherine Booth was an Avowed Feminist Rebel

Catherin Booth... avowed evil feminist of her time!One of the best worst examples of Christian Feministhood is Catherine Booth (wife of Salvation Army founder, William Booth). According to her biography, Catherine Booth was an avowed feminist. The Bible says, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft..." (1st Samuel 15:23). Feminism is a horrible sin! Catherine Booth objected to the idea that women are the "weaker sex," which according to the Holy Bible they are (1st Peter 3:7). Booth was a staunch feminist, who publicly criticized her husband, yoked together with unbelievers, and shamed the name of Christ. She was a disgrace to the name of Christ.

It was not until 1860 that Catherine first started to preach. One day in Gateshead Bethseda Chapel, a strange compulsion seized her and she felt she must rise and speak. Later she recalled how an inner voice taunted her: "You will look like a fool and have nothing to say". Catherine decided that this was the Devil's voice: "That's just the point," she retorted, "I have never yet been willing to be a fool for Christ. Now I will be one." It was the Devil's voice alright, that seized her and compelled her to rise and speak, because the Bible states... "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence" (1st Timothy 2:12). Catherine Booth, and rebellious women preachers today like Melissa Scott, have twisted the Scriptures in an attempt to justify their rebellion. God calls men to preach, NOT women.

Women are not to "usurp authority" over men in any capacity, at any time or in any place. Also, the word "church" is not mentioned in 1st Timothy chapter two. Thus, 1st Timothy 2:11-12 applies in the home, and in society in general. Women are to take a back seat and let the men drive. Meddling feminists are destroying churches, marriages and homes all across America. Say what you will, feminism is rebellion of the Devil, and it has infested many of our churches and homes today. Feminism is more deadly than arsenic, the AIDS virus and the Bubonic Plague all combined. The same fool that will laugh at what I just said is likely also a supporter of abortion rights. Abortion has killed far more people than arsenic, the AIDS virus and the Bubonic Plague ever have. It is estimated worldwide that 400,000,000 children have been murdered by abortion!!! Woe unto the wicked!

Women are to Keep Silent in Matters of Authority

What is meant by: "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection"?

It simply means that women have different roles than men in the church, in the home and in society. Men and women are inherently equal in worth and dignity; but we do not have the same roles. Even the men in the church do not have equal roles. All are commanded to submit to the rule of the church elders.

"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection."

"Silence" or "quietly" is the Greek word Hesuchia, which means...

"To rest, to cease from labor. To lead a quiet life, said of those who are not running hither and thither, but stay at home and mind their business."

Thayer’s English Greek Lexicon of the New Testament

The same Greek word "Hesuchia" is also used in 2nd Thessalonians 3:12...

"Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread."

Paul is simply saying that while we're at work, we are not the boss, we are the employees. That puts us into a submissive role. At work we are equal with others as human beings, having equal rights; but we don’t possess an equal role with the boss. The boss is in charge, and we are to submit. This is an excellent illustration of the women's role in marriage, the church and society. There is nothing inferior or demeaning about a wife obeying her husband, anymore than an employee obeying a boss to keep his or her job. The same is true in a church.

Feminist Paranoia, Hatred of Masculine Authority and Insane Laws

The Biblical teaching of womanly submission is vastly different than the monstrous image that feminists paint of authoritative husbands and pastors. If you don't do your job at work, you are going to get written up or fired. It should be no different in the home. A husband who is married to a rebellious wife has no recourse of action nowadays, because society has gone insane with "Domestic Abuse" laws. A husband legally can't rebuke, scold or discipline his wife in any manner, except to beg her to do her job at home.

So then who is going to correct her when she fails to care for the children? ... when she fails to clean the house? ... when she doesn't care about the children's safety? Child Protection Services? A psychologist? A shrink will just send a struggling wife to a psychiatrist for drugs that'll totally debilitate her. Good luck finding a church that'll care about your family. Despite the thousands of excellent churches in America, many people are finding it increasingly difficult to find a decent church that believes the King James Bible, isn't money-hungry, and a church that believes in goes soulwinning. Most pastors today are simply interested in making a living, and continually pressure their members for more money.

Men are prohibited in America from commanding their homes anymore. In most places in America today, police are required by law to remove the husband from the home, by force if need be, merely based on an accusation by the wife that he was abusive towards her. After the O.J. Simpson murder trials, feminists used the event to make wide-sweeping changes to our nation's laws, now commonly referred to as the "O.J. laws."

If you removed women from the Satanic Charismatic Movement, it would disappear overnight. Wouldn't that be a great thing! Women preachers are notorious for demonic speaking-in-tongues, fraudulent faith healing, and greed. God likens rebellion to witchcraft in 1st Samuel 15:23. Women who enter the pulpit are disobeying God, openly and shamelessly, which puts them in the same boat as demonic witches.

