In 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul wrote: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” (ESV) (Other translations note “man” in this context could also mean “husband”).

I see people recite this passage whenever the subject of women preachers comes up. I’ve even seen it used when women engage with men on social media about scripture. I asked one such person if he would respond differently if a man said something un-biblical vs a woman. He said, among other things, that women shouldn’t teach or preach because they are much more easily deceived.

I then asked him, “Why are women more easily deceived?”

He answered, “For one, that is literally what God says. That’s good enough for me! He gives us the reason why women aren’t to teach. It’s because they are deceived easier.

(1 Timothy 2:13-14) ‘For Adam was first formed, then Eve. {14} And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.’

“I would guess it has to do with the fact that women are more emotional than men. Emotion hinders clarity of thought for everyone, even men, but men just tend to have less of it.

“Secondly, the bible warns men repeatedly about women and how they can tu[sic] [I assume he meant to write “turn men away from God” based on the next paragraph].

“For example, even the wisest man ever, King Solomon, was turned away from God by women. (1 Kings 11:4) ‘For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.’” (Emphasis his)

Setting aside who can or can’t teach in church or to whom, or even who’s more emotional (that is a subject all its own along with whether or not emotion hinders clarity of thought), I would think the type of deception is important and not so much who is the more easily deceived. We all have weaknesses, and while one can find similarities within the sexes, what tempts one man or woman may be different from another man or woman.

After all, Galatians 3:28 (also written by Paul) says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

So if we’re all the same in God’s eyes, why do so many consistently try to separate men and women, or believe someone is automatically spiritually stronger or weaker based solely on their sex?

Jesus says we are to emulate him, and he never once told a woman to be silent. Instead, he instructed women on his ways, such as the Samaritan woman, the adulterous woman, and Martha (Lazarus’s sister). I think we do a disservice to women, Christian or otherwise, by rebuking them and not kindly showing them their apologetic, exegesis, and/or hermeneutical errors (See 1 Peter 3:15).

Too many have become like the Pharisees where they use scripture, not to encourage or instruct, but to force certain behaviors.

And we all know how Jesus treated them. Or, if you don’t, to put it simply, while Jesus didn’t tell them to shut up, per se, he did warn them that God will judge them far more harshly than anyone else.

Now, if you want an excellent breakdown of 1 Timothy 2:12, read this X post by someone who’s done a lot more research on the passage than I have: https://x.com/TheMuppetPastor/status/1801311960975245480

Lastly! I wrote this a few weeks ago:

Women can be smart.
Women can be stupid.
Men can be smart.
Men can be stupid.
To God, there is no male, and there is no female.
All are equally loved and equally accountable for each of their actions.
They cannot blame anyone else, no matter their sex.
I will therefore never pit man against woman, nor woman against man.
We are not enemies.
We are not competitors.
We are partners.
None of us can live or thrive without the other.