A Study on Gender Roles of Corinth Women in the Writings of Saint Paul

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of

Master of Philosophy in Sociology

by Melissa C Remedios Reg. No. 1530027

Under the Guidance of Maya M. Assistant Professor

Department of Sociology

CHRIST UNIVERSITY BENGALURU, INDIA December 2017

DECLARATION

I, Melissa C Remedios, hereby declare that the dissertation, titled ‘A Study on Gender Roles of Corinth Women in the Writings of Saint Paul’ is a record of original research work undertaken by me for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy in Sociology. I have completed this study under the supervision of Prof. Maya M., Department of Sociology. I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. It has not been sent for any publication or presentation purpose. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation.

Place: Bengaluru Melissa C Remedios Date: Reg No. 1530027 Department of Sociology Christ University, Bengaluru

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation submitted by Melissa C Remedios (Reg. no. 1530027) titled ‘A Study on Gender Roles of Corinth Women in the Writings of Saint Paul’ is a record of research work done by her during the academic year 2015-2017 under my supervision in partial fulfilment for the award of Master of Philosophy in Sociology. This dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associate fellowship or other title. It has not been sent for any publication or presentation purpose. Hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation.

Place: Bengaluru Maya M. Date: Assistant Professor Department of Sociology Christ University, Bengaluru

Victor Paul Head of Department of Sociology Christ University, Bengaluru

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am indebted to the following individuals and institutions for their help in my research work:

I express my gratitude to the Almighty God for his immense blessings throughout my life especially during this critical period of my research.

I am greatly indebted to my supervisor Dr Maya M., Department of Sociology, Christ University, for her scholarly guidance and tremendous faith in guiding me through this thesis. She has been a constant source of inspiration throughout this journey and has positively motivated me to pursue this research and bring it to completion. I would like to express my thanks to the Head of the Department, Dr. Victor Paul for his guidance and Former Head Dr. Prita Das Gupta, for her support.

Secondly, I would like to thank my father, Mr Cyril Remedios who has always been my constant adviser, for his love, support, and inspiration for encouraging me to successfully complete my research. My heartfelt thanks to my mother for always being my source of inspiration and motivation at all times during my research writing, for her spiritual support and fervent prayers before every submission deadline and presentation. I would also like to thank my extended family, my aunts, uncles and sisters who prayed and believed in my ability to complete this project. Most importantly, I would to thank the love of my life, Kevin, for his constant moral support and encouragement, love and presence in my life. I would like to extend my thanks to Dr. Macquillian Moses for proof-reading my project. My immense gratitude to Rachel Priya Lewis for proof- reading and giving her valuable inputs for this research paper.

I am obliged to the entire Team of UTC professors, SIACS and SABC for granting me permission to make use of the library, access the resource materials, and for providing detailed information about the nature of my study in regard to Apostle Paul and the Women of the Corinthian community which has proved to be beneficial for my research.

CONTENT

Approval of Dissertation………………………………………………………………………ii Declaration…………………………………………………………………………………....iii Certificate……………………………………………………………………………………..iv Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………….v Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….…vi List of abbreviations……………………………………………………………………...... xi Chapter 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………...…1 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….2 1.2 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………....7 1.3 Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………....8 1.4 Chapter Scheme……………………………………………………………...…………...10 Chapter 2 Review of Literature…………………………………………………………………11 Chapter 3 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………58 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………59 3.2 Research Question………………………………………………………………………..60 3.3 Objectives………………………………………………………………………………...60 3.4 Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………...61 3.5 Scope, Relevance, and Importance of the Study…………………………………………61 3.6 Research Design………………………………………………………………………….63 3.7 Data Collection and Analysis…………………………………………………………….63 3.8 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………….64 Chapter 4 Life of Saint Paul and the Culture of Corinth…………………………………….…66 4.1 Paul’s contribution to Christianity……………………………………………………….67 4.2 Corinth as a City…………………………………………………………………………78 4.3 Contribution to the Corinthian Community…………………………………………...…79 4.4 Saint Paul’s view on Slavery in the Church of Corinth………………………………….82 4.5 The History of Corinth………………………………………………………………...…86 4.6 Saint Paul’s Correspondence with Corinth………………………………………………86 4.7 Description of the Corinthians………………………………………………………...…87 4.8 Commands to the Corinthian Christians…………………………………………………88 4.9 Warnings to the Corinthians Christians……………………………………………….....89 4.10 The Greatness of Corinth…………………………………………………………….....90 4.11 The Wickedness of Corinth……………………………………………………………..90 4.12 Saint Paul and the issues of Morality and Religion in the City of Corinth……………..91 4.13 Paul as the Embodiment of Christ the Charismatic leader……………………………...92 Chapter 5 Women’s roles in Saint Paul’s Writings…………………………………………...102 5.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..103 5.2 Feminist Analysis of Saint Paul………………………………………………………...104 5.2.1 Saint Paul and women…………………………………………………………….105 5.2.2 Feminist Reading on Position of Paul’s in the Epistles…………………………..105 5.3 Sociology and Theology………………………………………………………………..111 5.4 Social Values……………………………………………………………………………115 5.5 A Sociological Analysis of Apostle Paul’s instruction to the Corinthian Community…118 5.5.1 Leadership roles for women………………………………………………………118 5.5.2 Sexuality, honour and shame……………………………………………………..125 5.5.3 Incest, Purity and Pollution……………………………………………………….133 5.5.4 Marriage-Kinship pattern and group orientation………………………………….140 5.5.5 Attire, Dress code, Head coverings……………………………………………….144 5.5.6 Meals Rituals, gendered rituals, and social behaviour in public worship……...…146 5.5.7 Temple prostitution in Corinth- Religious morality versus cultural orientation of the Community………………………………………………………………………..152 5.5.8 Social Behaviour in Public worship………………………………………………157 5.5.9 Learning in Silence……………………………………………………………….159 5.6 Character of Leadership………………………………………………………………...162 5.7 Behaviour of Women…………………………………………………………………...163 5.8 Role of Women in the Church of Corinth and Reconstructing Models of Church Leadership in the First Century…………………………………………………………163 5.8.1 Reconstruction of Women’s Role in Church……………………………………..167 5.8.2 Deconstruction of Women being alienated from Church Structures……………...168 5.8.3 Equal Partnership………………………………………………………………….168 5.9 Women’s position in the Household……………………………………………………169 5.10 Sociology of Knowledge………………………………………………………..……..175 5.11 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..177 Chapter 6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….180 6.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..181 6.2 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………...183 6.3 Scope for Further Research……………………………………………………………..183 References...... …...185 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………….212 Maps Acknowledgement letters Certificate for Paper Presentation

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Jer- Jeremiah Isa- Isiah Job- Job Ps- Psalms Pr- Proverbs Da- Daniel 1Co- 1 Corinthians 2Co- 2 Corinthians Col- Colossians 1Th- 1 Thessalonians 2Th- 2 Thessalonians Gal- Galatians Eph- Ephesians Dt- Deuteronomy Php- Philippians Ro- Romans Phm- Philemon Vs- Verses

APPENDICES

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Religion is a set of beliefs and practices regarding the sacred things that enable society to understand the meaning and purpose of life, and has played a major role in influencing the moral and behavioural roles of people as well as societal norms since time immemorial. Existing since the first century A.D., Christianity has been a dominant religion in western and European societies. Religion shapes and individuals thinking and creates homogeneity by defining the boundaries of one religion from another. Religion is often an institution that guides us and helps us to meet our spiritual needs, influences our thoughts patterns, and mends our mind sets towards a more rationalized approach. Religion guides individuals by creating a space and dignity for everyone (Fiorenza, 1983).

Religion influences gender relations which vary across cultures as it is an important context in which gender is located. Religion influences people's beliefs and provides a degree of relative egalitarianism between the sexes. Dube (2009), in her book Women and Kinship, depicts the relationship between women and religion which is structured through their kinship patterns in a society. She views the way gender permeates the rituals of relations, between the family and women's sexuality. Women undergo different mechanisms of gender constructs which position them under the domination of religious structures which in turn impact their lives. The religious approaches stifle women and treat them as inferior to men. Religious ideologies, worldwide, embody an ambiguity towards women. It segregates and secludes women, and curtails their freedom in all spheres of social lives. The constant beliefs and practices severe the implications put forth by different religions which jostle the construction of gender identities and relations in societies. Religion views women as a burden and considers them worthy only as an anti-dote to ward off evil. Dube discusses that women of different faiths share the same social structure in relationship to other individuals within their own communities, and gender relations among them is also the same. The notions of purity, virginity, and religious ideals for women are similar across religions. The social structures, which women are a part of, are prescribed from religious texts that share similar patriarchal mindsets. Religion’s view of women in different traditions of faith are seen through the ramifications of everyday lived experiences, and this reflects in their domestic sphere, in the family circle, and even in the religious setting which create powerful saliences for gender constructions among women of various religions. Christianity has faced threats and hostility from other religious groups and is blamed for its orthodox way of treating women (Barclay, 2007). Christianity as a religion is monotheistic in its approach (Sanders, 2010). The study of Early Christianity provides us with the knowledge of the philosophical and sociological ideas and debates which existed in every religious system. Religion has been an influential institution in shaping life and death (Longenecker, 2013). Many cultural practices and rituals of the Greco-Roman societies which form an important part of religion are seen in the practices among the faithful of the Early Church. The beginning of early Christianity is marked by the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine and his mother, Saint Helena to Christianity. Considered as one of the oldest and most ancient religions, Christianity has prevailed and has stood firmly rooted over the centuries. There is a need to study early Christianity which contains a rich cultural heritage and a wide range of plural cultures within one religion (Calvin, 2010).

Christianity can be divided into three broad time-periods: ancient, medieval, and modern. Like other religions, Christianity was influenced by other cultures and religions. The different apostles in Christianity viz. St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Thomas, etc. were pioneers in spreading Christianity across the globe. These apostles were responsible for spreading the Gospel to different regions in the world. Their contributions are of vital importance to understand the essence of Christianity as a religion. The founding fathers of early Christianity played a pivotal role in shaping the structures of the divine orders of the Church; one of them being Saint Paul (Dieleman, 2007). He was considered to be patriarchal in his outlook, and yet, he was a man with a strong personality and determined disposition. First century Christianity began with Saint Paul, which came to be known as Pauline Christianity. The Apostles’ journey is of great importance as their writings of the epistles and the gospels which gives us an insight into their teachings and views on Christianity. In this context, Saint Paul’s writings are of prime importance. Written records of 13 of his epistles are found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. Saint Paul is introduced in the Bible as a persecutor of the Early Christians, who was transformed by the grace of Jesus and became an Apostle in the evangelization of the gospel among the non-believers. Being an apostle, he was sent to preach the gospel to the gentiles and Jews, and he faced much rejection from the Jews who rejected the Gospel. Saint Paul’s influence on Christian thinking is more significant than any other New Testament writer. When he went out to preach, initially, as part of his public ministry, many of his followers were women, and this created a stir as the work undertaken by them began to raise eyebrows during the time of Pauline writings (Bristow, 2010). We get a glimpse of the Pauline Movement from his writings to the Church of Corinth, that he was giving women a place in the Ministry. According to the Church clergy and elders, his writings are perceived to be objectifying women in a subordinate manner. Leadership to women was not welcomed according to the Jewish law, and women were put in a disadvantageous position which cast them as secondary objects in the offices they held within the Church (Hornell, 2006). Judaism viewed women lower than slaves which put women in an inferior space (Bristow, 2010). All this contributed to the misconstrued reading of Saint Paul’s writings.

Saint Paul addresses and makes special references to women’s place in the ministry in his epistles. His work has been severely criticized by the elders and clergy of the later centuries who raised an objection towards Paul’s work considering him to be against women’s order and place in ministry (Loewen, 1994). The letters to various Churches written by Saint Paul gives a glimpse of early Christianity and the life and status of women in that era. Religion influenced women and gave them lesser space by restricting their place among the patriarchs of the Greco-Roman society. The Greco-Roman society was a collaboration of both economies for the welfare and interests of the two cultures, and being patriarchal in nature, they were quite hostile to the women in their state. There was a lot of intellectual and literary exchange that happened when there was a collaboration of the two cultures in one society. Women in Saint Paul’s ministry were moulded by his teachings within the cultural patterns of religious domains. Many writers like Witherington, Stark, (1998) have carefully analysed the New Testament texts and have drawn inferences on women being excluded from passages that depict a gender variation. There exist blinded facts which act as imposters to the status of women in society. This puts restrictions and labels on women’s identities which draw them into the boundaries of culture within the religious structure of society (Clark, 1983).

Saint Paul’s journey is very significant in terms of the spiritual contributions he made to the Church of Corinth. It involved the revelation of Christ to him during the time of his conversion. The lives of men and women in early Christianity reveal the bitter truth of women’s place in the divine order of the Bible. Early Christianity was considered as institutional and this is very evident in the writings of Saint Paul. The letters written to the various Churches in Corinth address the different issues that the individual Churches faced during the time Saint Paul was writing the epistles. The 13 letters that are written are not only a manifestation of the spirit of God being revealed to him during that time, but also an expansion of the Christian movement as a narrative. The New Testament which contains Pauline epistles doesn’t act as a barrier to the liberation of women, instead it contributes towards the equality of women even though the culture of the Greco-Roman society restricted women to a large extent.

Women in the biblical scriptures fell prey to the constant male gaze. Supervision from all the male members of the family was seen as mandatory which restricted women’s movements. The status of women in the Bible has always been paradoxical in nature. During the first century, the cultures were highly patriarchal and women were considered lower than slaves. Women weren’t allowed to vote or take part in any government job functions that involved contact with the men in the outside world. Women were often subjected to torture by the men folk and belittled for their stature and the amount of effort they put in labour. The women in the bible like Maratha, Miriam and Mary were given the roles of tending to the needs of the family. The Bible depicts women in positions of authority when the men were not functioning in their headship. The God-given design for women was a dignified, respected and honourable place. Acculturation brought in different trends of ill-treating women and using women for selfish needs by the men. Women were also given titles as queens and prophets like Esther, Deborah and Huldah who were anointed by God to carry out his work and responsibilities of the Church (Coleman, 1999). The Bible makes no intentional distinction between men and women in the conditions of the membership role given to them. The importance of women in the Bible is reflected in the way women are treated at Church. The works carried out by queens and prophets are looked at with dignity and respect. Women were believed to be part of Church assemblies if their husbands supported them. Another important thing to keep in mind is that the original texts were written in Greek. In the process of translation, much of the original meanings and intentions of the writer are lost. Also other points of dispute are interpolations and quotes which are taken out of context due to which many passages of the Pauline writings are disrupted (Patripal, 2014).

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the role of women in the Church. The 13 Pauline epistles in the New Testament are a source of tremendous controversy in the Bible due to the conflicting passages they contain. All scriptures need to be understood in the context of what is being said, who it was being spoken to and what the culture was at that time. Christianity does not pretend to have all the answers but has given an equally important role for women and men in the bible. The problem lies in practice. The women in the Church of Corinth did not come under the authority of any male member due to their earlier cultural practices (worship of Aphrodite). Therefore the women were prevented from taking actively part in the Church-activities. Saint Paul writes his letters to the Church of Corinth during the time of unruliness in the Church. As a result, his teachings are often taken out of context and he is portrayed as a misogynist. Saint Paul stringently writes to the Church of Corinth asking them to remain silent. The fact that women were not submissive to authority gives no one the right to deny them from using their talents in the Church for the glory of God. Obedient submissive wives have a role to play in the Church that is as important as the men’s roles. Evidence from history shows that many women have planted Churches and have also prophesized when led by the spirit of God (Aspegren, K.1990).

Although much of the evidence relates to the Pauline Churches, it is clear that the major locus of leadership, power and authority was in a considerable number of itinerant missionaries who exercised authority and leadership in earliest Christianity. Along with prominent leading figures were the men folk like James and other co-workers of Paul besides Barnabas. Some of Paul's prominent co-workers- Silvanus, Timothy, and Titus- are named as partners in the initial missionary activities (2Co 1:19), as co-authors of epistles (1Th 1:1), or are sent as Paul's authorized representatives (1Co 4:17, 16:10-11; 2Co 7:54, 24). Paul also refers generally to co-workers and labourers (e.g., 1Co 16:16), though these were not necessarily itinerant (cf., Phm 1:1.4) Indeed, one should be careful not to draw too sharp a distinction between itinerant and resident leadership and come to a quick conclusion on Saint Paul’s view of women in Church order. In his pastoral epistles to the various Churches, he has given considerable attention to appropriate structures of leadership and to the qualities and behaviour from leaders. It is clear that the leaders of the Churches are resident members of the communities, specifically male heads of households. Although little is said about roles and responsibilities it would difficult to make any clear distinction between the functions of the different "offices" they hold. There existed essential characteristics of decent, respectable, well-to-do personalities in Greco-Roman society who were against women’s apostolic authority. However there exists a radical or disjunction change in the development of early Christianity. It is vital for one to understand the context and cultural backlash which was evident in the culture of the first century patriarchal Greco-Roman society (Danielou, 1974). Gender discourses within the community also encompass the representation and participation of women within the Church as equal members. This research aims to capture the extent of women's representation in the leadership roles of the Church, both at the level of ordained ministry as well as active participants of the laity in various Church bodies, and the reasons behind the lack of equal representation and participation of women within the Church and the Christian community.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Religion and gender issues, as a subject of investigation, have been a rich source of potential enquiry for a large number of social-science students. The position of women in early Christianity was dictated by the Church and women were always seen in the light of their gender. The gender roles of women in the Corinthian Church as portrayed in Pauline writings attract scholars and researchers to explore the hidden meaning behind the passages and to have a better understanding of that which has been exposed to drastic changes through the years in terms of religion and gender structural relationship with women position in Church.

In-spite of being exposed to the drastic changes of culture in the Greco-Roman society, the Early Church still retains a major identity which has its own values, beliefs and norms. Being influenced by the patriarchal society, the women in the Pauline Church of Corinth serve as a rich ground for discourse in conducting a research which aims to understand the different scholarly interpretation of the Biblical passages and letters that Saint Paul writes to the Church of Corinth.