How does all this fit in with women preachers? In many ways. As America has turned apostate, feminism has crept into our churches. As a consequence, woman have entered the pulpit in alarming numbers, bringing lesbianism and a host of other sins into the church. The sin of rebellion is a Trojan Horse sin. In other words, when a woman rebels against God by usurping authority over men, a host of other sins follow. Women must accept their role in the Body of Christ as those who learn "in silence (quietness) with all subjection." Women preachers are repulsive. It's just not right, ethically or Biblical. Wherever you find a church with a woman in the pulpit, you'll find a liberal-minded church that is infested with doctrinal heresies. This is why God told women to shut-up, and for men to do the preaching. So shut up!

The following information is by Wayne Wells:

Eve Was Deceived; Not Adam

Does the fact that Satan chose Eve for this first temptation imply that women as such are spiritually weaker than men? Do they have some kind of inherent weakness that makes them more vulnerable to temptation and sin, as some think 1st Peter 3:7 is suggesting? (being the weaker vessel)

Why Did Satan Choose Eve?

The question of why Satan chose Eve as the object of his temptation is made all the more relevant by Paul’s remark that "it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression" (1 Tim. 2:14) This text does mean something.

Does it mean that Eve was chosen because Satan considered her more deceivable, more vulnerable than Adam? Was Eve the "weaker vessel" - emotionally or intellectually?

The Bible does not reveal Satan’s motive for beginning with Eve. It just records the fact that Eve was the first to be tempted and deceived, and the first to sin. We are not told whether it was part of a deliberate strategy of Satan, or if his choice was just random. But the fact that we do not know for sure why Satan chose Eve does not negate the force of 1st Timothy 2:14, which says that Eve’s being the one who was deceived does have something to do with women’s being prohibited from teaching men and having authority over men in the New Testament church.

The really significant point is that (according to 1st Timothy 2:14) it is not the transgression itself, but the deception that is being held against Eve. The fact that Eve was deceived by the Devil is in some way related to the fact that women are not permitted to teach men and have authority over men in the church. We simply cannot deny this connection. The problem, though, is to explain it. Exactly what is the connection?

It is possible that there is something inherent in women’s nature that somehow makes them more vulnerable to deception concerning spiritual matters and; therefore, less qualified to teach men and have authority over men in the context of the church. This would be consistent with Peter’s description of woman as the "weaker vessel" (1st Peter 3:7). Peter does not explain the nature of this "weakness," nor does he suggest that it constitutes some kind of flaw or fault in women. Whatever it is, it would be consistent with the role for which God created woman in the first place. That is to say, the characteristics that make a woman more strongly suited for her intended role in the family and church, make her weaker with reference to what is required for duties of headship and leadership. Such characteristics probably have to do more with her emotional rather than her intellectual nature.

Whatever this "weaker" nature may be, it is possible, if not likely, that this is what Paul has in mind as underlying the fact that Eve was deceived by Satan whereas Adam was not, and that this is the very same thing that disqualifies women from teaching men and having authority over men. If this is so, then the reason for this disqualification is not Eve’s sin at all. Neither is the disqualification some kind of penalty, either for her sin or for allowing herself to be deceived.

It is simply some inherent, created female characteristic that manifests itself in susceptibility to this kind of deception.

1st Timothy 2:13 gives as the primary reason for the prohibition the fact that Adam was first created, then Eve. In other words, the prohibition is grounded in creation, not in some aspect of the Fall. To say that what is true because of creation is also a part of the penalty for the Fall seems inconsistent. But if the prohibition is related to some inherent female characteristic which itself is related to vulnerability to deception, as the first explanation suggests, then 2:14 is also basing the prohibition on human nature as created, and not on the Fall as such.

The New Testament teaches a difference in the roles of men and women. The differences of roles are based on God’s choice of creation. God chose to make men and women different and they have different responsibilities as they work together to serve God.

1 Corinthians 11:3-9

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man... For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.

1 Timothy 2:11-14

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35

Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

Feminism has been one of the most successful social movements in our nation.
Although there have been some legitimate goals, one of the results of this movement is to influence our culture to ignore the fact that there is a difference in the roles of men and women.

When we study the Bible, the issue is not one of equality, but of roles.

The Bible teaches an equality of men and women. Both men and women:

Are made in the image of God
Have dominion over the earth
Are joint heirs in Christ.
The Bible clearly teaches a distinction in the roles of men and women.

The early leaders in the feminist movement recognized this.

After their views became more accepted, others have tried to interpret the Bible to fit their views.

This is similar to what happened with the issue of evolution. Before Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell, no one ever thought that the Bible taught any evolutionary origins of life. After Evolution became accepted by many in society, religious people tried to bend and twist the Bible to fit evolution rather than allow the Bible to mean what it says. Result - the acceptance of the day-age theory and the gap theory. Neither of these ideas come from a careful reading of Genesis, but they are an effort to force Genesis to match the beliefs of the world.

The same has happened with the roles of men and women. Much of what is being promoted today does not come from a careful reading of the Bible, but is an effort to make the Bible to fit the views of the culture in which we live.

END

Biblical Conclusion

False Prophetess Joyce MeyerThe Word of God is abundantly clear that women are to be "silent," not only in the church, but in public as well. We read in 1st Peter 3:1-5... "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." A woman is to have a "meek and quiet spirit" at all times.

