The bible does not promote the teaching that women should be pastors. There is little to no biblical justification for female pastors. While most verses suggest that only men should be pastors, there are a few verses used to support women as pastors of the church.
However, like all things in scripture, we need to examine whether something sets a precedent or is an exception. So below are both sides of the argument presented, and it's up to individual believers to discern which argument presents the more convincing interpretation.
First, we will look at the definition of a pastor. Secondly, at the verses in support of female pastors and then finally, the verses that oppose the teaching.
What is a pastor?
A pastor is a person that shepherds the flock. The origin of the word is 14th century Anglo-French language. The closest word in Ancient Greek would be poimén which literally means a shepherd. However, the word as we understand it encompasses several different words taken from various verses.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers
Ephesians 4:11 ESV
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you
Titus 1:5 ESV
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Acts 20:28 ESV
In each of these verses, the author goes on to explain the duties of the pastor, shepherd and overseer. The fact that these words are distinct in Greek does not suggest that there are three different ministries of care, but a single ministry of care. The role of a pastor is to oversee or shepherd the flock.
Scripture in support of female pastors
Some believe that there is biblical support for female leadership, both as pastors and elders. The often cited female examples of female leadership include:
Miriam
Deborah
Huldah
Priscilla
In each of these circumstances we need to determine two foundational arguments. Firstly, is their leadership proof of eldership? Secondly, does their qualification as leaders satisfy arguments against female pastors?
Miriam
Miriam is first introduced in the book of Exodus as the sister of Moses and Aaron in Exodus 2:1-10. While she is unnamed, her relationship is confirmed in Numbers 26:59 and 1 Chronicles 6:3.
In her lifetime she is identified as a caring and compassionate sister, one that helps her brother, Moses, to escape. She is later identified as a prophetess, and a Levite. She sings praises to God and definitely holds a prominent position within Israel.
Aaron and Miriam both oppose Moses and God punishes Miriam by giving her leprosy. She was then shamed and sent out of the camp for seven days. Despite her shame, Israel did not leave without her. She is remembered positively as having led alongside Moses and Aaron in Micah 6:4.
Deborah
The story of Deborah is also used to support female leadership in the church. When she is first introduced, it reads that Deborah, a woman, a prophetess, a wife of Lappidoth was judging over israel at that time. Clearly, Deborah was a female and clearly she was a leader over Israel for a time.
During her time as judge, Deborah held court and Israelites would seek her counsel to settle disputes. She also prophesied, which can be a combination of foretelling and telling forth divine truth. There are several examples of her prophetic gifts and no reason to doubt that she was empowered by God.
Huldah
Huldah, like Miriam and Deborah was a prophetess. Her story coincides with King Josiah, a descendent of David who did right in the eyes of the Lord (2 Chronicles 4:1-3). She provided amazing prophesies and did so before a room of Israelites.
Her story is used as proof that a woman can reveal divine truth from God to men, including men at the highest level of Israelite society. Thus the argument goes, that if Huldah can do it, so can other women.
Priscilla / Prisca
The fourth and final reference is Priscilla, also known as Prisca, and is the wife of Aquila (Acts 18:2). When this couple heard Apollos teaching accurately the ways of God, they corrected him because he knew only the baptism of John.
There are several other verses that suggest both Prisca and Aquila were very influential across the gentile churches (Romans 16:3-5). Between the married couple, they definitely led a church in their own house (1 Corinthians 16:19).
Between all of these four references, some conclude that female leadership is clearly documented. They offer some strong female leaders, so why is there opposition to the church allowing female pastors?
Scripture in opposition to female pastors
While there are several great examples of female leadership in the Bible, the question is whether they are qualified to be pastors over the church. The main verse that is cited in opposition to female eldership is found in Paul's epistle to Timothy:
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
1 Timothy 2:11-15 ESV
Paul seems to indicate that the context of why women should not lead a church is that Adam was formed before Eve. Had Paul wanted to mention female leadership in Ephesus and the temple of Artemis; he could have mentioned it. However, that's not what Paul writes. This argument is weak because it avoids confronting the strength of the argument and chooses to fight a preferred interpretation of events.
Adam held authority over Eve
Paul gives his reason for women to remain quiet with all submissiveness and why they cannot exercise authority over a man. He provides two reasons:
Adam was formed first, then Eve.
Adam was not deived, but the woman was deived.
The first point is that Adam was formed first, then Eve. That is to say, there is an order to creation; Adam held authority over the woman. We can see Adam demonstate his authority by giving a name to the woman on two different occasions:
Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Genesis 2:23 ESV
The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Genesis 3:20 ESV
Adam held authority over all the living things and named them, and he had authority over his wife and named her too. We see this same authority upheld by the apostle Paul throughout the New Testament:
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
1 Corinthians 11:3 ESV
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Ephesians 5:22-24 ESV
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
1 Peter 3:1-2 ESV
Paul's second point is that the woman was deceived. Adam's job was to hold authority over the woman, he should not have listened to her when she was deceived by the serpent. His duty was to protect her, and also to protect the tree of knowledge. His disobedience results in the whole Earth being cursed - but it was Eve that was deceived and Adam that was disobedient.
Qualifications of an elder
Paul writes his qualifications for an elder in both Titus and 1 Timothy. In both pastoral epistles he sets the qualifications of an elder as masculine in nature. The word he uses is presbyteros, which means elderly men. There are several ways to write this word to convey male or female gender:
presbyteros - elderly man
presbyteras - elderly woman
In all references to the office of an elder the masculine is used. The only time that the word is used for women is not discussing a position of eldership (1 Timothy 5:2). Furthermore, the qualifications for eldership include the requirement that an overseer be the "husband of one wife".
Combined with Paul's pastoral remarks that a woman should not hold authority over men, to remain silent in church, and not permitted to teach - it seems hard to refute the explicit case for male leadership.
Therefore, in order for the accounts of female leadership to overturn this clear doctrine, they need to provide a compelling case of why Paul can't have actually meant what is written so plainly.
Why are female leaders not proof of female eldership?
While the stories of Miriam, Deborah, Huldah and Prisca are inspirational, they do not possess the same doctrinal clarity as 1 Timothy 2:12. None of their stories provide a reason to believe that Paul didn't mean for women to not hold authority over men.
Perhaps the closest one to casting doubt on Paul's intention would be the story of Prisca. However, in every reference of her (whether by Priscilla or by Prisca), she is also mentioned alongside her husband Aquila. Far from being the sole leader of a church, it discusses how she and her husband worked together. There's no reason to believe that Priscilla was leading the church any more than Aquila was leading it.
An emphasis could be made that Paul references Prisca before Aquila, but it's not clear that the order significance, or, if it is significant, how much so? In several examples Aquila also comes first - so perhaps it is nothing. Adding an emphasis where none exists to create a narrative that fits our own worldview makes for weak interpretation of the bible.
Why can't a woman be a pastor?
A woman cannot be a pastor because the bible says that they should not hold authority over a man. This verse provides explicit doctrine, and no verse stands in contradiction to it. There are several great examples of strong female leadership, but none are no examples of a female pastor. The closest example is Priscilla, but those passages do not contradict Paul's letter to Timothy.
Any appeal to a context outside of the passage, particularly because the passage includes context, is an attempt to avoid the strength of the argument. Unfortunately, the historic position of the church seems to be right.
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