The study attempts to understand the way in which religious doctrines and dogmas of the Christian faith influenced the Church of Corinth and affected the depiction of women in their role in Church and how the Early Church was dictated by the attitude of men and women within the patriarchal structures of the Greco-Roman societies. Taking these assumptions in mind, the study attempts to understand the roles of women in the Church which governs their lives in the public domains throughout the religious texts which is an authoritative influence on their lives. The study will look at the controversial Pauline passages and understand the interpretation given about women’s role and status in Church life. An effort is made to understand the gender distinctions that Christianity as a religion brings to the Church of Corinth with regard to Saint Paul’s work as a missionary and his journey as a disciple of Christ. Women in the early Church were considered as exemplary figures due to the important positions that they were given, but at the same time they were objectified by the structures put by the early traditions of the Church. The researcher is looking at the different positions they were given and why, the creation of hierarchy and position in marriage, the adornment of jewellery and head covering of women in the Church, and not speaking in public places. The researcher is looking at the creation of a space where women and men are seen as two separate entities, and questioning why the issue of gender affects women during that particular time. From the different readings the researcher is trying to understand if the exclusion of women from the public ministry was due to the culture of the city of Corinth during the time Saint Paul penned the epistles, and also trying to understand the mind-set of Paul and the reason he said what he said, and carried out what he did in his calling as an apostle (Lugt, 2007). The topic the researcher is looking at it also depicts the status of women in early Christianity which was influenced by religious dogmas doctrines to a large extent, and cultural and social traditions which deeply contributed to the norms and rules that were laid down during that time. For any Christian, be it man or women, the primary source which governs their life and has authority is the Bible and it is the Bible which lays the basic framework towards Christian living. The different texts reveal the attitude they had towards women and convey the same in a very straightforward manner. But scholars interpret the texts differently and misguide or give false opinions which can mislead the readers. The changing times and the shift in the way women were portrayed then and now has to a lot do with the culture of then and now. The culture has changed drastically over the years and passing centuries, and raises questions regarding the gender equality in the cultures then and now, were these issues not looked at them or were women being seen as secondary beings very normal then. The Bible answers these questions which have been the same for centuries but the way in which it is interpreted as society changes in order to fit the changing norms of today (Rekha, 2012).

The Pauline passages identify the gender power relations which have a hierarchical order that is indebted to the Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures of the time. The prevalent construction was of the male gender as divine and superior, while women in relation to men and God were considered inferior and lowly which was directly creating a gendered role for women in the Church of Corinth, all of which is quite clearly depicted in the Pauline passages. The researcher through a textual analysis seeks to explore and resist imperial and patriarchal structures of sub-ordination in Biblical texts which is clearly demonstrated in the epistles related to the Church of Corinth. Saint Paul

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The present chapter reviews various literatures from the Christian religious texts and journals in order to have an in-depth understanding of the study being conducted. The review of literature becomes a mediator and strengthens the background knowledge for the present research. The researcher has collected relevant articles and studies from available secondary sources like books, articles, research studies, library records, and data from different websites. Different journals and edited books have also been reviewed to know about the impact of Pauline letters on the community in Corinth. Newspaper reports and magazine articles have also been used to know the issues faced by women in early Christianity. This chapter consists of reviews on different themes such as the importance of gender in Christianity, construction of masculinity and femininity in Pauline passages, gendered roles for women in Christianity, participatory roles for women in the Church, patriarchal influence of the Greco-Roman world and its influence on Pauline passages, clergy and Church father’s view on role of women in Church, influence of Saint Paul on Christianity, women’s interpretation of Bible, Jesus’ ministry as compared to the praxis of Paul, and the viewing women as an anti-type in Pauline passages, are some of the themes looked at in the review.

The Weberian structure is used to analyse the charisma of leadership as it developed in the Biblical Texts, culminating in Christ and the early Church. The study brings together sociological methods and Biblical theology for the purpose of defining charismatic leadership. As one of the early pioneers of sociology, he is the source of most discussions on charismatic leadership in modern leadership theory. Rudolph Sohm developed his ideas on charismatic leadership from Weber (Kirchenrecht I, 1892) who originally analysed “charismatic organization” in the Pauline Churches in contrast to the later development of Catholicism with its legal organization and hierarchy. “Pure charisma” came from his analysis of the prophets of Old Testament in his work “Ancient Judaism” which describes the uniqueness of spiritual leaderships in the community of faith and its relationship with other forms of dominion. Though he intended to study the time-period of the New Testament in detail as well, Weber passed away. The researcher makes an attempt to take Weber’s work on charisma into the New Testament period and make a commentary on what conclusions he may have arrived at, were he able to study that period as well as the life of Christ in detail. The researcher uses Weberian Theory of Domination and Religious Leadership in order to view the way in which Saint Paul uses charismatic authority among his religious community in Corinth and makes an impact in the lives of the first century Christians. Max Weber utilizes the study of religious ideas to the relevance of a group’s collective actions which could promote group solidarity or better group behaviour. He states that a person’s idea is more driven towards a person’s virtue by a way of life like in the case of Christian piousness which is seen as an urban bourgeois phenomenon which attributes a kind of dignity towards one particular religious group and rejects the other. Weber’s analysis of religious systems within a particular religion determines a fervour which promotes development among several groups. Weber’s attitude towards religion created objectivity in viewing social groups and people’s faith towards their religious ideals. Charismatic domination is generally based on personal authority and may have a source in a completely different system, appealing to a greater spiritual sanctity, with an emphasis on the exceptional gifts of the leader which have been received from the spiritual source. The power of command may be exercised by a leader, whether he or she is a prophet or hero or some kind of demagogue, who can prove that he possesses ‘charisma’ by virtue of these spiritual powers, revelations, heroism, or other extraordinary accomplishments. The people who obey such leaders are ‘disciples’ or ‘followers’ who believe in the leader’s extraordinary gifts and not necessarily in stipulated rules or in the status of an office sanctified by tradition. A charismatic leader is selected for his or her own personal charisma and devotion, rather than for his or her qualifications, status, or personal dependence. Weber’s analysis of religious leadership highlights the essential charismatic nature of those who lead in a religious community. According to Weber, great religions of the world originated in religious ideas and should be studied in terms of “the content of their annunciation and promise.” (Weber, 2009).

Weber’s attempt to determine a particular social organization was linked to the study of religion and society, and the way it creates a hierarchy in society among social groups and focuses on the primary objective of power which has an influence on an individual’s behaviour in a group. The authority becomes part of the person’s social organization. Weber discusses the different forms of authority which model the Church and household of a particular religion. Weber’s idea of charismatic authority can be understood in the domination of leadership. The idea of the concept is used to gain power, possess or exercise dominion which leads to the creation of power-based authority in a particular group. Weber viewed dominion as a permanent structure that provided for the everyday needs of a community. A leader is neither an official master nor a natural leader of authority but is based on the extraordinary gifts and talents they possess to be a capable leader. The dominant virtue of charisma influences the relationships between members and their group. According to Weber, the possibility of sociology as a social science depends on one’s ability to use specific concepts in a value-neutral sense, without disregarding the values of a particular religion. The understanding of charismatic leadership occurs in enduring structures as it comes to dominate the radical established practice of Church beliefs and values. A charismatic leader establishes rules and makes people surrender to themselves as they are believed to be manifestations that authenticate one’s leadership position. The charismatic leader is a man who demands obedience on the basis of the work he is called to do. The charismatic leader derives his authority solely from the demonstration of power and from his disciple’s faith in him. This kind of charismatic leadership can be seen influencing even religious structures like Church clergy and practical celibacy, as there existed many charismatic prophets who had a similar influence and significance in the lives of their disciples, one such being Saint Paul during the first century Christianity.

Uma Chakravarti (1993) outlines the way the Brahminical order creates caste and gender hierarchy. In her article, she traces the relationship between caste and gender, keeping in mind the need for upper-caste women to maintain their caste purity and the need to maintain control over their sexuality in order to stick to religious codes of a Hindutva society. The subordination of women has been a powerful instrument of religious and traditions, which have shaped social practices in a society. Humiliating a lower caste, especially a woman, leads to caste and gender hierarchy in the Brahminical order. The relationship between caste and gender focuses on the subordination of women, especially the upper-caste women where control over their body is of prime importance in order to maintain their purity of their caste. Women’s purity is of subsequent importance among Brahminical patriarchy. The honour and respect of men is preserved and protected through their women’s purity. Control over a woman’s sexuality, and determining the number of kids she should have is also a means of control for the upper-caste men. The idea of female purity among Brahminical orders is of most importance, and therefore, various purity rituals are observed. Safeguarding upper-caste women is done by preventing and restricting women’s movements. Women’s dependency on men is another way to control their sexuality. The article views the stratification of class, caste, and gender in the establishment of a social order. The stage of the hunter-gatherer in early societies is seen as a tool for women’s equality and independence. In the Harappa civilization, women’s control of their sexuality was seen as a part of their culture; possessing women slaves were seen as a sign of the accumulation of wealth. Subordination of women was an essential part of the high caste dominance and was used as a mechanism to control women’s sexuality. The dominant idea of Patidharma was internalized by the women. The ideological control for these women was to keep them under a tight loop which was prescribed and ordered by the Brahminical social order in order to keep women under the firm control of the patriarchal kinship order. The right to control a woman’s body was inherent to every upper-caste male, both in a woman’s natal home and then in her conjugal home. The author concludes by stating that Brahminical order controls the social structures of caste and gender which are reproduced by the woman’s achievement of consent rather than coercion. Women’s perpetuation of the caste system rewarded as well as sub-ordinated them, even as the men continued to monitor women’s sexuality in order to maintain caste purity. It is embedded in the structure of the upper-caste Brahminical social order to restrict women to them in the patriarchal norms of society in every aspect of society and conform them to their status, gender and caste in the Brahminical patriarchs of early India.

The idea of virginity had not been accepted evenly among Christians during the first century. Support of their virgins and widows were seen as a form of charity offering given to them on grounds of compassion. The idea of maintaining one and securing one’s virginity is seen as an ideal for religious social orders in the Church. Virginity of women was also was equated with innocence and loss of it would mean defilement of a character. Women were pressurized into maintaining their virginity, and anyone failing to do so would end up being ostracized from society. Male control on women’s sexuality was a seen as a mechanism in order to regulate their lives. Women would try to free themselves from such restriction and would always been seen fighting for her own social space. Women would be forced to exercise her reproductive power to pro-create instead of creating a niche for herself in a male centric society. The author states that any woman who tried to free herself from the burden of continuous pregnancy or child birth was looked upon with suspicion. Early Christianity has always carried an important legacy in regard to the position of men and women in society, and if a woman was in a powerful situation, it was considered dangerous by the Church and society. Male rationality and women sexuality was considered to be the norm for first century Christianity. The Church considered the virgins and the widows as a source of spiritual power, and virgins were considered as brides of Christ who were supposed to live faultless and blameless lives. The letters written by Saint Paul claimed that virgins and widows were supposed to live obedient lives for the love of Christ and abstain from any sin in order to be triumphant in their calling to Christ. The author makes a varied description by stating that through one woman’s disobedience, sin penetrated the whole human race, but through one woman’s (Mary) obedience and submission, life was restored full circle. The author calls the whole idea of preserved virginity and controlled sexuality, emphasizing on the fertility of women, as a cultural package of first century living. In an article, another scholar Aspergen (1990) The male woman and a feminine ideal in the Church argued that male dominance was seen as a source of spiritual hierarchy and power among the early Christian women who were given titles of deacon and Apostles, and were complimented as male women rather than being acknowledged for her feminine ideal in early Christian literature. Cooper (2013) claimed that virgins often have the feminine power of leadership in order to balance and have an edge in their roles in Christianity. The author ends the article by stating that even Saint Paul in his letters written to the Corinthian Church commissioned women to go preach the Gospel. This confirmation of the Apostle’s support of women (female leadership) is given due importance. Women in early Christian literature drew on and romanticized their femininity in remembering them as women of the apostolic age. These women were shipwrecked, kidnapped, sold into slavery by cultural forces and society, but they also were women known for their valour, boldness and bravery which are brought up by many Christian writers claiming women as powerful representatives of Christian faith, and their perilous position as dominant structures of power in the minority faith.

Beaulah Woods (2017), edited the book, How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership, co-authored by many men and women of God who dealt with real life situations of gender transformation that has impacted seminary life over the years. Woods claims that many Christian institution believe in the leadership of men and not women, especially in the Church. The author starts by questioning the fact that the first woman. Eve, fell into sin because she failed to seek her husband (Adam’s) advice. The Biblical letters of the Old Testament states in Genesis 3, that women must let their husbands decide for them as they are incapable of making morally correct decisions. The author, who is a widow herself, challenged the unsettling ideas that women had to re-marry in order to make moral decision lest they fall into sin. The author comes to a finite conclusion stating that God would not let women be so defenceless, and just as he has blessed men with the gifts of wisdom and intelligence capable of decision making, he has done the same with women. The author states that women are the biggest guiding forces in spiritual leadership, mothering their young ones into developing a religious attitude and inculcating values. Women in leadership helps the family, Church and society. Saint Paul, in his letters to the Romans in the Bible, commends Phoebe, a deacon of the Church, for her toiling to bring out the Gospel work and being a benefactor of many Church people. The Apostle confirms her position as a fellow worker, and affirms her as a leader and commends her as an exemplary Church leader. Women leaders are not only naturally maternal, but also harbour the need for the right kind of spiritual wisdom in taming their young ones. Women are great spiritual encouragers who work alongside their family and society in order to bring out the best in every human being. Woods claims that she herself changed perspective of how women can effortlessly manage the show not only at home but also at Church and work place (seminary life). The women in the Bible are considered to be used as mightily as the men in every aspect. Woods claims that equality in the scriptures is an important aspect of gender equation in the scriptures and traditional roles of women cannot be jointly held up in Church or home. The cultural perspective is different from the stereotypical way of looking at women’s position in Church and society. Woods brings out the discrimination placed against women’s oppression in Church and society. In her book, Woods (2011), ruled out the people that Paul admired, and claimed that the Biblical stories are a useful resource to engage the reader both in text and the creative dialogue, by reimaging the process of looking at them as individuals instead of their genders. Woods claims that Saint Paul saw these people, some of them being women as Church leaders who toiled for the sake of the Gospel message rather than being concerned about their gender. The Apostle lived with ordinary people who had an extraordinary cause in life, and broke down several barriers by having women involved at the dawn of early Christianity. The Apostle took up tent making to help him survive economically, and practiced theology, which broke down barriers between the rich and the poor, Jew or gentile, and thus maintained equality between himself and the commoners. Woods examines the lives and lifestyles of the early Church home leaders at the time of Saint Paul’s life, and through the first person’s narratives, distinctly derives the historic characters such as house servants, stewards and minor characters in the Biblical letters. The author claims for equal partnership in the Gospels by stating the way in which the Apostle did not make a distinction between Jews, slaves, free, women and men disciples. Certain critics believe that the failure to value women in ministry created a barrier in society as well as Church. The Apostle’s respect for women is clearly seen in the Biblical scriptures. Women were honoured as wives and mothers in society, and they were seen as authoritative figures. In the Church, they were passive and wordless, and were barely allowed outside their homes especially in the Greco-Roman society. Women would mostly live restricted lives within the inner walls of their home. Women had different lives, and these differences lay with their families and cultures, especially with regard to their status in society. The author brings out these issues through their culture, and insights of their daily existence and survival in society. The author brings in the amazing first person narratives, in order to make the first century Christian era during Paul’s ministry come alive to the reader. The book is a profound way of reaching out to women who are unsure of what the Bible tells them about their roles in Church and society. The chapters give detailed information about how significantly important it is for women to know their position and place in the family within the Church, and in the larger society. Woods transforms the idea of women in leadership as an experience not only to men, but also older women who restrict younger women to stick to the traditional social barriers of Church, home, and society.

Paul is writing at a specific time period i.e. first century A.D. His writings traces back to the time he addresses the Corinthian Churches about the restrictive roles of women in the Churches that exist even today. The spiritual world wrestled with St. Paul’s ideologies which was often seen as being contradictory in nature. This makes it difficult to understand his stance on sexism when he addresses the position of women in the hierarchy of the Church in the context of the first century A.D. Saint Paul’s epistles baffles the readers as he comes across as chauvinistic in the scriptures. He states very objectively, that the references made in the scripture, were purely to address the morality of the time and had nothing to do with all women in other states/city. Saint Paul’s writings still remain to claim and challenge the readers of his time and now he leaves them with undeveloped insights making them to believe what they like (Chaves Mark, 2014).

Corinth was at a distance of 50 miles from Athens, a place where Saint Paul frequently travelled to. Corinth was a landmark of an immense breadth taking rich view, it was extremely favourable place geographically, it could be easily reached from the eastern coast, and it was situated at a juncture of two parts of Greece. It was a cosmopolitan city fully commercialized and financially far outstripped from the ancient rivals Athens. Morally, the city had a bad reputation. Sexual acts were freely indulged in which was considered to be sinful. This explains the stern and often harsh language of St. Paul in his writings to the Christians in the Church of Corinth. Saint Paul’s Ministry had women like Phoebe who was in charge of the scripts to Rome, the dear friends of Saint Paul, Aquila and Priscilla, Deborah- a Prophetess in Paul’s Ministry who were prominent disciples. There was also another helper called Chloe. These women occupied important positions in Pauline ministries and looked after the working and spreading of the Gospel, co-laboured with Paul, and were considered important figures of teaching and preaching, doing the work and contributing to Pauline Christianity (Dayton Edward R, 2012).

The Christian women who were called to be leaders were real responsible, strong women, who knew how to function to the best of their capabilities. They were aware of the restrictions and limits put on them by the society at large and often looked at the mark of misery imposed on them, which were the atrocities against women of every class and race. Christian women understood clearly their roles as leaders and were aware of the fact that their positions could be snatched away at any given point in time. Women were not ready to accept the personal evaluation by the male members that they are ‘good for nothing’; they were persistent enough to rise above their conditions from which society viewed them through the patriarchal mind-set. Women who were part of Paul’s ministry were strong women with enormous individuality, and were ready to take up challenges and be accountable for their short comings if they possessed any. They created quite a stir in working for the Church at the important positions bestowed on them which restored their lost dignity and worked towards the betterment of their status in their positioning of women in the Christian faith.