There is nothing "meek" about feminism. The dictionary defines "meek" as being "Humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness; very docile." Feminism is not humble in any way; but is clamorous and demanding... "A foolish woman is clamourous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing" (Proverb 9:13). The dictionary defines "clamorous" as "Conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry." Is there a more offensive group given to vehement outcry than feminists? I think not. The National Organization of Women (NOW) ought to be called The National Organization of Witches, because 1st Samuel 15:23 equates rebellion with the sin of witchcraft. Feminism is an act of rebellion against a Holy God. Women are commanded to submit to, and obey, their own husband.

Women preachers are ALL false prophets! A woman preacher cannot obey 1st Peter 3:5, i.e., to have a meek and QUIET spirit, when she is preaching with authority from a pulpit. Melissa Scott is a false prophet and is a good example of why women shouldn't be preachers. Boy, she can dazzle the crowds with her profound knowledge (so it seems), but the audience has no idea what she's talking about because she's rambling on incoherently. To watch her preach such utter nonsense with a man's authority is repulsive.

Don't forget that Eve was the one who was deceived; not Adam. We read in 1st Timothy 2:11-14, "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." The Bible gives 2 reasons why women are not to preach, teach or lead men. The fact that God created Adam first is significant. The woman was created FOR the man. Like it or not, no woman will be happy until she is serving a man, i.e., her husband. Thus, men cannot lead if women are getting in the way. The modern idea of a husband and wife both working jobs, and hiring a stranger to raise their kids is insanity. 1st Timothy 5:14 stresses the importance of women being at home. A woman's place is in the home.

The Bible makes an issue of the fact that Eve, the first woman, was deceived by Satan. This is significant. Say what you will, women are more vulnerable to Satanic deceptions than are men. Do you know why there are over one billion hellbound Roman Catholics in this world? It's because of mamas! Do you know why Muslim kids strap dynamite on themselves to go blow up dozens of people? It's because of mamas!

"The spiritual life of a nation, city, town, school, church, or home never rises any higher than the spiritual life of women."

SOURCE: Dr. R.G. Lee (Payday Someday)

It's time for women to get back to raising children for the Lord, and to leave the preaching to God's men. Women possess the greatest power in this world, the power of influence; but when women usurp authority over men to do so, their influence becomes one of evil feminism and rebellion.

Women Preachers are Forbidden in the Bible

The Bible forbids women preachers, pastors, and leaders. The Communist agenda of feminism has turned American society upside down””deceiving women to murder their babies by abortion, destroy their families with rebellion, and throw away their marriages by divorce. Lesbianism is flourishing in America, and every other sin because of the evils of feminism (which is rebellion against God's authority). Feminism has nothing to do with women's rights; it has to do with rebellion against masculine authority.

Just as Lucifer wanted to "be like the most High” in Isaiah14:14, and Eve wanted to be "as gods” in Genesis 3:5; likewise, so do evil feminists today want to be equal in authority in the marriage, home, and church. The Word of God tells women to obey their own husband, remain silent in the church, and to "marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned aside after Satan” (1st Timothy 5:14-15). Career woman are turned aside after Satan, freezing their eggs, and living for filthy lucre.

Here is an excellent quote from the mighty evangelist, Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980)...

And again Paul says that the weakness of a woman and her aptness to be misled is shown because "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Satan found he could deceive Eve easier than he could deceive Adam. God made a woman after such a fashion that she should be a comfortable and obedient helpmeet, a mate who would fit to his will and plans.

So, in the nature of the case, women are not as well fitted for executive authority. If women are more easily led, they are not as good leaders. Every pastor knows that women are easier to enlist in good work. But careful observers must admit that women are also easier led into false doctrine and into errors of various kinds.

But the argument here in 1 Timothy 2:14 is that Satan was able to deceive Eve when he could not deceive Adam, and that this is an evidence that women should not be placed in authority in churches and in Christian work. If he could deceive Eve easier in the Garden of Eden, he could deceive women easier now. This means that women leaders are more likely to lead into heresy in doctrine and unscriptural practice than men. Women are not fitted to teach men or usurp authority over men, says this Scripture.

But also, in verse 15, God has a special duty and privilege for women in childbearing. If they submit themselves to God's plan in humility and meekness, then they shall be rescued, and preserved, when pangs of childbirth are come upon them. When godly women have found sweet comfort and ease and help in the time when they go down into the valley of the shadows to bring forth a child for the Lord, receiving help from God because they were willing to take a woman's place in submission.

Let us consider carefully verses 11 and 12.

1. The woman is to learn in silence, with all subjection.

2. A woman is not to teach. Certainly not to teach men, but evidently not to teach general groups, including men.

3. A woman is never to have authority over men.

4. And then again it is emphasized that a woman is to be "in silence” in such public services.

We know well that God does not want Christian women to remain silent outside the mixed public service. Titus 2:3,4 plainly commands "the aged women likewise . . . that they may teach the young women.” Here we are plainly told that old women may teach young women, and should do so. But they are to teach them, among other things, "to be obedient to their own husbands” (v. 5). Women are to be in silence, then, as far as teaching the whole church is concerned, or teaching men, or groups including men, but older women may teach younger women.

