Does 1 Timothy 2:8-15 Show That Paul Was a Sexist?

Not being aware during this morning's worship of the events in New York, New Jersey, and Minnesota, I called two of the appointed lessons for this Sunday "fire bombs" because of their power to disturb. Late in the week, I got an email from a member of the Living Water family asking if I would say a few words of explanation of 1 Timothy 2:1-15, the last eight verses of which might raise questions, to say the least. (The other disturbing passage appointed for the day was the Gospel lesson, Luke 16:1-15, which includes a parable in which Jesus tells Christians to be shrewd.)

Anyway, I decided to spend some time talking about these verses, 1 Timothy 2:8-15, before preaching:

⁸ Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. ⁹ I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, ¹⁰ but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

Here's a link to that discussion. It's about seven and a half minutes long.

[Blogger Mark Daniels is pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]