Women were mostly in subservient roles in ministries. The inequality that existed between women and men in the city of Corinth shows that there was a huge discrimination and prejudice against women. It was no different when it came to women’s role in ministry. Women were not allowed to minister to men or be part of the prayer which involved men. It was a uniform practice in the Church that women shouldn’t handle any leadership roles in the Church meetings, they were not allowed to teach or exercise authority over the men, they were to submit themselves to the law which the Bible scripture gave. The principal behind all these practices was that women were not good enough to be placed over a man in authority. It was purely cultural; the principal was religious, spiritual in God’s viewpoint. As it is written in the scriptures, God has assigned that men should be liable and responsible to reflect and demonstrate authoritative headship as Christ is rightly the head of marriage and the Church. The gender biases that existed in the culture in Corinth was orthodox and ancient; they believed submission and leadership was a man’s right, it was the cosmic design of God’s order, the religious sense women according to the scriptures were created as helpmates for their husbands, they are asked to minister in conjuncture to their husbands gifts in the Church and not contrary to it. The scriptural understanding talks about how women need to fulfil their obligations towards the roles at home and then participate in roles in the Church. The liberation movement, according to many scholars, created as identity crisis for men and women which let to disorder and disdain in living. The central theme of ministry of women is to keep these gender specific roles in mind when they use their gifts and talents in teaching only women in the Church and grow in the way the scriptures has ordained them to be (Raft Patricia, 2003).

During the Biblical era, the then society was male dominated. Just as many of the households are run by a male member even in today’s time, it was considered scandalous for women to take authority over a man. The women in the Biblical era were not much educated, and mostly confined to the households and domestic duties. Ministry leadership was Saint Paul’s proclamation of inequality and incalculable injustice meted out to women in roles of worship and leadership within Church structures. Saint Paul tends to bring in a certain legalism in the early Church to fight the existing immorality of the times, and so restricted women access to public space in Church boundaries.

Many scholars state that Saint Paul’s writings and his movement in Christianity was not influenced by any Jewish traditions but by Christ himself. Even though there was a bit of human consciousness of his Jewish heritage, he was a religious conservative before becoming a Christian. Then what drove Saint Paul to be different from other apostles? Saint Paul showed himself to be knowledgeable, sophisticated and well read about Gentile, Pagan and Jewish cultures of his time. Paul always constantly claimed sole authority in Christ alone. In the early teachings of the Church, there were many false teachers who contradicted Paul’s teachings, as Saint Paul spoke with authority of Christ- no matter what they said, his perspective didn’t change. Top theologians of the world state that we cannot follow Christ without following Saint Paul’s teachings. He was a man of great conviction and it led him to sacrifice his life for the mission of preaching the Gospel. Renowned scholars like Adolf Deissman, F.F Bruce and James Stalker say that there were women as influenced and determined to the course of Christianity by Saint Paul. The literal history of the world firmly finds parallel to the influence executed by the writings of Saint Paul in his letters to the Churches (Theodore Chandler, 2012). Paul’s ministry was filled with conflict as he was very aggressive and radical in the way he preached the Gospel message of Christ. Even the kind of epistles he wrote were reflections of his own spiritual relationship with God. He has deeply remarked about the various difficulties he faced as an Apostle of Christ. Many of the letters Saint Paul wrote were the reflections of the on-going conflict in the Churches during that time. There were many scholars who were against Saint Paul’s Ministry and opposed it through false charges and unjust criticisms which were based on distorted facts and alter culture and ulterior motives. Saint Paul’s writings were filled with references and allusions to the trials he went through. In them he left behind a heritage of letter which make up important parts of the New Testament scriptures. It is the legacy of practical advice which he drew from his own life in order to respond to the opposing criticism of his time. He faced heavy conflict when he was arrested in Rome for preaching the Gospel and his opponents took advantage of his imprisonment to preach the Gospel for noble reasons. But Saint Paul’s attitude to them was exemplary, and he remarked saying we must be able to view the big picture that is spreading Christianity for the love of Christ. Saint Paul was zealous even in the situation in Corinth. The people were dismayed by counterfeit versions of Christian examples as they were taught false teachings. But Saint Paul didn’t preach to an apostle to the Corinthian Church but as a bold Disciple to Christ.

The description for equality in the Bible goes back to the time of creation where God’s ideal for male and female relationships are distributed in four characteristics: equality, mutuality, unity and intimacy. The gender biasness which scholars interpret in the writings of Pauline Christianity has severed the unity and thwarted intimacy among both sexes. In today’s society patriarchy is one of the reasons that brings in division between sexes, another culture bounding women in the chains of misery even today. The Pauline Christianity is believed to restrict women in specially designated roles keeping in mind the culture, time, and race. These were restrictive roles keeping in mind these categories. The Early Church welcomed women’s participation in ministry. They encouraged their gifts and talents and commended them to be more actively participating which they believed would glorify God, while critics believed that Saint Paul was particular about women’s role in leadership roles. He didn’t have a problem with them participating in activities of the Church, but there still exists a certain amount of controversy regarding women’s role in Pauline Christianity. There are still many contrary views regarding this. There is a normative view which is the men’s view and the exceptional view which is God’s view. In order to understand the gender biasness of Pauline Christianity, we need to understand the historical context of women in Christianity pertaining to the Corinthian Church which will have a major bearing in the tendencies of today and how it applies to contemporary Christian women today (Jerome. M, 2012).

Discrimination based on gender is often used in scriptures to condone ignorant and hateful attitudes of gender superiority, prejudices and ideological practices of the Church which often gives backing to this superficial attitude which treat women as second class citizens. Women in contemporary Church life are still discriminated on the basis of their gender. Women are excluded from public speaking or teaching or leadership. Women are still discriminated and seen as God’s second choice for ministry. It is always the men folk who use the scripture to condone and support discrimination and prejudice against women in ministry. Sadly this prejudice seems to strongly rest in Church domains even today. In many Churches women are treated as secondary beings and men as superior spiritual leaders. The Bible says they should be complimenting each other and be equal yet different. There certainly exist pre-conceived gender roles where women are hindered and restricted even today.

The Canon Laws are a body of governing rules made by the leadership of the Church for the governing of the Christian Churches and its members. They are ecclesiastics laws governing the Catholic Churches, eastern and oriental orthodox among the Catholics Churches and it contains legal principals and hierarchy that are imposed for the functioning of the Churches. In the Latin Churches, it is based on the immutable divine authority. The cannon laws is a developed legal system which contains the principal of legal interpretations and codes of conduct thereby addressing punishment for those who fail to adhere to it.

The Presbyterians Churches follow Church order, which includes reporting efforts, legal practice, and worship. Lutheranism follows the concordance which is a confessional document rather than a book of ecclesiastic laws. There has been an understanding of doctrines of various Churches and its involvement in Christianity today. There has been a profound practice of the doctrine and it has contributed to society specifically, the roles of women in Church offices and ministries work even today.

Men become instantly sanctimonious (morally superior) in the places of worship like the Church where women are given access to, and are treated in a peculiar manner. There is a haughty discrimination which has superseded the long awaiting queues for women to enter places of worship and men being given first preference for offering prayers. The space given to women in the Church circles is not on par with men, but there is a very deliberate attempt to show women where they belong in a sanctuary of worship. Women are constantly reminded of appropriate behaviour for them. There is a varied degree of gender segregation in places of worship which relate to fond interaction between opposite sexes and inappropriate or indecent behaviour in places of worship. Women’s ability to access these places of public worship started deteriorating as many restrictions were put on their movements and behaviour in the domains of religious worship (O’Conner. Mitchell, 2012).

During the beginnings of the Early Church in the first century, the religious role of women was constantly being positioned to an inferior category. The Church had positioned women in the orthodoxy a deliberate attempt to show their status is seen in the light of their gender. Women who wished to dedicate their services to the Church faced a lot of criticisms in doing so and difficulties on the issues of serving a local Church assembly. In the early Churches, in the situation of Corinth, women were given secondary positions. In certain selected communities they were allowed to serve in leadership positions. In most of the other Churches, like in Saint Paul’s Church in Galatia, Ephesus and Corinth, women assisted their husbands in ministry. During the second half of the century, women started writing about their social conditions. Unfortunately for them, at the same time period, certain male theologians started spreading untruthful notions of female sinfulness and inferiority which subordinated them further. The Pauline Christianity and its disastrous effects on women led them to be secondary participants in Church order. Nevertheless, women participated despite the misogynists attitudes of the men. Over 2000 years of Church history gave the impression that women occupied a much lower religious position than the men, and it was believed to be divinely ordained by God even though it was clear to many that the Christian principle stressed on equality. Even though secular teachings of gender influenced the Church and were mixed with the chauvinistic attitudes of the secular world, it made a strong determined effort to give women the place they deserved. The dogmas of Church doctrines led scholars to misinterpret Paul’s writings which came as a vehicle of social change. The attitude of men held by patriarchal societies influenced the positions of women in the Early Church, and as a result, the Church adopted views based on the dominant perception of women being the ‘dangerous being’. The internal structure of the Church and its positions in society contributed to the autonomy and influences of women in Christianity. There are specific views on culture which influences gender. They are often stereotyped and are wide spread in the writings of the Greek, Roman, and Jewish literature. Women played powerful roles socially and politically as leaders. Women were also managers of their households which established authorities in social and economic domains of Greco-Roman societies. This time was deeply influenced by the negativity which was rooted in culture towards the unjust treatment meted out to women. There were many written records which existed in the first century and they were influenced by Greco-Roman cultures which left women with a minority status. Unless a woman in the Corinthian culture was born wealthy, they could not have a better status. Greeks taught their women that they were in all ways inferior to men. Parents often abandoned girl children outdoors to die and fend for themselves, and to be collected by strangers and brought out as slaves or prostitutes. Women were forbidden from participating in the official worship and public religious offerings; they found their space in religious cults.

Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, said, “All pursuits of men are the pursuits of women also, but in all of them a women is inferior to a man.” Plato recorded Socrates’ teachings and passed it down to his student Aristotle who was at that time an influential thinker. He stated that by nature is superior to women and if one rules, then the other should be ruled. Roman society held similar views and set the same standard for women, who remained completely under the control of the head of the family which was either the woman’s father or husband. Public assistance always excluded women and expected them to be indoors. The average woman who lived in the first century was the teenaged wife of a 35 to 50 year old husband and she would be attached to his family and bear a child every two years until she gets past the age of child bearing. Among the Jews, women status declined after Judaism became carnal and worldly, when God reigned down punishment on Israel as a nation after they were into idol worship. Alexander became King and conquered Greece, influenced its traditions and culture, which became known as Hellenism. In order to resist the pull of paganism during the period of Hellenization, conservative Jews became more strict in their interpretations of the Torah (the Holy book of the Jews in which Saint Paul was trained) which added many more regulations to women being restricted to public spaces. In order to compete with the Roman intellectuals and to prove to them that they were not culturally backward, the Jews replaced God’s ideal of women being created by God in his image and replaced it with the pagan view of women being a lesser human and inferior being. The Jewish tradition demands men to not speak much to a women less he brings some misfortune on himself and lands up in hell. The Jews, while reciting the three-fold prayer, thank God that they are not born a gentile, a woman and an ignorant man. So it was very clear that women had a low position in society then; they had to stay at home, wear veils and couldn’t eat with men at public gatherings. The Greco- Roman and Jewish cultures restricted women roles in society and in religion (Cohen Jacob, 2009).

History records women’s role in early Christianity to be a construction of the social reality prevalent at that time. Women’s access to religious institutions was less as compared to the men. Early Christianity was tolerant towards women participating in Church activities. Due to the influence of the Greco-Roman cultures, Christianity is deemed as sexist in its outlook towards women with regard to the writings of Saint Paul in the New Testament of the Biblical scriptures. The religious positions of women in the Church were put in an inferior space where women served in the capacity of the helpers, workers and co-labourers. The Church positioned women in the orthodoxy of their status in society. Women who wished to serve in Church faced criticisms from men and older women. This articles identifies the importance of women’s struggle to find a respectable place in religious institutions like the Church. (Rekha Chettanutu, 2012.) Rodney Stark (2010), in the article, The rise of Christianity argues that the role of women in the early Church prohibited women to take up leadership roles and forced them to perform roles of service in the Church. The Christian faith forces families to bring up their daughters in the Christian faith by making them adhere to the socially acceptable norms and codes of behaviour. The article explains that women experienced greater acceptance in the Christian sub-cultures which consisted of a greater male audience. The article also claims that Christian women enjoyed better status than women in the Greco-Roman world. The article ends by affirming that women in the Church of Corinth did occupy positions of authority and leadership in the Churches of early Christianity, and that the Early Church was open to women being in leadership positions but societal norms didn’t accept such a culture as normal.

Religions like Christianity used norms of gender, sexuality and patriarchy to understand the secondary status given to women. The sacred scripture in certain passages gives the reader an idea that it includes a strong deterrent of gender and male biasness in dealing with women’s place in the religious institutions of the Church. Christianity has become culturally feminized while leadership roles are predominantly assigned to the men folk. The religious representatives of the Christian faith are men, and mostly exclude women from leadership roles and ritual practices of the Church. The article concludes by stating that even the religious symbols are masculine and that the language is gendered, relating to the creation idealism of the Biblical texts. These are some of the reasons women are restricted in taking up ministry and authoritative roles in religious domains of the society like the Church. (Clarke, 2009). Barclay (2007), in his article claims that Saint Paul attempts to establish a sense of equality within the Church, even though the societal structures of the Greco-Roman societies he ministered to was sceptical of women. He struggled to assert equality within the Church for both genders. The epistles of Saint Paul reinforced the gender hierarchy according to readers but the intentions with he wrote the epistles is said to be different as his writings was trying to match up to the reality of the culture and influence of Greek ideologies which created a dominant understanding of women in Church orders.

In her article, Barrette (2010) states that women’s role in religious structures of the Church were displayed as capable beings, able to transform early traditions of religious orthodoxy. The male subjectivities could not accept women entering religious spaces as they felt women were more suited for quieter and subtle roles. Another aspect noted in the article is that the biological makeup of women was more suited for nurturing roles rather than leadership ones. Also, women were considered to be sinful, evil, and impure while men were more suitable as priests and pastors as they were considered capable of handling strong administrative and authoritative roles in the Church which positioned them accordingly. According to Osborne (2009), women were constructed on the basis of their gender in Christianity. Women were silenced by the Church to play subservient roles in religious orders. The highlights of this behaviour are evident in the Pauline epistles by casting women as agents of patriarchal dominance. The Christian era views women as deceivers and evil doers in the likes of Delilah, Eve, and Jezebel who are responsible for misfortunate incidents in Biblical history that brought in bad phases in Christianity. The idea of a sinful world is brought upon by women and they were held responsible in destroying the human race. The article ends by stating women in Saint Paul’s Christianity were subjected to the deep injunctions of Greco-Roman influence in Early Christian era.

According to Linda Woodhead (2009), early Christianity was more tolerant towards women’s participation in religious institutions compared to other primitive religious cultures. Religious institutions like the Church assigned women roles in teaching and service which gave them access to the public domain and also positioned them in Church assemblies. Woodhead also specifies that the Christian movement gave more admittance to women in Church activities such as helpers and co-labourers though there were certain denunciations that Christianity as a religion was patriarchal and sexist in nature. Women were allowed to serve in certain offices of the Church. There has been a paradigm shift in religious structures of the Church which harbours the need to improve the social status of women in Christianity. This gives women an opportunity to be included in the public domain of the Church and function in her God-given role according to the Biblical scriptures.

In the article, Women in Religious Worship, it is stated that while the perception of other religions on the role of women were primarily confined to meeting the needs of their man, Christianity addresses women’s need as equal to men in fulfilling spiritual and psychological needs. The notion of equality is seen in the Bible right from the time of the creation of the world where God’s plan for male and female relationships were characterized by four components, viz. equality, unity, mutuality and intimacy. The supremacy of male dominance was created by the Greco-Roman societies that restricted women’s participatory role in the Church. The article describes the importance of man becoming religiously superior to hold authoritative roles in the Church. Disciplinary practices in religious worship existed in the form of giving men first preference for offering prayers. Women were given separate chambers and were segregated in places of worship. Women were constantly made aware of an appropriate display of their behaviour in the Church. Women’s ability to access places of worship started to deteriorate as many restrictions were put by Church authorities on their behaviour. The article concludes by claiming that women were forbidden from full participation in Church activities and this added to the depleting status of women in religious domains of the Church.

K. Dave, (2005) in the article, Women in Church Order, identifies the influence of men’s attitude towards women’s position in Church structures. The attitude of men in the patriarchal societies was one of superiority and they considered women as inferior and incapacitated. The article also states that the secular teachings of gender influenced the religious principles of the Church. The Early Church stressed on women’s participation in Church activities only with the approval of their husbands or by any other elder male member. The dogmas of the Church doctrines instilled in them the notion that in order for women to serve the Church effectively, they should be effective mothers and wives first. The article ends by reinstating women’s confinement to the private domain and that since men are fiercely aggressive in their nature, they are more suitable for the public sphere. Dave states that Church history views the gender issue as very crucial to the early Christian era which stereotyped women’s behaviour in religious institutions of the Church as submissive and subordinate compared to men. According to Kim Kirstein (2010), women’s role in Christianity can be a depiction of a gender issue within Church assemblies; it was very evident during the time of Saint Paul’s ministry. There were ideal roles given to men and women which were socially constructed and considered acceptable by the society and Church. The issue of gender discrimination in the Church impinges deeper division in all religious structures of the society. These barriers widened the gaps between the roles of men and women in Church assemblies. The article studies the grave issues of women’s position in the Church structures as a consequence of distributing authority in the hands of men. According to Amy Levine (2007), in What Paul said about Women, in most Churches of Saint Paul, women participated despite the misogynistic attitudes of the Greco-Roman societies. The Greek philosophers viewed women as inferior and equal to slaves. The reason for sin was always associated with the nature of women as evil doers and deceivers. The Greek society’s view of women didn’t hamper women from participating in Church activities. Even through the society was hostile to the women participating in Church, they created a space for themselves by taking up roles given to them by the Early Church leaders.