...So when Paul said, "I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence,” it seems clear to me he is forbidding a woman to take a place as a public teacher of men. A woman is to be silent in the public assembly in the sense that she is not to teach as an official of the church. She particularly is to be silent as far as teaching men is concerned. That is plainly forbidden. No woman, according to this passage, is to be allowed to teach a class of men, or to teach a mixed class including men, nor to teach the church in a public assembly, including men.

It is equally clear that no woman is to take a place as an official of a church, having authority over men. No woman could be pastor of a church, according to this plain verse. To do so would be a usurpation of authority that was forbidden her.”

In New Testament churches a woman's place was to be taught, not to teach. A woman's place was to be silent, not to be a public speaker. A woman's place was to be in submission, and not to be in authority. Certainly this Scripture forbids any woman to be a preacher or pastor or evangelist.”

SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice; quote from Bobbed Hair, Bossy Wives, and Women Preachers; pg. 41-43; copyright 1941 by SWORD OF THE LORD publishers, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ISBN 0-87398-065-4

Women are going to ultimately do what they want to do, and then look for excuses in an attempt to justify their decisions. For example: Women don't have an abortion for any particular reason; but rather, have an abortion because that's what they wanted to do in the first place, and then they look for reasons to justify their decision.

The Evils of Divorce and Feminism

Women do the same thing when they file for divorce, grasping for any and all reasons they can find in a sinful attempt to justify divorce. Nearly all women who file for divorce demonize their husband, sinfully railing against him in self-righteous hypocrisy; but God hates divorce and there are no Biblical grounds for it. Only by wrestling the Scriptures can the sin of divorce be justified. Jesus plainly taught that divorce only happens "because of the hardness of your hearts”(Matthew 19:8).

Satan has deceived feminist women today, INDOCTRINATING them to feel liberated by killing their own babies, steal their own future of a happy family, and destroying their own marriages. Satan saw you coming and you swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker. Satan skinned you alive and left you miserable, childless, and lonely. I don't care how much money you make, how many vacations you take, how successful a career you may have, how big of a house you may own... a house does not make a HOME! It is God's will for every woman who is able, to bare children and raise them AT HOME.

Our modern U.S. society is so anti-Christian, anti-family, and anti-American. We are living in a morally-toxic society where it's neighbor rising up against neighbor. Feminism even has women freezing eggs (endlessly searching for the non-existent Mr. Right). Feminism will ruin your life ladies. Don't let modern culture dictate how you live. You don't need all of the electronic toys and conveniences of modern society. What you do need is a Christian home. Don't allow demons into your home through the TV, worldly music, and dirty women's catalogs. These are evils plaguing American society. It's the same women who laugh and scorn at my preaching who have abortions, divorce their husbands, and support gay rights. No one has a right to be immoral. Freedom is the right to BE wrong, not to DO wrong. Sin is a choice.

The problem today is that most people today put God on trial, coming up with all sorts of hypothetical situations to question the wisdom of God. What if my husband tells me to drink beer? Should I obey him? What if a mother cannot afford to care for her baby? Shouldn't she have an abortion? These are the thoughts of the wicked. God has told us how to live in the Bible. God tells us in Proverb 3:5-7 not to lean upon our own understanding; but rather, to trust the Lord and acknowledge Him in all our ways. God tells us to fear Him and to depart from evil. You either want to do things God's way or not.

The Bible forbids women from entering the pulpit to teach men, nor are women to take on positions of leadership over men. To do so is a sin. Eve meant well, but she destroyed her own life, and led her husband into sin. Sin always takes you farther than you wanted to go, keeps you longer than you planned to stay, and costs you more than you intended to pay. Satan is a beautiful liar (2nd Corinthians 11:13-15).

No doubt, many women today will laugh and joke about the things Dr. Rice has said from the Bible about women preachers; but the Bible says what it says. God said what He meant, and meant what He said. We live in a careless generation of scoffers, rebels, and critics. It doesn't surprise me that whorish woman who dress immodestly, dance sensually in public, idolize Rock music stars, abort their babies, support lesbianism, and sit around watching heathen soap operas and vile prime-time TV shows, would also mock my preaching from the Word of God. There is no middle ground on the issue of women sharing authority in the home, nor in the church.

Certainly, a husband ought to submit to his wife in some areas because he loves her (Ephesians 5:21); BUT, it is wicked sin when a wife fails to completely obey her husband in any areas where the husband makes a decision. The wife must submit first before the husband submits in any way to please his wife. Many divorces are caused by a rebellious wife who places DEMANDS upon her husband and he won't budge, so she divorces him in rebellion and hated because she cannot get her sinful way. Rebellious women often file for divorce as an expression of a rebellious heart; she wants to wear the pants, and so she usurps authority over her husband by using her marriage license as a weapon in court against him. God will judge such women for their rebellion (witch God equates with witchcraft in 1st Samuel 15:23). It is wickedness (Jeremiah 3:20).

