Lesson 2 Practice

It is extremely hard for us to realize the interpretive glasses we wear. It’s like asking a fish about the water it’s swimming in. When looking at the many examples of women ministering in Scripture, some will immediately want to reinterpret them because of their understanding of one verse – 1 Timothy 2:12. However, for this assignment, you are asked to listen to the text of the Bible itself in the passages themselves.

Read through these passages: Judges 4-5; 2 Kings 22; Acts 16 and 18; Romans 16. Listen to them and bracket out the noise of “clobber verses” you have heard from elsewhere.

• What do these passages on their own terms illustrate about the roles to which God called women throughout Scripture?
• Are there any surprises for you?
• If someone truly listened to these texts without the other noise, what would they conclude?

Write up your reflections and upload them to the course.