Certain Christian denominations give women limited approval to serve in the Church assemblies. Certain denominations like the Baptist, Methodist and many Non-denominational Churches deliberately put women down to show that they function according to the dominant patriarchal cultures of the early Church. Women in the early Churches were limited in their roles of teaching children and other younger women and serving at Church gatherings. Women were allowed to serve along with their husbands in certain house Churches. Women faced a lot of difficulties in getting approval from the male members of their family and the Church audience like priests and clergy and lay people for serving in authoritative roles like preaching and evangelizing in the Church. The gender disparities are evident to the debate of women’s position in Church with regard to the epistles written by Saint Paul in the Biblical scriptures. There exists two views to assess the Pauline passages: the egalitarian view and the complementarian view. The complementarian view states that both men and women are created different but are given roles that complement each other in marriage and the Church. The Biblical scriptures state that God has given authority in the hands of men for leadership in the Church and that men are called to serve and women are called to follow. The article states that the egalitarian view helps women find a place in the ministry by stating that women are equal in their ontological and spiritual positions before God which enables them to be co-heirs and joint partners to the men. The Pauline epistles take to a more complementarian view, stating that men and women are members created by God and that the order of leadership and teaching should be carried out by the men. (Ben Witherington, 2010.)

In her article, Women in Paul’s time, Stanton (2006) identifies that Pauline Christianity over a thousand years of Church history gave an impression that women occupied lower positions in the Church order than the men. Even though the Bible stresses on gender equality, the secular teachings of the societies influenced the Early Christian era and Saint Paul’s ministry to a large extent, including the Church doctrines. The Dogmas of the Church led society to misinterpret the Pauline writings. The attitude held by the men in these patriarchal societies influenced the positions of women in the Early Church. Women in the Churches of early Christianity were placed in restrictive roles that were not approved by the Greek Society. The Pauline writings struggled not only to position women in the light of their God-given place but also to keep up with the culture of the time. She also identifies women’s place as equally important to men. Feminist scholars fight to resolve the statements that depict women as inferior to men. Many teachings of the Bible which stated that women were meant for men and were created from the rib of man, were all replaced and given an equal stand in women’s interpretation of Stanton’s work. The article states that men being plunged into sin cannot be blamed on the foolishness of the women, as God had given equal responsibility and decision making in the hands of men too. The article states the religious protests for accepting the orthodox ways of treating women which is mentioned in the scriptures. Women were forced to accept their unequal status in Church assemblies and were shown verses in the scripture which commands them to come under the authority of the men. The question posed by Stanton was that if the Bible stresses on gender equality, why does the Church differ in its stand to let women carry out the Gospel work and preach to a congregation where men are present? The article ends by saying that the Biblical scriptures may be interpreted in Hebrew and Greek but in simple English it disqualifies women to take up positions of authority in the Church and ministry accordingly (Stanton, 2010).

James Hurley (2002), explains the controversy surrounding women’s role in Church orders, especially making reference to the Pauline passages. The passages are often used as evidence to uphold male dominance and put women in position of subordination. There is a dominance of culture and traditional interpretation in treating women, which created a divide in both sexes and which comes as a violation in principal of Biblical equality. The article ends by saying that Christianity has altered women’s role and gendered her space in ministry. It holds a very traditionalist view of women according to society and Church assemblies. The Biblical passages of the Pauline epistles make women’s issues visible and place them in an egalitarian view of women’s role in ministry. The article mentions that both genders need to work as a team in order to carry out the ministry work. The narratives of the epistles reveal a guide for equality for both sexes in the Church as well as in the institution of marriage. The letters make a mention of the Greco-Roman society’s treatment of women and Saint Paul’s dealings with the culture of the Church. The problems of slavery, sexism, incest, prostitution existed in the Church during the time of Saint Paul’s ministry. The article claims that women contributed on the basis of their sex due to the Greco-Roman culture of the first century thereby putting women as agents of patriarchal dominion.

Bristow, in his book, What Paul really said about Women (2010), states that the epistles address the religious orthodoxy of the Christian era that existed during the first century. He interacted with women workers and gave them titles such as deacons, prophets and co-labourers thereby harbouring that he gave women a certain office to hold in ministry. Saint Paul’s life intersected with these women labourers and it helped Christianity as a religion. The women mentioned in the epistles are demonstrative of the authoritative space given to women in Saint Paul’s ministry. The article mentions women who were highly influential in teachings and serving, even in the restricted Greco-Roman society of the first century. He also argues concerning the traditional understanding of Saint Paul’s epistles and the sexism that exists with regard to women’s roles in the ministry. The author states that society had put labels on the Apostle and termed him as a religious bigot and chauvinist and accused him of degrading women and not giving them a respectable position in the ministry. The author states that the Apostle is clearly liberating in his views on women and positions them in the Church as Disciples of Christ. He, who is an ardent follower of Christ, who was compassionate to women in his ministry, was caught between the patriarchal culture of the time, the stronghold of the Greco-Roman society and the unruly Corinthian Church which he was addressing the epistles to, thereby making claims on women’s appropriate role in Christianity. The book argues against the nurturing of the traditional strongholds of religious orthodoxy that puts women in an inferior status in society and Church. The article concludes by stating Saint Paul’s view of women in the ministry is vital to the significant space he provided to them in the Churches.

Women in Early Christianity were heavily criticized for their outrageous behaviour which de- emphasized the order of hierarchy in the Church. The article argues that women have a more important place rather than their overly emphasized reproductive and sexual roles. Women’s involvement in the Church has become more evident and has changed the auxiliary status of women in the religious orders of the Church. Women exercising leadership positions in the Church orders will encourage more women to participate in Church activities. The article sums up by stating that the Biblical injunctions are often used to discourage women from taking part in ministry. (King, 2005). Philip B Payne (2007), states that Saint Paul’s letters came across as egalitarian yet individualistic. The letters tried to declare women’s equality in political and social arenas as the society of Greece was hostile to women. The article states that Saint Paul tried to establish his position in his letters between the idealism and realism of his time. Ideally, gender was not an issue in the Bible and with God, according to Christian literature, but Greco-Roman society viewed women as inferior. The article mentions the Apostle contributions to the scriptures was inclusive of women holding a dignified place in ministry. The early Christian era didn’t give much space for women’s role in the Church order. The article sums up in stating that traditional Christianity believed Saint Paul’s contribution to early Churches was influenced in upholding women’s status in contemporary Christianity. In The Partnership of Two Equals, Patripal states that the Pauline passages develop gender distinctions instead of reinforcing them. The article argues that the passages in Saint Paul writings have dismantled the gender element and erased the sexual differences in the scriptures by positioning women in a socially approved role in the Church. The issues that Saint Paul discusses are in context with the culture of a particular time and he is addressing that particular Church which he ministered to. The passages deal with the superiority of God placing man over the woman in the order of creation, thereby creating a gender hierarchy in religious institutions of the Church (Patripal, 2005).

Kati Niemela (2011) in her article, Female Clergy as Agents of Religious Change, has stated that women have become agents of religious change. This is analysed from a sociological perspective based on various studies conducted in the area of gender and religion by eminent scholars. The entrance of women into religious orders started during the period of early Christianity, and continues till date as the most significant transformation in present day contemporary Christianity. According to the International Catholic Congregation study (2006), women have outnumbered the men in serving God, be it in service, studying the word, or ordination of Church roles. The number of leadership roles for women have increased and marked an uprising in many denominations like the Pentecostals, Methodists and Baptists. Women clergy have become a more accepted presence in Churches. The male and female clergy were appointed by the Bishop in Catholic sects while in Protestant Churches, women faced sub-ordination and discrimination even though formal acceptances were given for the record. Women who succeeded well in ministry as members were often undermined by men. This would be in terms of withholding detailed information, sending double meaning messages, and other ways of putting them down by placing them in positions they were highly likely to fail. There was a difference in the way men served God in spiritual and divine orders. It became difficult for women, in their in their conviction to serve God, due to the treatment of the clergy. There were gender discriminations in the religious dogmas and doctrines of the Church. Hence, the narratives analysis of faith among Church workers felt that that the differences in the way they functioned were strong predictors of their gender. This added to their growing need to be placed equally, socially and spiritually, in religious institutions. The basic need for instruction for their issues was a Biblical instruction as an important foundation, in order to have a strong doctrinal and traditional attitude towards Church rules for women.

Gender roles for women are deeply rooted in the construction of roles for men and women in the ministry. This kind of discrimination is visible not only in all work settings and cultures, but also in Church settings. Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioural novice that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture. There are differences in opinion if the observed gender differences are due to cultural or social factors, or due to biological and physiological differences. The social roles theory of gender posits that it is the societal structure that determines the difference between men and women. The detailed cause for gender roles, and hence the division of labour, is considered to be a physical specialization of the sexes men being physically stronger and women being petite and feminine, typecast into a particular role suitable to them. The traditional division of labour creates these distinctions, and stereotypes them into socially constructed behaviour. Men are interested in the power structure of hierarchy which places them in important positions of the Church and women become the perpetrators of their dominance. The attitudes of people towards gender roles are also another reason woman are at this position in the Church. The gendered behaviour gives rise to sex typed roles of men and women in religious institutions. Society expects men and women to occupy positions and behave according to the attitudes of religious priests and Church clergy. Women found themselves to be placed within leadership roles of deaconess, prophetess in a male dominated society.

Mark Humphries (2006), in his book titled Early Christianity, argues that Christianity has evolved since ancient centuries and the historical quest for early Christianity still lies unanswered. The search goes back to the Church’s earliest days when the letters were written by the New Testament writers who sought to give their viewpoints about the Christian movement on account of being followers of Christ or the latter day saints. The period from Christ to Constantine remains to be silent as a long historical quest for early Christianity is welcomed as a realization of the Biblical prophecies of God’s triumph over a nation. From all the Christian antiquity before Constantine, one Christian missionary whose strategies and journeys are given prime importance is Saint Paul. His letters and accounts of his journeys in the epistles give a detailed account of his work of spreading the Gospel and its message. Saint Paul’s letters have a narrative theme which stems from the hostility of a culture to a diasporic of another. Saint Paul carved a certain niche between Christianity and Judaism; since he was predominantly of Jewish origin, Saint Paul’s letters to various Churches struck a balance between issues of morality, faith, and practice in religious worship in the Church. The book studies the social mind-set of different cities and their inherent cultures which existed in early Christianity. The orthodoxy and organization of early Christianity influence on the Church and its scriptures played an important role in shaping Christian ideologies in the dynamics of Christian thinking.

According to the Catholic congregation, the Pope (2015) said that women play a fundamental role in the Church, as they are the one’s solely responsible for passing on the faith to their children from one generation to the next. Pope Francis feels that they have a special place in opening the door of faith to the Lord. Another cardinal George Bergolina said that even though women’s position in leadership roles is a slightly restricted phenomenon, the lay duties for women help them serve the Church and society with more assurance than before. The inclusion of women in Church activities was considerably welcomed and many women have taken up to studying theology, and are opting to teach Sunday school. A greater role for women in the Church will be beneficial to the society and men to a large extent. The Vatican takes full responsibility to incorporate women voices and experience level in Church ministry and decision making. Pope Francis in his commentary welcomes women as deacons, which is the last step before priesthood (This is a role currently open to married men.) This will also put an end to silencing women in Churches, as women are faith leaders and communicate Christ message in a greater capacity and as effectively as men. The article takes a very qualitative analysis by looking at Church history records and analysing women’s presence in Church orders was minimal. The need for women’s participation in Holy Orders was seen as a vital importance as even the Pope agreed that women’s participation in the early Church was minimal. Even though in the Gospels it was the women who accounted for the resurrection of Christ, at that time a woman’s testimony was considered unreliable and unworthy to be trusted by the society. Christ chose women to carry out the Good news of his resurrection. The article ends by clearly stating that if God doesn’t discriminate between men and women, and doesn’t look at human criteria, then society has no right to state that women are the weaker sex and unfit for Church roles and leadership duties, states the Church congregation in Europe.

Stearns, Gail J (2003), in her article, Women and Spiritual Equality in Christian Traditions, reveals that the inherent patriarchy still dominates the religious world, and that women’s position in religious institutions still are a matter of concern. The article argues about the sexist and racial attitude of clergy men towards women’s roles and positions of authority in the religious domains of the Church. The scholars determine to strike a spiritually equal position for men and women in Christianity. The author argues that when people and society don’t discriminate men on carrying out their Church duties effectively, why is it different when women are involved. Even in the patriarchal cultures of the early Church, women have taken on equally spiritual roles, and carried it out with the utmost efficiency. Women agencies have suffered under the traditional mind-set that women are less capable of carrying out mighty roles in a congregation which involve men. The article takes a feminist standpoint in the realm of achieved equality over the past few centuries, accrediting women roles and responsibilities towards the Church. The article states that gender equality was an integral attribute in the teachings of Christ and his message. The article argues that the Church questions where it went wrong in the identification of women’s equality in society, as the epistles of Saint Paul are a strong deterrent against the favour of the traditionalist patriarchal attitude towards the understanding of women’s role in the Church. Saint Paul’s writings dealt with specific cultural situations, personality clashes, and a larger social audience that were part of his ministry during the missionary journeys. These specific conflicts didn’t intend to put women down to subordinate positions. Women’s place in Christianity is seen as an opportunity where the patriarchs of patriarchal ideology began to examine women’s egalitarian role in Church. The article attaches a traditional approach towards women’s role in the Church and challenges women’s participation in religious activities on a greater level.

In the article by Jerry Filteau (1994), Women in Church, Bishops seek an alternative for women leaders- recalls the statement given about the Church worldwide, views on women’s participation in Church, the leadership equality, and diversity of their talents and gifts displayed in the Church. Pope John Paul said that even though women cannot be priests, their role in the Church is necessary and irreplaceable; the participation of women in Church activities should be encouraged. Men and women are equally called to serve the Church. The article rejects sexism and pledges the efforts of women in teaching and leadership roles to be picked up in Church domains. The Church is enriched by women’s leadership. The Pope also stated that women leaders are encouraged to an extent where women are welcomed to pursue and learn theology, and scripture, something that was only done by men before. The article argues that equality among genders is valued by Christianity and gives both genders an opportunity to display their gifts and talents among members. The article states that equality doesn’t imply sameness in roles and expectations, nor does it mean men and women should have identical gifts and talents. Rather, they should respect each other’s uniqueness and celebrate one’s difference without creating an imbalance or unequal role. The article was written in the late 1990’s when the Church Papal gave an open statement that women will seek equal participation in Church and government and become equal to the men. The article was part of the Catholic magazine in Washington D.C published in one of the research library journals.

The influence of gender roles and their attitudes is a common sight in the social science literature. The attitude of women belonging to traditional families would differ from the ones belonging to modern ones, states Jenalghazal (2003) in her article, The sources of Gender roles attitudes among Christians and Muslims Arab. American religion influences gender by promoting cultural notions of women’s stereotypical behaviour in society. The cultural assimilation of women’s outlook in her attitude is often influenced in the way they are socialized in their formative years. The article used natural cluster sampling in order to measure variables like women’s attitude towards siblings, family, and religion. Strong categories on the LIKERT scale were measured as agree and disagree, and the results were accessed measuring the variables. The methodology adopted by the scholar was a questionnaire with a partly interview schedule where questions on religion and gender were asked to lay Church audiences to come to a consensus for the analysis. The American Muslim women’s belief in religion and God were less than the Christian women, and the response of the Muslim women were more gender traditional than the Christian women, said the findings. Also another interesting fact of the article showed was that both their religious books showed similar viewpoints of women’s religious affiliations in places of worship and gives the same weightage to women followers, whether they were Christian or Muslims in their views on religion. Arvind Kumar (2006), in Women in Indian Religions, describes the positions of women in different Indian religions, the traditions of the way in which various religions like Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and tribal religions function with regards to women. The author describes the phenomenological approach, wherein scholars examine sacred textual materials. Each contributor not only studies her religion from within, but also studies it from her own feminine perspective. Each is an adept historian of religions, who grounds her analysis in publicly verifiable facts. The author strikes a delicate balance between hard fact and delicate perception, the best tradition of phenomenology and the history of religions. It also demonstrates how much religions may vary over time. It helps to understand women’s scriptural and religious status is quite similar in most Indian faiths.

Elizabeth Castelli (2016) in her article Virginity and its importance for women’s sexuality in early Christianity, states that the ideal form of women’s sexuality lies in its purest form of being untouched, so she is presented to Christ as his bride. This notion of purity, and demand for women to be virgins in the period of first century was the expectation from every Christian woman during that era. The renowned woman was supposed to suppress her desires and seek an aesthetic life by which she can experience complete satisfaction through the true worship of God, and seek salvation for her soul. By attributing her control of sexuality, and giving up her desires, she gives in to the strongholds of the culture which is demanded women chastity as a cultural construct. The article deals with the areas of celibacy for unmarried women. The methods and problems of the early Christian era, and the ideals of virginity by the Church fathers and male writers created an ideal way in which a woman should be positioned, and fashioned in her sexuality. The need for such a practice came out with the idea of how a woman’s sexuality is viewed by the dominant and authoritative male. The article gives the reader a glimpse of the understanding that women’s sexuality is connected to religious purity, and notions of chastity is given importance. The need for control over a women’s sexuality where women could deny her rights to any form of control being exercised on them as forced sex, unreliable abortion, unplanned children etc. The ideology of virginity kept women further in control of their bodies, not only by men but also by the cultural and religious doctrines of the Church where a chaste woman was of great value to the spiritual realms of the Church, and religious spaces of society. Women’s purity was offered a profound price not only for her body but also for her ascetic soul.