God will have the last Word and is our Judge. Those who obey God will be oh so glad in eternity; but those who laugh at God's man, reject the Word of God, and live selfish lives of sin doing their own thing, will be very sorry. END

"IN EVERY THING”

"Why does not the Bible limit a wife's obedience to her husband? Why does the Scripture not say, as many wish it did say, that a wife should be subject to her husband as long as he is right and true to the Bible? Or why does it not say, as Mrs. Goforth interprets it in How I Know God Answers Prayer, that a wife should be subject to her husband in all matters but spiritual matters? But that is not what the Bible commands. Rather the Bible says, 'Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord,' that is, as unto Jesus Christ, and so of course in complete submission. And again, 'Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing' (Eph. 5:22,24).”

SOURCE: Success-Prone Christians, by Dr. John R. Rice; chapter 2; pg. 44,45

Bobbed Hair, Bossy Wives, and Women Preachers!

By Evangelist John R. Rice (1895””1980)

1st Corinthians 11:3-15 tells us that since the man is the head of the woman, and there is a fundamental difference between men and women, that difference should be symbolized in the ways men and women wear their hair.

"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head ...

"For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. ... For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. ...

"Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering."

Throughout the Bible it is stressed that men and women are different. A man is not like a woman. A woman is not like a man. It is a sin for a woman to try to appear like a man. God has one place for a man and a different place for a woman. For this cause, in Deuteronomy 22:5 we are commanded: "A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." It is a sin for women to appear masculine. It is equally a sin for men to appear effeminate. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:9 names some of the unrighteous that "shall not inherit the kingdom of God." And among the adulterers and fornicators and drunkards and thieves and covetous and extortioners, God put the effeminate. To be effeminate is a horrible sin in God's sight. And the first sin with which God chided Adam, after the fall, was this:

"Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife..."

I say, God has given man one position and woman another position and this difference in their position should be shown by men having short hair and women long hair. "Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven" (1 Corinthians 11:4,5). And verse 6 continues: "For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered."

Man is made in the image of God. God is a masculine God. The masculine pronoun is used of God everywhere in the Bible. That foolish and unscriptural title given by a woman preacher, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, "Our Father-Mother God," dishonors God. God is not effeminate. God is not feminine, but masculine. And man is made in the image of God. On the other hand, a woman is not made so much in the image of God, but in the image and as a mate to man. So the Scripture says: "For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man."

Blessed is the woman that remembers this; her glory is in being a help to a man, and in submission to her husband or her father. And long hair is the mark of this submission, the mark of this femininity.

A man should not pray or prophesy with his head covered. That would dishonor his head, says the Scripture. Men instinctively know that it is shameful to wear hats in public service, and reverent men remove their hats when they pray. Likewise, men instinctively know that they ought not to have long hair. A man has short hair, and this symbolizes the fact that he can approach Jesus Christ freely and that he takes the responsibility as the head of his home.

On the other hand, a woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head. Now look at verse 15 and you will see plainly that God is not talking about a woman wearing a hat or veil. Verse 15 says: "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." A woman, when she prays, should have a covering, some symbol that marks her as an obedient and surrendered wife or daughter. Her long hair is given her for a covering, and a woman who does not have her head covered in that way dishonors her head. And verse 6 says that it is a shame for a woman to be shorn, and she ought to be covered. This symbolic covering or veil for a woman is long hair. Long hair is a mark of a woman's womanliness in God's sight, and is plainly given her for that express purpose, as verse 15 says.

New Testament ceremonial symbols

Some people think that there are no religious ceremonial symbols for New Testament Christians, but they are wrong as just a moment's thought will show you. Baptism is a precious ceremony, picturing the burial and resurrection of our Saviour. It pictures also that the believer in Christ is counted dead with Christ and is raised up to live a new life. It pictures also the blessed hope of the resurrection from the dead, when all the bodies of the saints will come out of the graves. Baptism pictures a precious truth and is so important in its doctrinal teaching that it must not be ignored.

Likewise, the Lord's Supper or Memorial Supper of bread and the fruit of the vine pictures the broken body and the spilled blood of our Saviour, and the Lord Jesus said, "This do in remembrance of me." The Christian thus by partaking of the bread and grape juice pictures the fact that he has partaken of the body and blood of the Lord by trusting Him for salvation.

In ordination of ministers and deacons, the ordaining council or presbytery lays hands on the head of the candidates, symbolizing that these are to receive authority from God, and more than that, that they need to receive and should receive the power of the Holy Spirit.

James 5:16 tells us that the elders of the church are to be called in cases of sickness and are to anoint the sick with oil in the name of the Lord and that the prayer of faith shall save the sick. Oil symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit, whose miracle-working power we have a right to claim when God gives the faith for it.

Thus you see that New Testament Christians have a number of symbols, ceremonies which have a precious and holy meaning. And we must add to this list the symbol of short hair for men, and long hair for women. Men wear short hair as a sign that they assume their responsibilities as made in the image of God and as rulers over their households. Women are to wear long hair to symbolize their submission to husband and father, taking their place with meekness as women surrendered to the will of God and subject to the authority God places over them.

