THREE TRUTHS AND THREE LIES ABOUT 1 TIMOTHY 2

Welcome readers, thank you for joining me in this little corner of the internet today. 

I’ve got a ~spicy~ post for you today. Sit back and enjoy (or...rage if you feel thus inclined.) 

If you know me, you might know that I grew up in the church. I was a preacher’s kid for the majority of my childhood. By the age of 12, I was beginning to realize I couldn’t be a Christian just because my parents were. In order to have an authentic, loving relationship with God, I needed to figure out what my faith meant for me. 

This led me to years of conflict regarding certain uncomfortable passages in the Bible written specifically about women which seemed to me like they were taught just to limit and control women. I am the first born of two first borns so I get it if some people are like “Whoa control her, please.”

A lot of what I read in the Bible and what was taught to me seemed misogynistic, unloving, and at times, downright abusive. I was convinced the Bible meant for me to be inferior to all men simply for being born biologically female. 

On the flip side, I had also experienced a deep and profound love from God personally so I knew God loved me as a woman despite what I had been taught. I determined that God meant for me to be loved and not controlled or made less than a man and that He would eventually show me in His Word what it actually meant. I waited and I prayed and He showed me. 

Every single time before I read a passage that made me uncomfortable, I prayed something like: 

“God, I hate reading this passage. It makes me feel uncomfortable and unloved. Please show me what You meant for me to understand in this.” 

Every single time I prayed this (and even when I did not), He showed me. I walked away each time mind blown and inspired. I felt very loved. 

Over the past few years, I’ve reframed a lot about what I believe about marriage, sex, purity, divorce, and all that good stuff, I’ve come to learn some pretty wild things about the Bible. Namely, that it’s radically feminist in a very profound way. 

I’ve also learned that a lot of the lies I heard about my body and my womanhood growing up in the church were things a lot of my peers had also heard - and had been hurt by. If you are someone who has been hurt by such teachings or have decided God and Jesus just aren’t for you because you believe women are limited and controlled under Christianity, I plead with you to read this. At least consider some of the things I’ve found. It all blew my mind a little bit. 

I also know that a lot of my online audience are already Jesus loving people and many of you may already have a formed opinion about the topics I’m going to address. I invite you to take a look at my perspective and give me any thoughts you have on it. 

One of the passages that often gave me some trouble throughout middle school and high school was 1 Timothy 2 which is often used to tell me three lies about myself as a woman. 

The three lies: 

1. Women must cover up their skin so they don’t tempt men. 
2. Women need to be silenced in the church and subordinate to all male leaders.
3. True Christian potential for women lies in marriage and motherhood. 

Here are three truths I have learned in my recent studies: 

1. People who wish to teach God’s people should not do it in a manner which excludes and harms others. 
2. Women should be given the same opportunities to learn and teach about God as men in church settings. 
3. The heart of a person should be examined when they have done wrong and correction should be based on their intent. 

I have written three different blog posts about each of these topics after this one. I have split 1 Timothy 2 into three separate blog posts which address these three lies and truths about modesty, silencing women, and motherhood. 

Disclaimer: I have no formal schooling on this beyond my classical highschool education (much of which was college level.) This has all been done on my own in my own time via resources I have found and what I have studied in the Bible for myself. Throughout the three posts on these topics, I have shared the resources which helped me to understand a lot of what I have stated. I am in no way a scholar or expert on these topics. This is simply what I’ve learned thus far. I suspect that years from now I’ll look back on these posts and want to do some heavy editing haha. 

If you have any misgivings or questions about what I’ve written or would like to point out something, please do not hesitate to let me know. (I would recommend reading the three posts I have listed below first… in case you have questions I’ve already answered there.) You can find these posts on my blog after this one.