The prominence of women in early Christianity has been a place of recognition for Saint Paul to set up the early Church and its epistles in the canon of scriptures says Areril Carrier (1980) in her article, Neither male nor female. Saint Paul’s willingness to use women in setting up the early Church foundation is an important aspect compared to the age old conflict of women’s subordinate position in early Christianity. Christian women did not fall prey to earlier teachings of them being unwelcomed in Church activities. Saint Paul’s patrons were the famous Priscilla, Lydia, Phoebe; many of these women had a positive leadership in Christian Churches. Saint Paul’s appeal was seen operative by placing women in elite positions of the Church and demonstrating their free participation in the economic life of the Greco-Roman society. The article argues that women functioned in their positions irrespective of the unusual Greco-Roman patriarchal strongholds or the hostility of the Hellenistic world to women’s emancipation. The Greco-Roman world was not welcoming to the idea of giving women an improved status, unlike Saint Paul who was a strong supporter of women’s equality and cultivated a niche for men and women in the early Christian era. The real role of women in Christianity was perhaps more fortunate and significant than any other religion in the world. Saint Paul’s reactionary attitude didn’t prevent women from taking active part in the first two centuries as Christian teachers as well as deaconesses, but as orthodox Christianity came to embrace the ideals of celibacy and to clamped down the heresies where women were involved and not excluded from Church activities. The representative attitude of Saint Paul was to triumph women, not to make her a slave to the religious orders of society. The cultures of the early Christian era only saw women in her sexual role and not in her spiritual capacity to serve God. As members of one faith, both men and women are called to serve god. The role of women in the ministry is a pressing concern today for the Church authorities and the clergy, according to Craig S. Keener (2005). Secular thinkers attack Christianity as it stands up against women. And it is irrelevant to the modern world. The denominations like assemblies of God and the Pentecost were including women in ministry roles long before women became a liberal or a secular being in her outlook. Two-third of women are missionaries of Christ in the world. The 19th century women’s movement that fought for women’s right to vote argued about women’s position in the Church and attacked the religious orthodoxy that stood against women’s liberation. The Biblical culture, with the messages from the scriptures, was obligated towards accepting slavery and rejecting women’s ministry. Keener’s article interprets that Saint Paul accepted Jesus’ Gospel and the Old Testament scriptures as God’s word. It was a man’s world, and the culture was polygamous, patriarchal, immoral, and unholy. Jewish women rarely studied the way males did. Nevertheless, Jesus wholeheartedly accepted women in his ministry. He sent women out to preach and teach which might have been too scandalous at that time. He even used women as the messengers of the news of his resurrection even though their testimony had a high chance of being dismissed in the first century. Craig. S. Keener(2005) sums up his article claiming that Saint Paul affirmed women in his ministry regardless of the gender prejudices that existed in his culture. Saint Paul’s letters seems as though it restricted women’s movements and did not involve them as leaders in the ministry as it was addressing a particular cultural situation at that time. The author ends the article by affirming that Saint Paul didn’t distinguish between roles for men and women as they were called by God; labourers, both men and women, called to harvest in God’s Gospel work.

Kevin Giles (2001) in his article, Women in Church: A Rejoinder to Andrea Koster Legin, argues women’s role in Church is mostly culture specific. In today’s day and age, no one follows Jesus’ commands to be as servant and wash another’s feet, or Saint Paul’s command to cover one’s head during worship. Most Christian literature is diverse and not harmonised. Giles views on women in the Church are that Saint Paul instructs through the scriptures rather than commands. Many Christians are constantly led by the commands in Biblical teaching rather than following God’s word as an instruction, and seeing it as principles towards a godly way of living. Giles states that women’s position in the Church and the accepted behaviour from the Church clergy and elders is that of subservient slavery rather than bond servants. Giles views women’s sub-ordination as due to the fall, and that they are grounded on order of creation. Giles assertively states that women’s submission to men’s leadership roles in the Church is not about command and dominance but as complementarians to each other’s design and patterns created by God during creation. Giles also added that Saint Paul never hindered women from prophesying, teaching and preaching. He says women submit to men ultimately who endorse the public services where both have different roles to play. He added valued to his statements by quoting the Apostle’s writings, stating men and women originated from one source i.e. God who created them to function as a team but in different capacities. Giles addressed the Apostle’s view on women’s dress patterns while praying, and the appropriate behaviour in Church. The author questions the concept that prayer doesn’t question a man’s disposition while praying, yet chooses to differ for a woman. The most important aspect of prayer is having a heart-to-heart connection with God and not keeping resentment in the heart against another. Saint Paul’s epistles deal with issues concerning particular cultures of a time period that was ancient, and problems that depict the ethnographic accounts of the journey undertaken by Paul. The article uses the exegesis method and is partly hermeneutical to arrive at a conclusion.

Dorothy Perkins (1980) compares the controversial passages of Paul’s epistles to be different in subject matter in two different Biblical translations in her article, The Women in Paul’s Life. The women’s study-Bible emphasises on women’s role, and an egalitarian perspective for passages relating to women’s behaviour in the Church and on women’s leadership titles. The study-Bible for the women demarcate a clear role for women being capable leaders and efficient homemakers giving the example of Proverb 31 women who manages home and public domain roles with full scope. The study-Bible for women gives women the required space which is needed for carrying out her duties effectively. The issues on women roles in the Church, their role in marriage and family, behaviour in society, etc. all depicts the gender variation that existed in the culture of the first century Christian era at the time when Saint Paul was writing the epistles. The King James Version of the Bible gives the required amount of place and respect for women to carry out their daily activities and their calling as women in God’s order. The Biblical variations will also differentiate in their outlook as all interpretation needs careful evaluation and judgment. Each translation has a certain value judgment attached to it and this doesn’t make it subjective, or seeing it as a single way of looking at a translation or a particular way of doing it. There is always accuracy and reliability when the doctrines are in sync with the Church’s academic surplus, and the laity approaches its readings accordingly. The article ends by stating the need of effective women writers and translators to participate more effectively with the theological doctrines that pertain to the emancipation of women in the letters of Pauline scriptures.

Daniel Taylor (1995)in his article Confessions of a Biblical Translator gives a glimpse of what goes into being an effective and accurate translator, especially when it comes to something as daring as God’s Word. Very often Biblical scholars worry about the word accuracy and effectiveness, but when all seem to be streamlined together, it becomes a difficult task, especially when it involves a religious sentiment like the Bible attached to it, with regard to people’s belief system. The article stresses on the phrases written in Hebrew and Greek with regard to the Old and New Testament letters. The authors of the translated Books like the Bible have to read through the thick language and layering of the in depth meaning being associated with this text, which is sometimes in immeasurable forms like Hebrew and Greek. Biblical translations often use strong words in English which could have a different meaning in Greek and Hebrew. As the Biblical passages are written in rhetoric, especially the passages of the Pauline epistles when the translations are done in the English language, the meaning would be different. In the process of translation, the verses could change context, there are cases of interpolation, which scholars when doing the analysis of the texts could miss out on some important information which the original author of the passages was trying to communicate. The article ends by the Biblical translators stating that most of them work with texts that reveal the truth and weigh the judgment of a strong Biblical deterrent within the true essence being lost. The article ends on a pun stating that people should not see how the sausage or their laws are made, and perhaps the same could be said about Biblical translations.

Anne Eggebroten (2010), in the article the Persistence of Patriarchy, talks about the discrimination of gender in the Church. The Churches of contemporary Christianity are streaming towards a complementarian view towards the inclusion of leadership of women in the Church. Gender hierarchy is taught to be the will of God in certain male dominated Churches. On the segregation of women and men as equal partners in service to Christ, one drives past gender hierarchy towards teaching women order in Church organizations. The hierarchy used by neo-patriarchates to view men and women differently in their Church roles is not about enslavement, but the captain will always be the men. The article states that women confess that the only place they have faced gender discrimination is in the Church. Certainly God never intended a woman to be placed that way in the order of creation. Women’s gifts and talents are to be exercised in the domains of the Church and not be limited to teaching kids and serving in potluck lunches and dinners. The article questions God’s order of creation that when he created Eve, man would rule over her. The true meaning was to share the roles and responsibilities, and not for men to dominate over women. The neo-patriarchy promotes injustice in the home, family and in marriage, and even a pious place like the Church is not spared exposing women to subservient roles, believing it to be God’s will. The article agrees that God isn’t permitting social hierarchy in society, and definitely not in the Church. In the first two centuries of the Christian era, women’s equality is all about spiritual and ontological equality. For them, the Pauline passages were written in honour of women’s roles in the Church, confirming then their equality in Church roles and leadership positions. The need to advocate social equality and to be free from the chains of slavery is a quote of Saint Paul’s statements to the Church, as men and women were asked not to accept subordinate positions as all were one in Christ.

Lavid Rebecca (2000) in her article, What has Gender got to do with it, claims that women’s ordination should be framed primarily as a Biblical and not a cultural term. This holds true for all the male chauvinist patriarchal societies’ and Church leaders who claim that women are unfit for being ordained as leaders. Women are equal inheritors of God’s image, and the subsequent subjugation of women is the consequence of the fall. The upliftment for men and women was Christ’s restoration of the created new life given to them after the fall. The article states that both Testaments record women’s faithful, fearless contributions of prophets and queens like Hilda, Deborah, Miriam, Esther and the Corinthian women who choose to respect Paul’s harsh addresses and still carry on the Gospel work when they prophesied. Even Christ chose women to carry out the message of the resurrection. The article asserts that even Saint Paul, who wrote about the unruly women in Corinth who disrupted Church order, claimed that all are one in Christ irrespective of race, class and gender. Even during the Pentecost festivals, women were ordained with the gifts of prophesy and blessing. The article encourages women’s participation in the Church to learn and teach scriptures, as well as move towards breaking down barriers that restrict women’s complete participation in the Church. The call for a more social freedom as well as the spiritual call to have an understanding of their roles, according to the Biblical scriptures, is important for Christian women to have their beliefs rooted in the religion firmly. Amy Jill Levine (2004), in her article A Feminist Comparison to Paul, stated that the problem of the first century Corinthian Church and Saint Paul’s dealing with the community creates an insight which is relevant for contemporary Christianity. The article analyses Saint Paul’s writings and the reflections of his situations along with the ethnographic details of his missionary journey. The author states that the problem of the Corinthian Church, which Saint Paul dealt with, was facing similar issues that women in contemporary Christianity would face today. Their effective participation and voice in the Church was missing. Thorough careful analysis of the Biblical material pays rich dividends for Church life. It provides for a sociological analysis and interpretation by scholars. There is a need for bringing the first century epistles of Saint Paul to the 2first century life and ministry. Paul’s letters are very direct in specifying and addressing a culture and the problems with the Church at that time. Paul’s letters are often ridiculed, and misread as restricting the place of women in the Church. The article also specifies that Saint Paul’s letters are for the spiritual enhancement of both men and women, specifically spiritual, and have a doctrinal content to it rather than gender discrimination or any biases to any sex in particular. The article attacks the religious orthodoxy as they think Saint Paul is a disclaimer of women’s inequality in subservient positions in the Church. The author stresses on following a liberal relativist view compared to a traditional or radical view of Christianity and the Pastoral epistles. Madhavi D. Renavikar (2003) states that women are torch bearers in helping and preserving religion’s growth, along with culture, education and urbanization religion brings a tremendous impact to women’s status in society. The authors understands that educated women will not accept their secondary status which is given to them by religious scriptures and their respective religious institutions. The work of the author mainly focus on women’s active participatory right in performing important ritual rites like birth, marriage and death. There is a preference of women priests by the younger generation as they are money-minded, easily accessible, and sincere in their work. Women’s perseverance in continuing religious practices has been existent despite the secondary status given to them by religion and society.

Reid Barbara (2008), in her article Women and Paul, analyses whether Saint Paul was chauvinistic or egalitarian in the nature of his written epistles. Many Churches looked at his epistles as guidelines on women’s societal and Church-behaviour or the answer to all issues in contemporary Christianity of today’s times. The conflicting messages often confuse the readers as to what is Paul’s real approach towards the emancipation and status for women in Church organizations. Saint Paul is not a systematic theology of the way women should be in Church. The letters are pastoral in nature, and they address particular issues dealing with that particular time. Even though Saint Paul wrote strictly to the Church of Corinth to settle their unruliness and quarrelsome attitude, the attitude of the patriarchal Greco-Roman society and Jewish strongholds influenced his personality and his thinking. Nevertheless, he was fairly equal and lifted the banner on women’s inequality by stressing in Galatians 3:28, making an open declaration that God intended women to be free from all social and political structures of society. Many of Saint Paul’s letters gives us the idea that he spoke about women and mentioned them with greater collegiality and authority. In the societies of the Greeks and the Romans, women’s names would follow after her husband. So it was of equal importance when Saint Paul placed women’s names before their husbands in the letters and addressed her position to her. The Pauline Passages used women as imagery to speak about his missionary journey which validates only further that Saint Paul held women in high regard.

Scott Rubarth (2014) in The Competing Construction of Masculinity in Ancient Greece, speaks of ancient Greek masculinity and manhood as a construction of gender. The ideological needs for the masculine gender are universal for entire world of the classical and Hellenistic era. The contrast of sex and gender is visible when we say some men act manly and the same applies to women’s femininity. The masculinity was given much more importance to the Athenian, Spartan and Stoic worlds of the Greek culture. When it came to femininity, it was always considered problematic, but masculinity had to be performed and attained when it was considered necessary to be manlier and less effeminate. The different constructions of Masculinity were seen in the Olympics of Greece, the sculptures and the literature. The topics of politics, sexuality, patriarchy, and courage were all expertise of a constructed masculine culture. The essence of bravery and value, courage of Greek men was given much importance in Greek culture. Patriarchy was another dominant feature of Greek ideology. If a man failed to control his women or slaves or grows his lineage, then he was considered less of a man. Men had to take part in politics and have a strong mind and body to be a part of the gender constructions of masculinity. Saint Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthian Church which was part of this constructed masculinity for men and femininity for women. Often he gave references of the Greek cultures and events in the passage of the epistles speaking about the masculinity and mentioned the importance for men as though it was a single monolithic conception. Giving a radical response to the ideas of gender constructions as part of the Greek society, the performativity of gender could have meant different things in different contexts.

Philip Payne (2017) in his article, Wild hair and gender equality in the 1 Corinthians, writes about the most obscure passages in the Pauline letters addressing various traditions of Greek cultures. The Pauline passages are yet a surrounded mystical secret and one of the most obscure letters in the New Testament writings. The passages of the first Corinthians scriptures identifies problems regarding women, men, and women head covering as it was symbolic of cultural conventions in Hellenistic and Roman traditions. The symbolic reference to men having long hair or effeminate hair style is considered as a sign of rebellion and breaking the law. The same way if a woman’s hair is uncovered, it is said to disgrace her husband in the Greco-Roman and Jewish Traditions. The article focuses on the violation of cultural aspirations put forward by the Corinthian people in the passages Saint Paul addresses. Women in Greek culture never went without their head being covered or hair left undone or let loose. Saint Paul expected the Corinthian Christians to follow suit as it would be symbolic or undisciplined and unruly form of displaying their sexuality. In the Greek culture, only temple prostitutes would be unveiled as it was a primary custom to let her hair down. This tradition continued as women got convinced of Saint Paul’s message and let down their hair while prophesying or engaging in all sorts of sexual debauchery. The concluding remarks of the article tends to effeminate men if they had long hair as it symbolized homosexuality, and if a woman let down her or had a shaved head, it symbolized sexual freedom. Saint Paul discriminated this behaviour in the Church. The article follows an exegesis method to expand on the true meaning of the verse. The meaning depicted, keeping the cultural contexts of the passages in line with the given sense, stresses that Saint Paul gives a climax in those epistles assuring the believer their equal rights in ministry.

Eisenbaum Pamela (2001) in the article, Is Paul the Father of Misogyny and Anti-Semitism, discussed Saint Paul’s work as a masculine view of women in the construction of her sexuality in the Greco-Roman society. The article focuses on Saint Paul being structured in the web of multi- culturalism and ends up wrestling up the complexities of sexuality and gender in the religious structure of the Church and the society. Christians had a traditional approach towards the essence of Saint Paul’s work in the New Testament letters. Saint Paul was from a Jewish background and was inspired by the vision of Christ, found a new religion. From the perspectives of the Jews, Paul is a manipulative person who deceives Christians and fakes the message of Christ. The article suggests that Paul is a proto feminist who preached about radical egalitarianism. Even then he was favoured among conservative Christians and his letters are read, followed and are a source of inspiration in contemporary Christianity. Saint Paul’s letters depict a hierarchical order which is commanded by God in the beginning of the Old Testament in the Bible. The article uses the interpretivist approach by analysing the Biblical passages and its various interpretations. The article also suggests that the Apostle was trying to change the social order by eradicating distinctions among race, class and gender. The fact is that these positions are more relevant than before. Even Saint Paul’s vision of Christ and decisions of his letters written about his missionary journeys tried to provide a more radical as well as an interpretivist approach towards the conservative culture of Greek society in order to break down barriers and human difference which existed during the first century. The article discusses the way the Apostle transcends ethnic and cultural differences in order to achieve a homogenous society. The concluding passages state that the belief in one God is the most important ideology of the Christian living and it is visible in the letters written in the New Testament of the Bible.

Susan Calef and Ronald A. Simbers in the article, Women, Gender and Religion, talk about the Greek cultures that is so strongly marked by gender segregation. The public is dominated by the male and the domestic by the women. The segregation would usually amount from the Greek cultures and ideas about the human body. Women’s body and voice were controlled by the public life. Women had an important role to play in religious rituals as both the deities of male and female gender were worshipped. Greek bodies of human beings were mortally free from sickness and plague. Aristotle claims women’s bodies were imperfect and defective and they were polluting the earth. Age and gender were given specific importance among men and women, and adult males were restricted to the political space, and women were focused on reproduction duties. The article stresses on women’s need to behave and dress in a particular way and safeguard her chastity. Aristotle talks of women’s voices as derogatory and evil, whose ultimate aim is to destroy mankind. The article talks about the paralanguage of Greek language which was feminine gendered and used the expressions like displaying sorrow or joy. The ritualistic traditions were broken by Saint Paul’s stringent adherence to the Church and addressed the culture of the times. Men and women in the Greek culture were influenced by religious and pagan customs in every way of social life. Greek cultures were dark and poignant and dangerous. Women were limited even in the public sphere and restricted from displaying inappropriate behaviour. The article concluded that women were ideally veiled in their domestic sphere but this controlled behaviour followed in the public sphere. Women’s limitedness continued in Church activities, and displayed the actual status of women in Greek society and culture during the first century.