Because of the angels

In the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians we find a remarkable teaching which ought to stir the heart of every woman. The Lord says, "For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels." The word power here means authority. A woman ought to have a symbol of her husband's authority or her father's authority on her head. That is, a woman should wear long hair to indicate that she is submissive to the authority God has put over her. And this special reason mentioned here for a woman having long hair is that angels look on, and for their sakes a woman needs to have long hair.

The angels of God are all about us. People often think of angels as remaining in Heaven and only coming to earth on rare occasions to bring some message. But that is not true. The chief business of the angels is on earth, not in Heaven. Heb. 1:13,14 shows that the angels are not sitting on the right hand of God but "are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" The angels are ministering spirits, sent to wait on us who will one day fully inherit our salvation.

Angels appeared to Jacob on a ladder reaching from Heaven, as the young man slept with his head on a stone, and "behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it." Angels whose work is on earth ascend to Heaven evidently to make report, but they descend again to take up their work. When Elisha, the prophet of God, was at Dothan, unseen to other eyes the angels of God made a ring of fire around the city with their "horses and chariots of fire" (2 Kings 6:17). The Lord Jesus says about little children, that "their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 18:10). And Psalm 34:7 says that "the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."

So angels are all round about us. And they are surpassingly concerned about our lives. Our eyes are blinded! We think that the other world, the unseen world and spirit beings are far, far away, but that is not true. And how angels do listen when a woman kneels to pray! For the sake of angels who always are near, Christian women should especially be careful to have long hair--"because of the angels," the Scripture says.

How are angels concerned about a woman's hair? I think that not only would angels be grieved by this mark of rebellion against husband or father and against God, but angels would be tempted, likewise, to rebel.

We know that some angels are fallen. I understand the Bible to teach that Satan himself was Lucifer, an archangel who became ambitious and rebellious and said, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God" (Isaiah 14:13). He wanted to be like God (Isaiah 14:14), and was not willing to be subject, just as many women want to be equal to their husbands instead of being subject to them. And Satan fell. So a great group of angels fell, too. Rev. 12:4 may suggest that a third of the angels fell. I do not know how many. But actually, these angels are now chained in darkness, awaiting judgment (2 Pet. 2:4). Angels can fall, and in the past angels have fallen into sin.

This is especially sad when we remember that Christ never became an angel and did not die for angels. There is nothing said in the Bible about the redemption of fallen angels. If God has any plans for saving angels, He has not revealed them to us.

What sins did angels commit when they fell? They did not get drunk. They did not commit adultery, for it seems that angels are sexless beings who neither marry nor are given in marriage (Matt. 23:30). We suppose that heavenly angels, accustomed to the beauty and glory of Heaven, are never covetous. No, the sin of angels is the sin of rebellion.

Thus, when a woman with bobbed hair and a rebellious heart comes to pray, angels who are near and see her head and see her heart are tempted to sin; are tempted to commit the sin which such women commit, the sin of rebellion against authority. Because of the angels, every woman should wear long hair and be careful that she does not have a rebellious heart lest she should be a curse to the angels God has sent to be our ministers and guardians.

From this Scripture it becomes evident how hateful is the symbol of bobbed hair to God. And how it reveals the stubborn self-will of the modern woman who is no longer willing to take the place God assigned to godly women. I beseech the reader that if you are a woman you consider how God must feel toward this mark of rebellion, bobbed hair. No wonder that 1 Corinthians 11:5 says that every woman with a bobbed head has a dishonored head. And 1st Corinthians 11:6 says that it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven and that she ought to have a covering. And 1 Corinthians 11:15 says that long hair is given her for this covering.

Long hair, the glory of a woman

"Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." (1 Corinthians 11:11-15)

Let no woman be discouraged because God insists that she shall take a place of subjection and wear the mark of humility and femininity on her head. It is true that the man was created first and then woman created second as a helpmeet, as we were told in verses 8 and 9 above. But dear woman, be not grieved. Long hair is not a shameful mark. Rather, it is a mark of glory. God did not mean for the man to be without the woman (v. 11). Both are necessary. Each one is a complement for the other. Each is dependent upon the other. And God's way is the fitting and beautiful and happy way.

Since the meaning is made clear in this passage, I suggest that you take heed to verse 13: "Judge ye in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?" If bobbed hair means rebellion, if it means a sinful disregarding of a woman's place, if it flaunts that rebellion in the face of the angels of God and tempts them to sin, if it means that a woman is trying to be masculine and is giving up her feminine beauty, then doesn't even nature itself teach you that it is comely for a man to have short hair and a woman to have long hair? And isn't it clear, as verses 14 and 15 say, that long hair for a man is a shame, but for a woman, it is a glory to her?

If women only knew the charm and beauty of long hair to intelligent men and the reverence it inspires for godly women, they would never cut their hair.

I look back with the tenderest emotion to the vision of my mother, even on her bed in her last sickness, when long braids of black hair lay on her pillow beside her head. It is sweet to believe that I will see my mother again, as a womanly woman with beautiful long hair. I remember with what pride I saw my bride take down her long hair and brush it. To me even then, though I did not know the Scriptures on this subject, long hair was a symbol of something holy and beautiful in women, something tender and pure. Long hair in any woman makes her appear more womanly, and there is a sweet and pure charm for men in the feminine beauty of long hair.

