Paul, 1 Timothy 2, and Wonder Woman
The Amazon superhero—not the Proverbs 31 woman—and the connections are weirder (and more significant) that you might realize.
Paul’s writings on women in the church have been a source of contention probably since the third century when readers were far enough removed culturally and chronologically that the intent and application of his letters became disputable. Ever since, church leaders, scholars, and lay folks alike have tussled and lambasted each other (complete with basting brushes and poorly roasted lambs) over whether women can teach (men, other women, or not at all); whether women must wear head-coverings or have luscious, Lady-Lovely Locks hair because of the angels (because they’ll be offended?1 Provoked to lust ala Genesis 6? What do you mean, Paul?); and my favorite, whether Paul was adding to the Gospel by requiring women to birth children in order to experience salvation.
Yup. 1 Timothy 2:15.
“But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.”
It’s a weird verse on its own—probably in the running for one of the weirdest verses in Paul’s writings (up there with 1 Corinthians 7:14 and 11:10). What’s different about the 1 Timothy verse is that is has dramatic implications on the church’s core doctrine of salvation if taken at face value.
Fundamentalists cults aside, I’m not aware of any Christian tradition, Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant, that would interpret this verse at face value. I’ve never encountered any serious Christian argument for this. It simply cannot be taken literally to mean that women must have kids to be saved (or that every woman who has kids is saved regardless of faith) without running afoul of the basic tenets of Christianity. It cannot be taken literally without condemning every woman who has never had a child to hell (depending on your tradition’s understanding of that very fun, also hotly debated doctrine).
What then, are we to do with this verse, ignore it?
Well, yeah, you could. A lot of Christians do that with verses that don’t make any sense. You don’t see many people running around taking Nazarite vows (no thanks), taking up collections for widows (we probably should though), or greeting each other with a holy kiss (mmm, happy to skip this one, especially during cold/flu season).
On the other hand, I’ve had pounded into me by my 40 plus years in the Church and Christian educational institutions, that we should NOT neglect hard verses. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul tells us that the Scriptures were given for our benefit: learning, correction, and edification. This doesn’t mean that every specific verse literally applies to you. But there is still a sense that we can learn something about Who God is in each verse.
And well, this verse just bothers me. I don’t WANT to ignore it. So again, what to do with it?
Enter Dr. Sandra Glahn’s wonderfully researched and written, blessedly short, book, Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament. This book has literally put to rest my latent anxiety over this verse.
Artemis? As in the Greek Goddess? Yes. Or Diana, the Roman Goddess—the one our modern Wonder Woman is based on.
What does she have to do with this verse? Or with Paul, Timothy, the church in Ephesus, or the Bible at all?
A lot, as it turns out.
Luke actually mentions her as the reason for the uproar in Ephesus in Acts 19. Go ahead read it, I’ll wait. You’ll see that when the gospel of Jesus begins gaining followers in Ephesus, the city becomes a dramatic spiritual and economic battleground. The resulting riots aren’t just overblown fury over a local deity losing followers. The entire reputation of Ephesus is at stake when Artemis is profaned.
According to one 2nd century geographer, Pausanias, Artemis is second only to Zeus in adherents and influence across the Roman Empire. Her influence in the world of the early church cannot be understated.
Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus also include several oblique references to Artemis and the cult surrounding her. In fact, she is rather key to making sense of not just 1 Timothy 2:15, but much of that chapter.
Yeah—that whole chapter on whether women can teach at church? That one.
I don’t want to spoil the learning adventure for you so I’m not going to give you the book’s the primary arguments. I just want to whet your interest.
The book’s intro is one of the best I’ve ever read in a scholarly work. Glahn makes a compelling case for why this study is important and couches it in her own personal spiritual journey. In a way, Glahn’s story is every woman’s journey as it touches on the calling of women, motherhood, the drive to work, and the heavy expectations that both the Church and society put on women.
Wonder Woman is based on Artemis and the similarities do not end with her origin story among the Amazons. (And yes, I still enjoyed watching Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.)
Artemis worship prized celibacy and virginity possibly to the point of violence. As such, her temple (one of the ancient Wonders of the World) did not engage in temple prostitutes—contrary to assertions some earlier Christian scholar. In fact, there is evidence that matrons were not permitted to enter or serve at the temple.
Understanding Artemis’s origin story helps Paul’s comments about Adam and Eve in 1 Tim. 2:13-14 make more sense.
Reading Paul’s letter to Timothy in the context of a society obsessed with the worship of Artemis will let this passage come alive, cutting through stale arguments about modesty and innate male hierarchy.
Glahn makes a clear and surprising case for interpreting the problematic childbearing verse without torturing the text or falling into heresy.
If you get bogged down in the middle chapters on ancient literary and epigraphical evidence, hang in there. The entire book is a short read—only about 160 pages! And if you absolutely MUST skip ahead (just so you know, I made it, so you can do it!) make sure you at least read the last chapter where it all comes together. (But really, read the middle chapters as it helps the final chapter make more sense and gives several closing arguments quite the punch. And well, reading old burial inscriptions can be quite luminating.)
In sum, Paul has caused no little consternation for many a Christian woman. In Heaven, I’m sure I’ll have to take a ticket to get in line to take a ticket to schedule a chat with this intense, complex, committed apostle. And in the meantime, I’m grateful for careful scholars like Dr. Sandra Glahn who’ve spent literally decades to carefully examine, think through, and examine again, all the evidence at our fingertips to try to construct a framework for intelligently understanding Paul’s missive to Timothy. She offers a plausible theory that makes sense of the words of the text, fits with the Ephesians’ contemporary culture, and remains true to the whole of scripture.
Still not convinced? Check out Mike Bird’s review and Beth Felker Jones’s review.
And of course, most importantly, get your own copy of the book at Amazon or Christianbook.com.
Oh, and the audiobook version is also quite good. I alternated between the paper that I own (and prefer) and my library’s audio version in order to finish reading it in a week. Thanks, grabby toddlers.
Yeah, I couldn’t resist this reference. But don’t get distracted and watch until after you finish reading this, please. ;) The 80s weren’t kind to tv actresses.
Brilliant, sister.