Gender identity in Hellenistic times during the Greco-Roman societies is a combination of female gender and male characteristics including social and cultural forms in ancient Christianity articulates Stuart L. (1998) in the article, Women and Religion, in the first Christian centuries. The article through a theoretical interpretivist framework gives us a synopsis of gender and religion during the Roman and imperial rule, and how the interaction between the two dominant forces guided Christianity. Plato and Aristotle have a gender constructivist view of women which restrict women to household roles. The constructivists view the patriarchal Greco-Roman societies as women taken on for leadership roles in the ministry of Christ, and Saint Paul’s missionary work in early Christianity. In Judaism, women were viewed lower than slaves but started moving towards a space that was restrictive and oppressive to them i.e. the law of the religious synagogues, and finding solace in a religion which was hostile to women. The Hellenistic Jews and Christian women who lived in Greece and Rome were targeted and carried around religious practices which hindered women’s space and made them in-operative in religious domains. Women at all times were constant scapegoats in the hands of men. The article stresses on women’s lives in the New Testament era, stating that women’s everyday lives were kept under veils and controlled them for their sexuality, and limits were put on the number of children they had, and on their behaviour not to be overtly loud and talkative. Women in the Hellenistic era were significant to the early Christian texts as the culture influenced the dogmas and doctrines of the Church life which in turn contributed to Church life which greatly contributed to Christianity. The article followed the historical method of studying the era and the ancient historical texts in order to arrive at a synchronized conclusion.

Barbara Finley (1990) in her article, Do Men and Women have different roles in ministry? said the prejudice and discrimination have resulted from controlled behaviour by male authorities within the Church. The problems are certainly visible but there is nothing documented. The article recalls that women clergy hold certain value communicative styles and relationship qualities that differentiate and set them apart from their male counter parts. Women in the ministry tend to be more informal, personalized, more egalitarian and concerned about issues like social justice. Men are more hierarchal in their attitudes towards delegated authority. Many sample studies done by the scholar where the author compares male and female characteristics and come to a substantial conclusion. The author of the article says men and women have different styles in leading ministries; men are control freaks while women prefer a more rational structure in the decision making process. Men are more legalistic and follow rules, but women are more involved in the process of the decision making. They prefer unstructured open conversations to arrive at more rational outcomes. Number of studies documented that men and women have different outcomes towards the space in ministry. Women tend to occupy more senior roles in leadership at a later stage compared to men. Men tend to gain positions in prestigious Churches and are paid better salaries compared to women. The author specifically sees the roles played by men and women in the ministry and religious institutions of society. The article questions women’s and men’s desires to be called into ministry, and to have a call in the Church of Christ. The article says women were more successful in carrying out roles in Church and tend to be offered roles like service, ministering to lay people, old people etc. The samples collected were respondents in the seminary, and data was collected through questionnaires. The hypothesis compared women’s ministry goals to men’s views on ministry duties and the categories were rated as low status and high status of clientele and the results indicated men were more favoured for higher positions compared to women even in ministry. The concluding remarks were those women’s capabilities before God is recognized in the aspect of creation debates. Women were more emotionally dedicated to ministry while men saw it as a job to be done even if it meant in serving God. The research was based on one particular seminary in Europe and it cannot hold true for all seminaries. The study recognized the need for further research by questioning gender differences in values among goal orientation in the ministry in serving God in Christianity.

Women’s role in early Christianity was beginning of empowerment in the Biblical scriptures, when women were ordained as priests and deaconesses, concluded Reid Barbara (2006) in her article Leading Ladies of the Church. The ancient Christian women in Saint Paul’s letters will give an insight into their world of leadership in the first century which will help one resolve questions about the possibility of women leading the ministry in the present and near future. The article begins by introducing Phoebe, who was a deaconess in Saint Paul’s ministry, and held a respectable place in his letters. Phoebe served in the local communities as a Church member and effectively participated as a deaconess in an authoritative role. The word deaconess suggests a leader and it has some political connotations to it. In the Greco-Roman world a person who has political connections is important and influential to the clients. The article next talks about Priscilla, who ministered to the Apostle and carried out the Gospel work. The older women like Eunice, Lydia, Syntche struggled together to be co-workers in Saint Paul’s Gospel. Priscilla and her husband Aquila shared the craft of tent making with Saint Paul and planted many Churches in Corinth, Ephesus. She is a woman of strong convictions and determination, and is named first in the letters of Paul, even before her husband which signifies her worth and value to the Apostle. Her gifts and talents are more respected and ministered to men like Apollo in the Church of Ephesus. Another prominent Apostle was Junia who was imprisoned with Paul. Women in Paul’s ministry have contributed richly towards the past ancient Christian ministries. It gives a glimpse that women’s role in ministry were an accepted factor in the past and that they were never restricted in serving God’s people in the beginning of the first century, so it appears to be startling that women cannot hold positions in the ministry today completely. Contemporary Christianity puts more claims on women’s roles in ministry rather than in the past centuries of ancient Christianity, added the author progressively.

Ret. A Haltman (2014) in her article, Can Paul be Redeemed brings out the strong contradictions why some Christian Churches adore Christ and hate Paul, as Jesus was more compassionate and Paul was more radical in his approach towards dealing with issues regarding women. The article records the views which are justified by Biblical records stating how Paul was Anti-Christian before his conversion to Christianity .Even though Saint Paul says there is no difference in serving God, he stills makes mention of things men and women should follow in ministry, Church, and marriage; men are instructed to take their place and rule. Saint Paul’s instruction raised an alarm for those who chose to ignore the on-going problem that women faced in the epistles and in progressive Christianity. Many scholars assumed that Saint Paul was a conservative Jew who persecuted Christians, perverted the original messages of Christ and was always in support of the patriarchal and hierarchical culture of the Greco-Roman societies. The article exposes the gaps in the Biblical texts and in today’s contemporary Christianity. The understanding of gender and social contexts of the letters written in Christ’s and Paul’s ministry needs to be understood in the context of the realm and time written in ancient Christianity. Some letters of Saint Paul built up the Church as an institution while some attached value to the ministry of Christ by stating that it accepted immoral women. Women leadership has been severely criticized in Church history according to the writer and she says that one may miss the tone the Apostle uses while addressing women’s issues. His letters undermine the cultural and religious view while depicting women’s role in Church activities. The article ends by democratizing the Gospel message of Jesus, and when Paul was one of the many missionary among others when his written letters were not considered to be scriptures yet led to many opinions being formed as the Apostle was considered as a radical person while Christ was compassionate with people, states the author.

Lucy Peppiatt (2012) in her article, Women and Worship at Corinth tries to make sense of the Pauline letters in 1Corinthians regarding women’s role in public worship, and the value of speaking in tongues, and prophesizing for a person who is not a believer in Christ. It is a long posted challenge for readers of the New Testament scriptures to come to terms with the puzzling message the passages exhibit. The article suggests that Saint Paul is in conversation with the male leadership of the Corinthian Church in order to sort out the issues of domineering superior and selfish practices including restrictions imposed on women on their dress and conduct. The on issues like women’s head-covering, silent behaviour of women in Church, adornment of jewellery are mentioned in the article. Through a careful exegesis and theological method, the article seeks to bring to the notice of the reader the internal coherence of the passages and also gives an idea of the Apostle’s vision for women in this new quest for humility in the Lord. The article confirms that the Apostle preaches the crucified Christ and requests the Church of Corinth to come to love one another in the way Christ taught in his earthly ministry. The author’s interpretation of the text is considered bold and significant, and the arguments are placed strategically, breaking all barriers of Christian thinking in an open discussion manner, says Douglas Campbell. The article brings the exegesis, theological and the historical contingent nature of Saint Paul’s argumentative, and offers the readers the original and constructivist analysis. The article’s core idea is for women place to be recognized in Church assemblies ordered by God and Saint Paul follows the instructions in spite of the hierarchical attitude of the Greek society. The passages of the Bible gives an account of women leading house Churches and offering their services such as Lydia, the mother of John and Mark, and even Jewish women who were not considered worthy of serving in these capacities. Nevertheless, the author’s argument regarding women’s positions in the New Testament describes Saint Paul going to greater length to support the role of women in Church, stating that some of the strongest women existed in the first century of the New Testament writings. Lauran Akeir (2005), in her article, Women in the Emerging Church, attempts to give an explanation on viewing roles for women in emerging Churches, and commends and places women to serve in more leading positions in public ministry. The article strongly puts forward the need for women involvement, and ability to serve in leadership positions and be a part of a range of public ministry. The article strongly puts forward the need for women involvement and ability to serve in leadership positions and be part of a public ministry. The emerging Churches offer women a place in ministry which gives them a chance to exhibit their talents. The Bible suggests that women have an ability to do so much and need to exercise authority over a congregation that involves men. The article follows the exegesis method suggesting that many denominations like Baptists, who are considered as complementarians, distinguish that women should serve in the Church in many capacities but not in a position of a head pastor. The author argues that women like Phoebe did serve as a deacon in the New Testament Church. It is the Church which poses a limitation on women’s service and restricts their talents. In the early Churches women shared important roles as prophets, female Apostles, judges and even carried out the Gospel work in Saint Paul’s ministry. The article’s core arguments are in today’s contemporary Christianity; the same inclusiveness is stressed on equally for all people in the eyes of God, irrespective of gender, race and class. In the early Church gifts and talents were welcomed irrespective of their sex or any hierarchal leadership. Another point of discussion in the article was viewing God as male imagery and with male characteristics. The article focuses on avoiding stereotypes on women and over feminizing or over masculinizing God, and on women to create gendered behaviour and roles within the Church domains. The article makes a deliberate attempt to do away with the gendered language and a conscious effort to include women and men in ministry and treat both equally. The traditional view of treating women is engraved in our cultures and the mind-sets of patriarchal societies and people realize their behaviour.

Grant R. Osborne (2009), in his article Hermeneutics and Women in Church, recognizes the positions women are denied in Church. They have to be subservient to men and cannot hold positions of authority. Women cannot preach and teach or prophesize in a congregation which includes men. The article stresses on the authority that women have in God which is enough for her to take up authoritative roles in Church. The passage on women in the Church from the New Testament teaching laws, distinguish the application on section of women in Church. The passages are used to interpret the historical events and the cultural conditions of the times the Apostle lived in. The passages denote the historical context and situation that took place during the time of Saint Paul’s writing. The article argues that the passages deal with the normative of Church practices and Biblical injunctions as Saint Paul uses narratives from the ministry of Christ and creation aspects. In order to take a mere allusion to teach a doctrine and develop one’s own theology in the light of the context interpreted at the Corinthian Church is a contradiction and interpolation of the scriptures. The time of first century and early Christian era, the statements that Saint Paul made, were not in understanding derogate slavery but the institution of slavery as determined by the implication of them. The cultural customs among Jewish traditions were very particular of the roles specified for men and women accordingly. The practices of proper dressing, behaviour appropriate in public places were given strict adherence and were observed. The time for first century cultural situations affected the Church behaviour as sacred prostitutes would come to the Church unveiled and were subjected to correction by the Apostle’s instruction. Saint Paul balanced the hierarchal statements made to suit the cultural situations in Corinth as well as the on-going trouble within the Church congregation. The methodology adopted by the writer is the hermeneutical principal applied to understand the cultural customs and the need for liberation of Christian women in the Pauline passages.

Hornell David. G (2002), in the article The First Epistles to the Corinthians, gives a detailed analysis of the Roman Corinth at the time of Saint Paul. The Christian community of Corinth in the epistles of Saint Paul are also used in contemporary Christianity. The original letters in the Greek letters suggest that the Corinthian culture had a lot in common with the social constructivism competitive pragmatism and radical pluralism which challenged the modernity of Church history through Christianity. Saint Paul’s appeal to the Corinthian Church has a direct relevance to today’s Churches. The article deals with the on-going problem of a particular culture and in contextualizing with today’s Church’s attitude towards Pauline letters and its applications in today’s contemporary Christians. The restrictions put on women’s space in ministry put a weightage on their affected roles in ministry. This insistence of their place in the ministry applies to all Churches. The article attacks the religious orthodoxy of the ancient Christianity which existed during the first century. The Pauline letters discuss the secular issues of the culture of Corinth and the culture derived from the Non-Christians followers of Corinth as a city. The discussion of the article looked at the interpretation of the Pauline letters. Rhetoric language was used during the time to express an on- going situation which makes use of the positive situation and need to draw some meaningful conclusions. The many commentaries available for searching reliable literature and the narratives of the first Corinthians will support the authenticity of Paul’s letters which specify the importance of the writings put on women’s issues in the first century which is applicable in practice in contemporary Christianity even today.

Charles Ryrie (2010) in the book, The Role of Women in Church, discusses that the role of women in the Church is a unique issue dealing with a subject which seems to be controversial in nature. It is a useful tool put forth by the author to give direction to the Church for a modernized way of treating women’s spiritual responsibility which is in keeping with the guidelines laid down by the Bible. The early Church and the Biblical history are two important guidelines for understanding the status of women in Church. It is an enquiry into the practice of the past. Its introducing chapters discussed the position of Greek, Jewish and Roman women’s status with humility and compassion during the Apostolic Age. Women in early Christianity were considered inferior and at a lower position compared to Roman women, but in reality they too didn’t have much rights. The author’s writings are inspired by the mind of Christ concerning the full development of women. The spiritual meaning would be to have a subordinate role with honour and silence and fullness of life at home and Church. Another striking and thought provoking idea which the book gives is an insight into the world of New Testament women who enjoyed a new covenant relationship and much more freedom and better status compared to Old Testament women. The secondary place given to women in the early Church and the position of the sub-ordination of women’s life in the religious institution of the Christian community would deal with a great role of contentment and special privileges in Christ. Christianity gives certain privileges to men and women to function in their God given roles in the Church. The positions and privileges do not give them uniformity in the practices of displaying their talents. The misinterpretation of Paul’s letters to the general public disrupts women’s active participation in Church roles. The author recognizes women’s position in Church as a gift from God and they must function only to compliment men in their culture.

Yonge John G (2011) in the article Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World, articulates the way the Corinthian women were expected to perform temple ritual sex as part of their sacred duties. The ritual sex was offered as a sacrifice between the king, the courtesan men and the Goddess. The women were slaves to the priests and had to dedicate their lives and couldn’t marry and settle down. These women were called as professional fornicators with no husbands or sexual obligation to another male. These temple priestesses were not allowed to marry these men who would solicit them or have any spiritual or emotional inclination towards them. The temple priestess of the Goddess Aphrodite, situated in Corinth, had these women be part of the Church when they got a chance to hear the Apostle message of the new life and renewed spirit and renouncement of the old sacred prostitution that existed in the ancient world which was very much part of the Greek culture. The early Church fathers used this as an opportunity to condemn the Greco-Roman societies of ancient Greece and their practices as immoral and degrading to women.

David Miller (2003) in his article The Adulterous Women, spoke about the ministry of Christ who was kind and compassionate towards the women caught in the Act of Adultery. Christ’s interactions with these women are an important element in the theological debate of Christianity. These adulterous women were treated as outcasts by the Jews, Sadducees, and Pharisees, chief priests, etc. who looked down on these women .Jesus practiced the ministry of touch, i.e. touching the untouchables and putting an end to their untouchability which existed in their soul due to the physical deterioration. Ancient Jewish culture was very sceptical of any kind of interaction with people suffering from physical ailments like leprosy, tuberculosis, etc. They thought it to be a punishment from God and so they never associated themselves with these kinds of people. Christ understood this well and broke down these barriers which hindered them from coming to worship in synagogues. He treated women who were slaves to the flesh trade as a sacred soul, he saw women in God and gave both genders equal importance whether it was the untouchable women, the adulterous one or the women with issue of Blood. Christ even used women to carry out the message of his resurrection. Women found solace in the testimony of faith and were blessed beyond measure as they received tremendous respect and importance as women from the person of Christ and revelled in the glory that God had for them, as women of faith.

Van Tondu Madeke (2002), in the article Gender Equality and the Church, spoke about the politics of gender that act as a blind in the social and political effects which stem from the religious debate of women’s place in religion. The article looks towards the roles of men and women within the Church and in the scriptures, and holds a traditionalist attitude of their space in the institution of religious structures. Christianity has to deal with the issues of gender specifically with regard to the letters written by Saint Paul during the first century A.D. The argument focuses on women’s position in the scriptures, and how the issues discussed challenges the gender inequality against women’s liberation. The portrayal of women in the Bible and their position before God and men were not be passive but to discover for themselves their equal worth and continue to engage in ministry activities, and be a visible part of the leadership and an integral member to fight against the discriminatory practices meted out to them at Church.

Anderson M Christine (2002) in her article Negotiating Patriarchy and Power: Women in Christian Churches claims that women negotiate their spiritual relationship with the patriarchal based society of Christianity. Women have employed various strategies to empower their position within the Christian community; in particular how they have exercised the opportunities to take up leadership positions despite their limitations enforced by patriarchal strongholds inside Christian Churches which limit women in every way. Women have challenged and reshaped the sub- ordination in Christian religious traditions. The article stems from the methodological importance and the difficulties of wanting women’s religious history in Churches in today’s contemporary Christianity. The article challenged the male privileges and women related texts which put limitations on their behaviour. Women’s relationship with the patriarchal structures brought further determination among other women to fight the spiritual injustice against womanhood in the scriptures. This improved their status in the Church and made the men and older women more appreciative of women be a part of religious activities in Church services.

Hines Brigger Susan (2009) in the article An Ever Changing Love, states that the true meaning of love is seen in the Gospels of the New Testament and in the epistles, where Saint Paul gives a beautiful explanation of love in 1Corinthians 14:7 asking the Corinthian Church to address a wide array of issues that the Church people were grappling with. As a founder of the Church of Corinth he asks the congregation to exercise patience and love one another, and tolerate each other’s weakness and faults for the sake of Christ, and encourages them to a life of faith. In addition the article suggests that the life of faith that Saint Paul talks about is to tackle the issues such as friction among the Church leaders both men and women, spiritual gifts, idolatry and many others. He provides the Corinthian Church with a clear and straightforward explanation of love. He speaks about the situations where love is not jealous or pompous or quick tempered but it rejoices in truth and solace. The article beautifully depicts the depth of the Biblical scriptures which was needed for the struggling Corinthian Church to live in practice and endurance like other fellow Christians as it is an important aspect of Christian living, as taught by Saint Paul to the early Christian Churches.

