I do not permit a woman to teach

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.” (1 Timothy 2:12)

Today, I read that verse, loud and clear, to pews full of men and women, listening. 

Me, a woman. Fully a woman. 

And a Bible scholar.

And a teacher. 

I’d planned to read this verse as I finished my teaching series regarding the portrayal and roles of women throughout the Bible. But I hadn’t accounted for what it would feel like to read it. To take a verse that has been so decisively oppressive, so deeply limiting, and so matter-of-factly down-putting, and to turn it on its head. 

It felt so… settling. Right. Secure. 

For me, as a woman, to be unashamed to face the author head-on and not fear their “authority.” 

And for me, as a Christian of sorts, to know I can say “no” to texts that, I believe, should never have been given that kind of authority. 

So I take authority now. Humbly but confidently. 

And I am not quiet, I am not silent. I seek no permission. 

I will teach. I will speak.