Female teachers

Hadassah · #1 (**permalink**) 06-02-2009, 06:42 PM

Hi. I have a question regarding female sundayschool teachers.
Is that okay?
If it is; why are we allowed to teach children when we are not allowed to teach men? Teaching youngones will influence them for the rest of their life, sometimes.
Just a little confused on the matter. Hope someone has some biblical answers.
Line

Scott1 · #2 (**permalink**) 06-02-2009, 07:34 PM

God has not given women to exercise ecclesiastical control over men (I understand that to be the context here). (Teaching Scripture or exhorting, propounding from it are exercising control)

Quote:

1 Timothy 2:12
12But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

God has given men, not women the church offices by which that authority is exercised (e.g. bishops, elders, ministers, deacons, etc.)

Quote:

1 Timothy 3

2A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

12Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well

But, women may and are in fact commended to teach, model and disciple to other women, particularly younger women.

Quote:

Titus 2

3The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Those are some parameters, I think they are clear and bear the witness of the church through history.

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) a biblical, reformed denomination has a short summary you may find helpful:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:...ient=firefox-a

raekwon · #3 (**permalink**) 06-02-2009, 08:06 PM

Hi Line. A couple of quick thoughts in addition. First, there are Biblical examples of children being educated in the Gospel by women. The first example that comes to mind is Timothy being taught the Gospel by his mother and grandmother (2 Tim 1). What they taught him as a boy certainly influenced him for the rest of his life, and by extension, influenced all Christians everywhere. In some sense, they're still teaching us now! Take encouragement that, in teaching boys and girls today, you'll be influencing them for years to come.

As an aside, while I'm not comfortable with a women teaching a mixed-gender Sunday School class, I don't believe that there's a biblical prohibition against her simply facilitating discussion in a similar setting.