Women’s Role in Hellenistic times were subservient to men, states Rowlands (2002) in the book Women and Society. Women had little independence compared to the men. Women were not allowed to sign any legal documents, even if it was her marriage document. The book gives us the descriptive ideas of the Greek Society and the treatment and space of women’s place in Hellenistic culture. Traditionally speaking, Greek men attained power through physical force and public and political activities, and so the Olympic Games are one of the important achievements of the Greek culture. The queens and prophets in Egypt were a role model for commoner women; idealization of female imagery does not always support women’s equality. The book gives the detailed explanations of common women during the ancient era who were unable to provide a significant role for themselves. The women’s gender status was kept according to the social class she belonged to in society. The work done by the author is a conscious effort to give an insight into Ancient Greek History.

Mark Elliot, director of East-West Institution of Christian Studies, stated in an interview to Christians Today (1993), that women are limited in ways that even very theologically conservatives Christians in the west find puzzling. Some Churches prohibited married women from teaching Sunday school. The Russian Orthodox Church also didn’t accept women as priests or in high ranks of Church authority, thereby preserving the Church through the years of dominant patriarchy where dominion is still in the hands of men, thus letting leadership still remain patriarchal in nature. Elliot recalls women in ministry as the power key. He says that women are so repressed that it has not dawned in the men that there was even a problem. Women are coming together to challenge the status given for their position in the ministry. The article concludes by stating the research was conducted by presenting the current status for women’s position in Church orders.

H. Carlyle Church (1996) in the article The Accommodation and liberation of women in the Church of God in Christ, says women have assumed the role of an accommodator. The women have silently adapted to the set Church rules and leadership given to the men of the Church. Women presented a gender role playing which is a result of Biblical interpolation to the Pauline passages and is also a cultural discrimination against the Greco-Roman societies. Women in the early Church taught both men and women as they were called to serve, to look into the domestic sphere and were taught how to please their husbands in every way by older women. Women were considered to be teachers, not preachers. Women’s roles were subjected to hierarchy even with the older women tending to younger women and mothering them. Women were exposed to male dominance and Church politics, and held unique positions of hierarchy within the Church, but men and older women were put before them in authority. The article uses the interpretivist approach and concludes that they have asserted economic and structural importance so they could well achieve success in the Church denominations. Women maintain their God given positions in the Church and look for new doors of achieving power in Church structures.

Kati Niemela (2011) in her article Female Clergy as Agents of Religious Change, focuses on women clergy as potential agents of change. The first women to be ordained were in the Lutheran Church in Finland in 1988. The paper is a qualitative survey conducted among members of the clergy women. It shows that clergy women are changing the Church in a more liberated manner. The women have changed the perception of faith dogmas, the policies of the Church as well as the practices of the parishes. Clergy men were more traditional in their outlook and orientation. So it was women who serve as agents of religious change in the Church and brought about a difference in conducting ministry. The article concludes by stating women are more liberated in thinking and changing their social, political and economic positions so when it comes to their space in Church. They leave no stone unturned in order to create a space in Church. This results in the Church becoming more modernized in the level of politics, teaching and practices.

Brigid Sackley (2006), in the article, The Changing Status of Women in African independent Churches, states that the development in Christianity has often assumed models of gender that have been accepted by many Churches across Europe. Sackley, in his article, looked at the social and religious context of the Churches and the gender and spirituality of women’s places in the Church. As indigenous religious traditions clearly stated that Christianity has long offered women the opportunities to act as leaders and priestess, there is equality and respect between the spouses in taking all kind of decisions. The article clearly states that a large number of women have taken formal roles of leadership within the Church structure. Women coordinated their daily activities of balancing household chores and Church responsibilities with utter determination and courage. Most women shared special encounters with the Church leadership clergy and those in authority to establish their place in the Christian domains of the Church. The models of patriarchy have been shaped to fit in women’s leadership in Church roles and responsibilities.

The work reviewed by the researcher includes various subjects studied by scholars in the areas of gender and religion under the domain of sociology. The work includes women’s status in the Church in the western societies like Europe, Africa, Rome and early Church eras. The studies show how scholars through the use of various methods gained ideas about women’s role in the Christian Churches and how religion and gender are two sides of the same coin. The importance of gender and religion is significant to each other as it measures women’s status in a particular religion. The status of women in the present study is viewed in the historical context of the scriptures originally written by the Apostle in the first century. The researcher will look at the original letters of the Pauline epistles in the King James Version of the Bible and analyse them. The researcher will also explain the use of specific methodology that will suit the present study and will identify the specific blueprint for the next chapter in detail.

struggles to position women within the structures of his day and is quite similar to the struggle in the Churches today. The gender issue is one of the most important objectives of the study where the researcher analyses the problem of the gendered role of women in the Church of Corinth which is socially constructed by Saint Paul in the Christian traditions under the influence of the patriarchal culture. Along with the issue of gender is the message of women being under- represented which is a hierarchical concern and the Church has not made policies to address their oppressive cultural practices which posed as threats to women emancipation in religious institutions (Schreiner, T. R. 2006).

The Church of Corinth struggled with the issues of immorality and sexual promiscuity as many women offered themselves in sacred prostitution to the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love, sexuality and beauty. By sacrificing their lives to the goddess, they would offer sexual favours to men, and this behaviour of immorality was seen as an important construction but not a divine condition of gender identity. It is important that the Pauline passages bring in this gender dimension to it in terms of both the Church as well as the society.

1.3 Significance of the study:

The Church needs to ensure egalitarian structures based on the biblical proclamations and allow no discrimination in membership of the Church. The Church of Corinth needed to affirm the egalitarian as opposed to the hierarchal relationships between genders. The significance of the study is to deconstruct the relationships of domination and sub-ordination, and reconstruct equal gender relationships within religious structures of the Church. It depicts and reflects the opinions of the authors of the biblical texts who reinforce the gender issues into main stream Christianity. The patriarchal structures of the Greek society made serious attempts to subordinate the status of women. Saint Paul tries to reinforce the construct of women’s gender by stating that the unequal power relations existing in the Church of Corinth is detrimental to the women. It acts as a subscription to the binary opposition of the way the religion was created to be. The study will help the researcher to gain a more in-depth understanding of the problems and trace the deeper meaning of hidden Pauline messages in the Pauline corpus of Christianity.

1.4 Chapter scheme

I Introduction: This section will provide an overview of the research by introducing and understanding in the topic related for research emphasizing strongly on the cultural aspects of Corinth and Saint Paul’s way of dealing with the problems of an unruly Church and highly troubled congregation. A brief introduction will be given to the historical era of religion and its contribution to society and Christianity, which evolved as a powerful institution of society, and the way in which it influenced the behaviour and mind-set of the people. The chapter will focus on highlighting the main themes and giving a gist of the themes to follow .It will also contain the importance, scope, relevance, significance and limitations that will be highlighted in the first chapter.

II Review of Literature: It includes the relevant literature for previous studies undertaken in that particular area and emphasizes on the subject matter, and the way culture, religion and gender are inter-twined. It is a reflection of the work done by other eminent scholars in this particular area of study. It will identify the gaps that are present in the already existing body of knowing and add to this by conducting research and contributing fresh insights into the area of research.

III- Methodology: This chapter entails the type of method and procedures undertaken for gathering sources and analysing the passages of the letters of Saint Paul written to the Church of Corinth. It clearly states the research design, the method used and other information relevant to the research.

IV- Data Analysis: It involves analysing the various themes addressed by Saint Paul in the epistles. The significance of Saint Paul’s contributions to Christianity, the social life of Corinthian women, the gender construction of Saint Paul and the feminist interpretations of Paul are some of the chapters and thematically analysed passages to bring out the result of the research.

V-Summary and findings: This will give us the final outcome of the projects’ concluding remarks, the outcome of the time bound project which will help us in understanding the dynamics of the epistles, and the challenges faced by the researcher in bringing out true objectivity and answering the objectives of the dissertation. It will also have the concluding remarks.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

Research methodology is a systematic theoretical method of analysing data and reaching reasonable conclusions. Research Methodology is an art of investigation and a science of enquiry whereby one can find new facts and arrive at a new branch of knowledge. It is the pursuit of truth with the help of observation, comparison and experiment. The research requires objectivity to gain a better understanding of a particular concept and a descriptive insight into the problem, and come to an objective and factual conclusions.

The purpose of this chapter is to present the philosophical assumptions underpinning this research, as well as to introduce the research strategy and the techniques applied. The chapter defines the scope and limitations of the research design, and situates the research amongst existing research traditions in present study being conducted.

This chapter explains the method used to collect data for the study. It contains the statement of the problem, objectives of the study, operational definition, and design of the study, description of the area of study, tools used for data collection and sampling procedure used.

Christine Bellamy & Perri (2012) defines methodology as ‘an understanding of how to proceed from the findings of empirical research to make inferences about the truth- or at least the adequacy- of theories’. This chapter is significant as it presents to the reader the design of our research so that they can draw defensible conclusions about what might be causing the things we observe. Methodology differs from research methods as it involves drawing deeper conclusions from patterns of facts to ‘explain’ or interpret’ things.

Methodology significantly explains the activity of research, how to proceed, how to measure progress and what constitutes success. It offers guidelines for solving problems with specific components like tasks, methods, techniques and tools. It can be defined:

1. The analysis of principles of methods, rules and postulates employed by a discipline. 2. The systematic study of the methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a discipline. 3. The description of methods. The choice of the method incorporated in research depends upon nature and scope of the study in question. Hence, it can be implied that research methodology is the science and art of carrying out research in an appropriate manner.

The research method used by the researcher for the project is textual analysis, wherein the researcher will analyse the New Testament scriptures of the King James Version of the Bible. The letters written by Saint Paul were during the first century A.D. to the Corinthian Christians addressing the issues of the time and place. The Researcher uses the textual analysis in order to study the gaps in the time frame, the ideas used by the author of the texts and the attempts to fill that gap by providing a close look at the texts of online comment threads as they relate to each other from a social standpoint. Textual analysis can be defined as the written or spoken texts as a way to understand social life. While this form of analysis has become more common to use this kind of research in qualitative fields of Biblical enquiry.

3.2 Research Question

What is the stance of Apostle Paul on gender and women’s roles in the Church during early Christianity?

3.3 Objectives

The objectives of any research project summarize what is to be achieved by the study. The objectives are related closely to the problem statement. It defines the achievements and expectations of the research in the findings of the study. Formulating an objective involves clarity and precision. It ensures that the research process will take place in a manner which the researcher had set out to do in the initial stage of research.

The objectives of the present study are as follows:

1. To understand the contributions of Saint Paul as an apostle in Christianity. 2. To analyse the epistles of St. Paul to the Church of Corinth in the socio-cultural context of the Greco-Roman society. 3. To understand how the notions of gender roles have changed in contemporary Christianity.

3.4 Significance of the Study

The study attempts to find out the cultural influence on the behaviour of women in the Church and the way in which the patriarchal structures of the Greek society limited women in their service to the religious domains of the Church. The significance of the study is to understand the relationship of domination and subjugation, as well as the mind-set which existed then in the Church of Corinth, and the need to reconstruct equal gender reliability with the religious structures of the Church. The research tries to elucidate the opinion of eminent scholars who interpret Pauline passages and bring out the true intentions of Saint Paul’s work in the scriptures.

The Biblical passages bring out the various oppositions posed by cultural threats of patriarchal societies in order to reinforce their dominion in religious structures. With the help of critical analysis of the power relations that existed in the Church of Corinth in early Christianity, which was detrimental to women participation in Church and affected their overall status in religious institutions, their equal participation that created a way to involve their mutual partnership and equal standing in the spiritual realm of worship, the researcher will gain more in-depth understanding of the Pauline passages.

The researcher looks into probing the deeper meaning hidden behind those Pauline passages in the corpus of Christian thinking. The study will provide an understanding of the socio-economic status of Corinthian women. It will attempt to find out the significant contribution of the Apostle, his worth in Christianity, and the value religion places on the Apostle. The present study attempts to find out the impact the Greek culture had on the writings of Saint Paul. The research will facilitate the study of the Pauline passages by employing the historical method which will help the reader to gage the true essence of the Apostle’s contribution to Christianity.

3.5 Scope, Relevance and Importance of the Study

The study under investigation is about the gender roles of the Corinthian women in the writings of Saint Paul. It is a historical study set in ancient time and requires a critical analysis of the passages while retaining the uniqueness of the scriptures. The researcher needs to have an understanding of the Biblical passages which are originally written in Greek. It needs to be taken into consideration, that, in the process of translation, many different versions of the Bible emerged, with additions and subtractions made to the original letters of the Apostle’s contribution to Christianity. The understanding of Early Christianity has a paradoxical effect in Pauline religiosity which is distributed from ethno racial identities.

Early Christianity slowly developed a distinct Christian philosophy towards the beliefs and teachings of the Church which were brought out by the reformation. These were representations of different doctrines which were mixed with Hellenistic cultures and pagan philosophy, and became a vehicle for logical advancement. Since there existed religious pluralism which weakens the monopoly of many Christian Churches, the treatment of women in Church may vary from different sects and denominations.

There is a need to understand the meaning behind the different interpretation made by various scholars to Saint Paul’s Church of Corinth and to have a clear idea of the way Early Churches in Early Christianity functioned. As a result, the present research is an attempt to use the historical method to provide an exhaustive critical analysis of women’s role and status in the writings of Paul with special reference to the Church of Corinth. Despite various scholarly articles on the controversial Pauline passages, relevant literature reviews will clearly show the importance of studying the gendered problems in the Early Church with regard to the Pauline epistles. Different scholars like Witherington and Stark have tried to establish the status of women in the Churches of contemporary Christianity and other denominations within the protestant groups. The specific features of this research attempts to understand the letters written by Saint Paul on various themes pertaining to the Church of Corinth and the way in which the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian cultures influenced the Early Churches which Saint Paul was writing to in the first century A.D. The researcher tries to bridge the gap and critically analyse this topic by using the historical method which is suitable for a time bound research dissertation.

The study aims to provide the specific information about the social life of the Corinthian women, Saint Paul’s significance in Christianity and the various themes to be analysed in the passages of the book of Corinthians in the New Testament of the Bible. It also adds to the understanding of the broad framework of gender and religion in the society. Religion and gender are regulatory factors which structure the society and institutions like the family, Church and public sphere. It aspires to add to the theoretical significance of the study by contributing to the dynamics of women’s status in religious domains like the Church. 3.6 Research Design

Research Design compromises of the basic structure of the research. According to Alan Bryman (2008), Research Design provides a framework of collection and an analysis of data. A choice of research design reflects the decisions about the priority being given to the range of dimensions of the research process. The present study is based on qualitative description through the means of the historical method using the textual analysis in order to examine the letters written to the Church of Corinth, the life of women in the community, and the cultural influence of patriarchy from the Greco-Roman society. It involves a detailed explanation of various facts about the life of Saint Paul and his contribution to the scriptures. It gives a detailed analysis of various interpretations given to the original letters of Saint Paul.

The researcher takes into account trivial matters, significance attached to the importance of meanings hidden behind the Pauline texts as it is very significant to the Christian communities and the Early Church. The study is based on the analysis of the social setting of the Church of Corinth, the life of Saint Paul, and his contributions to Christianity. The study emphasizes on the importance that the culture of the Greco-Roman society has on the Church of Saint Paul’s ministry. Understanding life as a social process is relevant in order to fulfil the research objectives.

3.7 Data collection and analysis

The present study is a qualitative analysis using the textual analysis method by drawing conclusions on viewing the original letters of Saint Paul in the New Kings James Version of the Bible on the book of the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Bible. It is a systematic study on the Church of Corinth and women’s participation in the Church, the role given to them, the cultural aspects of Corinth, and the influence of the Greco-Roman cultures on the Church. It records all these influences in constructing gendered behaviour. The researcher becomes immersed in the cultural influences of culture which influences the Apostle to write stringently and record in a certain circle of behaviour for women back then in the Church of Corinth.

According to Levi Strauss (1998), Textual analysis is derived largely from structuralism and French structuralists, Michel Foucault and Jean Piaget, who studied human thought, myths, storytelling, and texts. Foucault argues that we see and understand the world through representations of written or orals texts. They are ways by which information of the past is viewed through scientifically examining a phenomena or event. The researcher needs to understand that the method comprises of primary and secondary data as well as tertiary sources which can be used to conduct a research and arrive at a conclusion. The method is employed in order to undertake the analysis and come to an applicable synthesis of the events occurred in a given true period of culture.

The different subjects that Saint Paul writes about in the letters to the Church of Corinth have been analysed using the historical method. Secondary sources such as articles, books, running records, old Church history books, and also interviews of some Church fathers and pastors and women in ministry which were effective in contextualizing the information and arriving at a more objective conclusion has also been used. Description of the passages in detail, analysing the texts in the context of its original meaning and interaction with the religious orders who have been studying the New Testament have given more insights into the research.

The textual analysis is utilized to understand the various problems that Saint Paul tries to address in the Church of Corinth, and the reasons behind his writings for a congregation like that tends to give contemporary Christianity a better stand for women in Church activities and more reason to provide trends in future research of this kind. This enables the researcher who observes from an outsider perspective to allow for various cultural and societal clashes without affecting the spiritual behaviour of people. The primary data of the relevant letters of Saint Paul addressed in the New Testament of the Bible which is the New Kings James Version is used for analysing the passages which provides a qualitative discovery of answers and its significance for this kind of research. The relevant secondary data for the present study is scrutinized and analysed for the purpose of research. Relevant literature to the topic has been collected effectively through books, journals and articles.

3.8 Limitations

The present day study is based on a time period which involves a past record of events. As a result, the true authority of events doesn’t reveal itself in today’s contemporary Christianity. Even though the Biblical passages are used all over the world in all the denominations of the Church, regardless of culture and denominational difference, generalizations cannot be made for the rest of the Christian communities with regard to women’s status in Church. As it can be said that in all Churches across the world or in today’s Greek society, Christian women are given a subservient position.

