The Apostle Paul
Paul affirmed the equality of all Christians. There was no difference based on birth, status or gender. All had the same privileges and blessings as children of God.
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (NIV, Galatians 3:26-29)
But Paul also affirmed the Biblical teachings dating back to Genesis that men were the leaders and authorities in the family. He also said women should continue to observe the custom of wearing a veil in public:
But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ. Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head--it is one and the same thing as having her head shaved. For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a veil. For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. (NRSV, 1 Corinthians 11:3-10)
Paul also wrote this paragraph which seems to contradict some of his other teachings:
As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. (NRSV, 1 Corinthians 14:33-35)
We know from 1 Corinthians 11:5 that women were allowed to pray and prophesy. We also know that many women were prominent in the churches and that Paul approved and encouraged them. Chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians talks about the various abuses and disruptive activities of some church members, so this passage is probably directed at a specific problem that had occurred in the church at Corinth. We don't know exactly what that problem was, but perhaps some women had been disrupting church services by talking or asking inappropriate questions.
The following passage*, and the similar Colossians 3:18-19, also affirm the teaching from Genesis 3:16, at least as it was commonly understood at the time. But they also reject the harsh subjugation of women that was characteristic of society at that time. Husbands were to love their wives tenderly, not treat them as slaves:
Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind--yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. (NRSV, Ephesians 5:21-30)
Background of New Testament Teachings
Paul and other Christian leaders urged all Christians, not just women, to comply with the standards of the societies they lived in. There were several reasons: 1) Christians are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and should focus their lives on spiritual things rather than worldly things. The evils and injustices of the world are of little importance when compared to things of the spirit:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (NIV, Colossians 3:1-2)
But this does not in any way excuse those who live wicked lives. Those who live lives of holiness and purity will receive their reward in heaven, and the wicked and the oppressors will receive their punishment in hell (Luke 12:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, Colossians 3:22-25).
2) Humility is an important theme throughout the New Testament; suffering for our faith in this life will bring great rewards in the life to come. Virtue comes from obedience to God, not from rebelling against society's norms (1 Peter 2:13-17). Thus, slaves should accept freedom if offered, but, if not, they should be obedient to their masters in all things (1 Corinthians 7:20-24, Colossians 3:22-24, 1 Peter 2:18-21). Similarly, women should not rebel against their lot in life, but rather set a good example for non-believers by their purity and reverence
(1 Peter 3:1-6, Titus 2:4-5).
3) The young Christian communities in the Mediterranean area were already looked upon as hotbeds of dangerous heretics by the pagan majorities. The apostle Paul and other church leaders were very concerned about avoiding any appearance of scandal that would make a bad impression on the people they wanted to convert to Christianity (Titus 2:3-8, 1 Corinthians 14:22-24), or worse, that could be used to justify persecution of Christians.
The Example of Slavery
Slavery was a fact of life in Biblical times. Several New Testament passages urged slaves to accept their lot in life and be obedient to their masters. It was not because of any virtue in slavery (1 Corinthians 7:21-22), but because there was no hope of reform at that time in history, and slaves would receive the reward for their patience in heaven. Those Bible passages were often used to justify slavery in the U.S. and other countries. But today, the vast majority of Christians view slavery as a horrible evil, incompatible with the teachings of Christ, and do not believe God decreed that people should be enslaved. The subjugation of women can be seen similarly. In fact, many of the passages urging women to be submissive are grouped with those urging slaves to obey their masters (Ephesians 5:22, 6:5-6, Colossians 3:18, 3:22, Titus 2:3-5, 2:9, 1 Peter 2:18, 3:1). Supporters of women's rights argue that the secondary status of women was not decreed by God for all time; like slavery, it was primarily a concession to the realities of Biblical-era society.
Conclusion
God created both men and women in His own image and made them equal custodians of all His creation. But, because of their disobedience, God punished Adam and Eve and evicted them from the Garden of Eden. Eve's punishment was to suffer pain in childbirth and be ruled over by her husband. Jesus broke with tradition and treated women in a much more egalitarian way than was normal in the society of that time. The early Christian churches followed Jesus' lead and gave women much higher status and more privileges than was common in the rest of the world. But Paul and other Christian leaders continued to affirm the principle of a husband's family leadership and authority over his wife.
Christians disagree over whether this principle should apply in the modern world. Is the man's authority over his wife and family a great spiritual principle decreed by God for all time, or is it, like the Bible's teachings about slavery, just a reflection of the realities of Biblical-era culture? Today, many Christians believe women should enjoy all the same rights and privileges as men. Other Christians, however, continue to advocate a secondary role for women based on Genesis 3:16 and other Bible passages.