One of the most touching stories in the Bible is that given in Luke 7:37,38:

"And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment."

How Jesus seems to have delighted in having His feet wiped with the long hair of this woman's head. The Lord Jesus forgave and saved this woman, but she could never have given this beautiful mark of her devotion and surrender and love, drying her tears from His feet with her hair, if she had been a modern woman with bobbed hair. Don't you think this story shows the Saviour was pleased with her long hair? I can imagine that even after the Saviour was crucified, this woman, saved from a life of sin, would brush her long hair happily and remember that with it she had had the joy of wiping the feet of the Saviour the day her sins were forgiven.

I well remember knowing one lost man who scorned the attempts of a number of loved ones to talk to him about his poor, lost soul but who listened with most reverent respect to his sister-in-law, because she had long hair and he believed her to be the modest and pure-hearted woman that her hair indicated. He did not know the Scriptures, but he knew instinctively that God meant for a woman to be womanly. Just as crude and unlettered men seem to know they should take off their hats when they enter public worship or when people pray, so they likewise instinctively know that women, to keep their place as modest and feminine women, should have long hair.

Many a woman feels this though she cannot put it in words. I suppose that literally scores of women have told me how, when they heeded the dictates of fashion and finally had their long hair cut off, they looked in the mirror and wept inconsolably at their loss. And well they might! The Bible says that long hair is a woman's glory and to have it shorn is her shame and dishonors her head.

The modern woman wonders why now she must chase a beau down, as her mother never did. The modern woman wonders why men do not rise up on the bus or streetcar to give her a seat. The modern woman wonders why some men feel so free to curse in her presence, and to use language that no respectable woman of the past generation ever heard. Yes, the modern, masculine, pants-wearing, cigarette-smoking, bobbed-haired woman has fallen from her pedestal. She is not reverenced by men as her beautiful and modest mother was.

These days men have come to feel that if a woman will not fill a woman's place, she shall not have a woman's protection and respect. Men desert their wives as never before in the world. Very few men nowadays feel reverently about a woman's body. Boys who have dates with these bobbed- haired, smoking, strong-willed, modern girls, expect to kiss them and fondle them as they please, or to kick them out of the car to walk home. The man who marries a modern woman marries a woman who expects to vote like a man, smoke like a man, have her hair cut like a man, and go without restrictions and without chaperons and obey nobody. A man who marries such a woman, I say, does not expect to support her. The modern girl is very often expected to work and help make a living.

In 1 Pet. 3:7 husbands are commanded to give "honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel." When women cease to admit that they are the weaker vessels as God's Word says they are, then they lose this honor that men through the centuries have delighted to give to women. I say, the honor, the deference, the courtesy, the protectiveness that practically all men, good and bad, once offered to good women, has almost disappeared!

Oh, women, what have you lost when you lost your femininity! When you bobbed your hair, you bobbed your character, too. Your rebellion against God's authority as exercised by husband and father, has a tendency, at least, to lose you all the things that women value most. If you want reverence and respect from good men, if you want protection and a good home and love and steadfast devotion, then I beg you to take a woman's place! Dress like a woman, not like a man. Have habits like a woman. And if you want God to especially bless you when you pray, then have on your head a symbol of the meek and quiet spirit which in the sight of God is of such great price.

Is it a sin for little girls to have bobbed hair? The Bible does not separately discuss that question as far as I know. But a girl should be subject to her father and should have the "symbol of authority" on her head. In our own home I felt that since my girls would grow to be women, they had better begin to feel like women and act like women. So all of my six daughters have long hair. And how beautiful it is! And when the matter is settled while they are young, and the character is fixed into the lines of womanly behavior and womanly thought and ideals, then I do not expect a great clash and struggle after they are women. Why should not girls be taught that long hair is a glory, as God has said? Why should they not revel in the thought of being women, wives and mothers? Though the Bible gives no separate teaching about girls, it implies clearly that the same rules would apply. For instance, Numbers chapter 30 mentions a daughter's responsibility to her father along with a wife's responsibility to her husband.

"If any man seem to be contentious"

This passage on bobbed hair, 1 Corinthians 11:1-6, ends with this statement:

"But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God."

On the matter of submitting to authority, there are frequently those who "seem to be contentious." Self-will dies hard, even in a Christian. We want our own way. Some of the Christians who were servants and slaves thought that now they were Christians they need not obey their masters. And children felt that now they were saved, they were equal to their parents. Citizens felt that they now need not obey their heathen rulers, and wives naturally felt themselves equal to their husbands. Were they not saved just the same way? Were not all members of the body of Christ alike? But to such people the Lord plainly gave command as you see in Colossians 3:18-25, Ephesians 5:22-6:9, and elsewhere.

No doubt some wives wanted now to cut their hair and act like men. And perhaps some men encouraged it. Some men do now. But to all such Paul said, "But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God." No custom of bobbed hair was allowed for women in New Testament churches. Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, who had more to do with founding churches and their control than any other man who lived, plainly said that this custom was never recognized and never allowed. Bobbed hair is unscriptural, and the idea of it was utterly repugnant to New Testament Christianity.

After all, dear woman, if you are a Christian, if you love the Lord Jesus, if you acknowledge Him as the Master of your life, then His command ought to settle the whole question. To please Him, trusting Him to make it worth while, I would start out to be the kind of woman that this Scripture pictures. I would, with a surrendered heart, submit myself to the authority God has placed over me, whether of husband or father. I would have a symbol of my femininity on my head, long hair picturing my submission to the will of God. When I prayed, I would not be a temptation to the angels nor an affront to God. And I would have the glory, the feminine beauty, that every true and godly woman has when she is wholly submitted to the will of God and when that pure heart and meek and lovely spirit are indicated in the way such a woman dresses and speaks and lives and wears her hair.

Is it really hard to decide when you know exactly what the Bible says you ought to do?

For a more literate read on the subject than that offered by Bumpkin Books, see The Magna Carta of Women by Jessie Penn-Lewis.

http://lighthouselibrary.com/read.php?sel=3138&searchfor=||PENN-LEWIS,%20JESSIE||&type=&what=author

Amen, good book!

Dear repentperish,

As to other users on SermonIndex we have said the same thing, it is ok for saints to post an article for discussion or some topic but there must not be repetitive posting which can attribute to an agenda on a specific subject and in the end just cause hurt, division and no-one is changed on the matter.

It is ok to charitably discuss the issue of women teachers and Scripturally what it says. We would ask that other threads not be opened also on the subject and that all would be done in love.

Thank you very much wayneman for that excellent article/book by Mrs P-Lewis including the scholarly exergesis by Dr Bushnell regarding the texts in question.

I am working my way slowly through it and it has been extremely illuminating. it is one of the most important papers I have read and will be of much help to me during the theological training on which I have embarked.

ginnyrose, rather than asking men here to read it, I think you should be making that request to all of the women that you know especially those who have received seminary or Bible school training. Not many men are going to be willing to stick their necks out, against the tide, but the more women that are educated regarding the matter, and speak out the better. It is much easier to silence the few. It is well overdue that the subjection of women in the Christian church, which is repeating that of the Jewish religion, catches up with the times and is rejected as with other discriminations. Just a small example:

"Therefore the words "it is not permitted'' and "as also saith the law" must refer to some "rule'' outside of Scripture. There was no other but the Oral Law of the Jews, appealed to by the Judaizers in the church in their efforts at that time to bring Christianity back within the confines of Judaism. That the words "as saith the law" referred to the Oral Law of the Jews is recognized by some scholars, for a well known lexicographer, in his Greek-Latin Lexicon, says that "as saith the law" refers to the Jewish Oral Law, which did teach the silencing of women. The Talmud also taught that it was '' a shame for a woman to let her voice be heard among men" almost the very words used in the language quoted by the Apostle. Again, the reference to the "law" is, of itself, sufficient to show that the Apostle, who labored so earnestly to free the Christian Church from the very shadow of Judaism, as his epistles show, was not expressing his own conviction in the language attributed to him. Paul never appealed to the " law" for the guidance of the Church of Christ, but, on the contrary, declared that believers were " dead to the law by the body of Christ" (Rom. 7:4), that they might serve in newness of spirit and not the oldness of the letter (v. 6). Then how could he say consistently, "Let the women keep silence...as also saith the law," even were such a prohibition to be found in the law of Moses?

Verses 14 and 15: "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a dishonour to him.� But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." A simple statement in these verses has again been turned into a question by the punctuation added "centuries later than when St. Paul wrote these words." The Apostle thus appears to make statements that are obviously contrary to the facts of nature and of history. For, as Dr. Bushnell says, ''nature" does not teach that if a man has "long hair" it is "a dishonour" to him, e.g., millions of men in China wear long hair, and ''nature has never taught them that it is a shame." Furthermore, the Corinthians to whom Paul was writing boasted that they were ''descendants of the longhaired Achaeans, celebrated in the Greek poem, Homer's Iliad." It would therefore be a most strange question for Paul to put to them, while to Jews long hair in fulfillment of religious vows (Num. 6:1-21) was a glory, not a shame.

But why does Paul refer to hair at all? Again we need to understand Jewish customs. Perpetually Paul had to be countering not only the customs but the influence of Judaistic thought upon Christians only gradually emerging into apprehension of the full liberty of the gospel. The Apostle had just said that a woman should have "authority over her own head'' to veil or unveil as she judged best. But the Oral Law had made unveiling so disgraceful a thing that Christian women would find it difficult to put away the veil, even when circumstances were favorable to doing so. The Apostle then meets this difficulty by saying that the woman already had a veil that was a glory to her; her own hair and so she need not be ashamed of uncovering it, whatever the Judaizers might say."

THE MAGNA CHARTA OF WOMAN BY: JESSIE PENN-LEWIS

I have ordered Dr Bushnell's book 'God's Gift to Women' which I am sure will be an interesting read.