Therefore, since the research is based on a qualitative analysis that uses the historical method to collect data, analysing the past records of the Biblical passages and other relevant secondary sources, it cannot be generalized for the Christian communities across the world. Also an important limitation of the study is the feasibility of getting various interpretations of the passages and scriptures in the different Biblical verses which may pose as a problem to research. The present study is restricted to the time frame of the first century where the Early Church was an influential authority and a large dominant structure of social institution other than the government. The culture of Corinth as a business hub which has a glorious historical past, that is rich in mythology, literature and the Olympic Games, owe a lot to the use of rhetoric language used in the scriptures. It has also contributed to Church history and the spread of Christianity as religion even today.

CHAPTER 4

LIFE OF SAINT PAUL AND THE CULTURE OF CORINTH

4.1 Paul’s contribution to Christianity

Saint Paul, also known as Saul of Tarsus, was an influential instrument in the growth and development of the Church since the first century. As a Roman citizen and a Pharisee, he was originally a persecutor of Christians, and even presided and approved the martyrdom of St. Stephen. A vision from the Lord himself resulted in his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus. In his travels around the world, Saint Paul made it his motto to be an evangelist for the Gospel, spreading the Gospel message and converting the gentiles and Jews.

Not much is known about Saint Paul’s early life apart from that which is mentioned in the Bible. Paul was born in the year 10 AD. We read in the Bible, in the book of Acts 22:3, where Paul himself confesses that he is a Jew, who was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in the city at the feet of Gamaliel, and educated strictly according to the ancestral laws, being zealous for God.

The letters of Saint Paul to the various Churches are of utmost important to the Canon of the Church. These were primarily written to communicate with the faithful while at the same time answering questions and resolving disputes. These were also important from the viewpoint that they provided advice on ideal Christian life and living the Christian way of life. These are now a part of the Bible, excluding a few other which are believed to have been lost before the compilation of the Bible.

Catholic traditions consider Saint Paul to be the patron saint of missionaries, evangelists and writers. The exact cause of his death is unknown, but he is believed to have died in Rome, roughly around 62-64 A.D. his feast is celebrated along with Saint Peter, as they are both considered to be instrumental in building the foundation of the Church. Despite being a persecutor initially, Saint Paul himself endured hardships and persecutions for the sake of the Gospel. Many literary texts written about the first century A.D. feature Saint Paul as the guide who suffered with his people. Even in his suffering, Saint Paul was quite strong in his faith. In his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul encourages the people to remain strong in their faith as they suffer hardships for the sake of the Gospel, for their reward would be given to them in heaven. He writes, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?” (Rom 8:35). Saint Paul states that through all sufferings we are conquerors through Christ’s love, and he lead the Church by his exemplary life. Paul writes in Greek with fluency and ease. His language often reflects the Septuagint in quotation, allusion and in the meanings given to words, but on the whole it fits well into the common Greek context of the time. He seems to quote from Greek philosophers in 1Co 15:33, though the saying may have become proverbial. 2Co 4:18 may reflect the Platonic view that unseen things are more real than seen things. The phrase ‘we too are his offspring’ is quoted from the Stoic Aratos. We see quite clearly that Paul also uses terms that are specifically Greek. For example the term ‘conscience' (Ro 2:15; 9:1; 1Co 8:7,10,12) rarely to be found in even contemporary Jewish writings, may well have entered his vocabulary from Stoic philosophy at least in a popularized form. Further, ‘content' (self-sufficient) in Php 4:11 may also derive from Stoicism, though for Paul sufficiency is not in ourselves but in God. Paul also uses metaphors from city life: stadium, sports (1Co 9:24-27; Php 3:14), law courts (Ro 7:1-14), procession (2Co 2:14), market life (‘pledge’ in 2Co 1:22; 5:5), etc.

In Php 3:5-6, Paul states that he was circumcised on the eighth day, the day prescribed by Lev 12:3, he is of Israelite ethnicity - he is from the race of Israel, i.e., ethnically an Israelite from birth; from the tribe of Benjamin, i.e., he was a descendant of one of the sons of Jacob; Hebrew of Hebrews, i.e., a Jew who could also speak the Hebrew language or at least Aramaic. A Pharisee in his training and attentive to the law, and as one who persecuted the Church, he went beyond what was required and zealously protected his ethnic faith from those who threatened it and the one who followed the law prescribed by Torah. Acts 22:3 records Paul stating that he was a Jew and that he was educated under the priest, Gamaliel, according to the law of the fathers. He admits that he was a persecutor of the Church, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers. In short, all these texts show that Paul too, like any other Jewish boy, began his study of the law at the age of five, and was bound by the same from the age of 13. From the age of 18 he must have gone to Jerusalem to specialize in the law under Gamaliel.

The Jewish belief in monotheism, acceptance of the Torah and Prophets as Sacred Scriptures, sharing the apocalyptic hope that in the new age everything will be transformed by God (Jer30- 33; Is 40-55) and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth are the teachings that Saint Paul himself believed in. In fact, Paul sees the Resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit as markers of the last days, Hope in the resurrection (1King 17:17-23; Job 19:26; Ps 16:10; Is26:19; Da 12.2), acceptance of Israel’s special place and role in salvation history (Ro 9:4-5; cf. Ro 9-11). Paul ‘authors' all his; however, some of these were also composed by him but written under his authority and supervision. It is sometimes difficult to determine if he played a direct or indirect role in the writing of his letters, and to what extent. There are several considerations. Since writing on parchment or papyrus was awkward and physically tedious, particularly in the case of letters as long as Paul's, the job of writing was often given to a trained secretary. Paul used a secretary for at least some of his letters (Ro 16:22). At other times, Paul indicates that he is penning the greeting in his own hand, which indicates that he had dictated the rest (1Co 16:21; Col 4:18; 2Th 3:17; Gal 6:11).

Many of Paul's letters were also co-authored. He wrote not only in his name, but also in the name of Timothy, Silas and Timothy, Sosthenes and the brethren with him. Only Romans, Ephesians and the three letters to his delegates, Timothy and Titus, are sent out in Paul's name alone. This implies that the "Pauline school" was operative in the production of his letters even during his lifetime. Although Paul authorized each of the letters that bore his name, it is highly probable that many hands and minds contributed to their final composition.

The composition of his letters also involved the use of many traditional materials. In some of his letters (Rom, 1 and 2Co, and Gal) Paul makes extensive use of explicit citations from the Torah. In other letters, he scarcely uses the Torah. Paul also uses confessional formulas (Ro 10:9), kerygmatic statements (1Co 15:3-8), hymns (Php 2:6-11), liturgical formulas (Eph 5:14), and occasionally the words of Jesus (1Co 7:10; 9:14) in his epistles.

Paul was a child of his time. His experience of the Risen Lord through a revelation sets in him the conviction and the zeal that the Gospel should be proclaimed across cultural boundaries; he has used a language that is understandable to him and to his readers. His letters reveal to us not just the mind of Paul but also the vibrations of his heart, and the proclaimed message is both authentic and relevant to all who seek a meaningful human existence.

Paul was a multi-talented person who had contacts with a number of people, as well as the ability to relate to them, which made his journeys possible. He was also a skilled orator who found the right words even in difficult situations. In addition, he was ready to take any risk and suffer for the sake of the Gospel. His ministry was characterised by both success (as in Philippi – Acts 16:11- 40) and failures (as the Lystra Episode describes – Acts 14:8-18). Still, he seems to fulfil the command given to the disciples in Acts 1:8: “you will be my witness.” The book of Acts presents Paul as one who crosses both geographical and social boundaries to preach the Gospel. The three missionary journeys presented in the Acts bear witness to this fact. Finally, he is presented as one who trusts in the providence of God and lets himself to be led by the Holy Spirit. The Torah clearly points out that "a man hung on a tree is accursed by God" (Dt 21:23). So for Paul, the Christians' proclamation of the cursed man Jesus as the `anointed' of God amounted to blasphemy against God Himself. According to the popular expectation among the Jews, the Messiah was supposed to be a glorious figure, a politico-spiritual ruler of Israel. However, the Messiah, that the Christians proclaimed, had suffered and died a shameful death on the cross! +None of the expectations of the Jews concerning the Messiah and the messianic kingdom were fulfiled in Jesus Christ.

Yet another reason can be the confession of the Christians about Jesus as the Lord. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint), the absolute use of Lord was the original meaning of the Hebrew word Yahweh. Thus, the Christians, in proclaiming Jesus of Nazareth as Lord, gave him the ineffable name of Yahweh and in this way made him equal to God, on a par with Yahweh Himself. Obviously, for a devout monotheist and a zealous Pharisaic rabbi like Paul, such `heretics' and blasphemers had no right to exist in the eyes of God, and therefore, had to be destroyed with utmost zeal. In addition to this, the Christians were preaching that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the place and change the customs which Moses had delivered to the Jews (Acts. 6.14). Paul could not tolerate such assertions being a guardian of the Law, because the Jews, particularly the Pharisees, had great reverence for the Law of Moses. Hence, in good faith, and with a burning zeal, Paul undertook to do what he sincerely believed to be the will of God for him i.e. to persecute the heretical Christian movement and destroy it. The religious world of the Gentiles can be divided into world of philosophers (Epicurean, Stoic, Cynic and Pythagorean) and world of religions. Though the ideas of philosophers remained confined to “schools of philosophy”, their influence percolated to the lower strata of the society as well. The Gentiles (ta ethne) were neither godless nor areligious nor polytheistic. Each city had its own revered deity as well as a plethora of other major or lesser deities.

Saint Paul encountered the Lord on the way to Damascus. It was the Jewish faith as interpreted and lived by Paul, a Pharisee, which led him to persecute the Christians with frantic zeal. From his own letters as well as from the Acts of the Apostles we come to know that Paul was fully involved in persecuting the Church (1Co 15.9; Gal 1.13, 23; Php 3.6; Acts 8.1-3). Palestine was a pluralistic society, religiously as well as racially and culturally, and it would have been absurd and impossible for Paul to attack people simply because they were not Jews. It was only those whom he regarded as traitors and blasphemers that he persecuted. In fact, he had a clear-cut understanding of what he is doing. We have three accounts in Acts about Paul's Damascus experience, one in Luke's own narrative (9.1-9), and two in the context of Paul's speeches (22.3-16; 26.4-18). In the letters of Paul himself we have the event mentioned in Galatians 1:11-17.

In 1Co 15:3-8, we notice that Paul compares the risen Lord's appearance to him with the appearances to Peter and the other apostles. Only based on these appearances, the Apostles proclaimed Christ everywhere at the risk of great persecutions, and ultimately death. The Greek verb form for "he appeared", translated correctly according to the Biblical usage, means "he made himself visible to". Thus, it was the risen Jesus who took the initiative and made himself visible to those whom he wished to, whether they wanted it or not, whether they were prepared for it or not. When he met the Risen Lord, Saint Paul was radically transformed. The whole plan of God for the salvation of mankind could be seen by Paul now in a new light, illuminated by the fact of the risen and glorified Jesus. Paul came to be convinced that if salvation was through faith and not through the works of the Law, then it followed that salvation was open also to those who were outside the boundary of the Law, i.e, the Gentiles. Therefore, Paul would preach the Gospel of God's grace in Christ to all, both Jews and Gentiles alike. The Lord identified himself with his disciples. This identification is fundamental for Paul's understanding of the Church as the body of Christ. As a Pharisee, Paul was extremely zealous for the Law and the Traditions of his fathers. In the light of the Damascus experience, however, Paul saw the futility and aberration of his Judaist understanding of the Law, and rediscovered the original, Biblical meaning and purpose of the Law.

Paul undertook three missionary journeys, which made the greatest impact in the history of Christianity. These journeys helped Christianity to grow and spread to the gentiles.

The first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-14:28): The Church at Antioch commissions Barnabas and Saul to undertake a missionary journey to the Gentiles. At their first stop, the island of Cyprus (13:1-12), Luke shifts from using the name “Saul” (a Hebrew name) to “Paul” (a Roman name), indicating Paul’s desire to identify more fully with his Gentile audience. Upon leaving Cyprus, they establish Churches in the Roman province of Galatia. Luke gives an example of Paul’s missionary preaching to the Jews and God-fearers in the synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia (13:13-52). Paul and Barnabas then preach in Iconium (14:1-7), Lystra (14:8-20), and Derbe (14:20-21), before returning to Antioch in Syria (14:21-28). The accounts of Paul’s ministry in those cities follow a repeated pattern: he goes to the Jews first, and when they reject the message he turns to the Gentiles. This pattern reflects Luke’s central theme. When he is speaking to the Jews, his proclamation centres around the history of Israel – Acts 13:16-41, and when he is addressing the Gentiles, he refers to theology of creation – Acts 14:15-17.

The second Missionary Journey of Paul (Acts 15:36-18:22): Paul and Barnabas started to make another trip, but quarrel over whether or not to take John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin- Col 4:10. After separating from Barnabas, Paul takes Silas and goes through Asia Minor, strengthening the Churches that were previously established- 15:36-16:10. There they pick up Timothy to accompany them- 16:1-3. The first “we” section occurs in 16:9-18. Paul spends most of this trip in the two provinces of Greece: Macedonia to the north and Achaia to the south. In Macedonia, he establishes Churches in the cities of Philippi- 16:11-40, Thessalonica- 17:1-9, and Beroea- 17:10- 15. In Achaia, he establishes Churches in the cities of Athens- 17:16-34 and Corinth- 18:1-17 before returning for a time to Antioch- 18:18-22.

Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23-21:16): Leaving Antioch for the last time, Paul makes his headquarters in Ephesus, where he spends two years - 18: 23-19:41. He then resolves to make a final visit to Macedonia and Achaia, then to return to Jerusalem and from there to go to Rome. On the way to Jerusalem - 20:1-21:16, he receives a prophetic message - second “we” section begins in 20:5 and continues to 21:18.

Saint Paul was one of the greatest Christian missionary of all time. There are scholars like Billy graham and A.W Tozer who are of an opinion that the Church would have taken a different form and structure from what it took in history had it not been for Saint Paul’s gigantic contribution to Christianity. The Apostle’s teachings have influenced hundreds thousands faith believing Christians and scores of others over centuries. The Apostle was a man of great faith, convictions and valour. His influence of his determined mission greatly influenced the Church fundamentals of Christian doctrine and his contribution founded three local Churches which he carried in his three missionary journeys he undertook and established the Churches to structurally function with proper governing, leadership in order for its smooth functioning. These instructions can be seen in the writings of his two letters of the New Testament to the Church of Corinth. The first century was largely Pauline; it was Paul who strengthened the Churches of Antioch, Greece, Macedonia, Philippi and Rome preaching the Gospel of the risen Christ and founded the Churches through his missionary journeys he undertook. Through his letters, he deals with the moral, theological and spiritual questions posed among the early Christians. He instructed the moral issues through his letters to the Christians of Corinth. When questions on the issues of morality, marriage, sexuality, celibacy arose he gave answers that were believed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. It’s believed that his initial writings were overshadowed by the immediate expectation from God. His letters contained instructions for proper Christian conduct to inculcate Christian ethics.

The Pauline letters were never limited to the immediate effect social and historical contexts of the first century but it’s believed to be applicable to all Christian eras. Paul’s theology is used to govern the lives of all Christians as he is known as the greatest advocate of Christianity. Saint Paul is the most familiar and popular figure of the New Testament writings. He wrote letters which came to be known as sacred scriptures which was parallel to the understanding of the Old Testament writings. The Apostle was a zealous Jew and was initially a hater of Christianity, he was transformed by a vision of Christ in a dream and he went on from being a persecutor to the greatest defenders of the Gospel. Saint Paul challenged the dogmas of pagan worship. He opened doors to new believers of Christian faith. The Churches which were under his leadership grew fast during the first century and it was largely due to his missionary journeys that his contribution became vital to the existence of Christianity as a religion. He was not only the founder of Churches but also the composer of the epistles (New Testament Books). Pauline Churches as they grew in strength and number together problems arose in the Church communities and in order to deal with the problems, Paul wrote letters to address them. One such Church was Corinth where the Apostle addresses the situation of the Christian Churches and it reflected in the letters. The Apostle’s contribution is dynamic as he founded the key doctrines of the Church theology, set up the earliest forms of Churches as a result of his missionary journeys and laid the foundations of Christian ethics for all centuries. His contribution as an Apostle highlights the deposits he made while being a disciple of Christ which has germinated into a basis of Christian faith.

The ideology of Paul’s writings influenced the early ages of the Church as the important doctrines were founded by him and are followed till date. The historical setting of Paul’s Christianity could have been different concerning the culture of the day, the age of the traditional and orthodox ideology governing the Church but Saint Paul’s writings are deeply rooted in Christian theology and forms as an important part of Christianity even today. The dogmas of the first century Christianity became a blue print for all ages to follow. Saint Paul was the greatest architect of all Churches of his times and his dogmas and doctrines which are believed to be inspired by God (Christ) shaped the Churches of all eras.

Saint Paul is considered to be most significant and instrumental in the development of the faith. An antagonistic himself, his conversion proved to be an example to others, and he became an apostle who was called and set apart for the gospel of God. His preaching and writings are of prime importance in understanding the Christian and Pauline doctrines concerning the Church and the faithful. His writings are often seen as controversial and are taken out of context. However, the fact remains that he wrote primarily in the society of his time, and contributed to the growth and spread of Christianity. His writings are so influential, that the Vatican recognizes them even today, as is their rightful place given in the Bible as well. Primarily focusing on the constitution of faith and the formation of Churches, they also address certain relevant issues and situations that are relevant and applicable even today. It is in Paul’s thirteen letters that his theological ideas are derived. His doctrines developed from his experience of Christ. A few of the Pauline doctrines include the theology of baptism, Christian Ethics and Salvation by Grace. Paul’s unique and sole contributions are a solid foundation on which later dogmas of the Church were constructed and formulated. Since his epistle addresses a myriad of topics that are relevant to Christian life such as marriage and parenting as well as faith and grace, the interpretations are often incorrect and out of context. Nevertheless, his teachings still hold true. The interpretation and application of his teachings vary among the many denominations of the Christian faith, and even among believers and individual Churches. Paul’s conception of Christian love takes the form of loyalty and faithfulness, something that he consistently reiterated throughout his preaching. The Christian Church all over the world was encouraged to keep in mind the infinite love of God at all times. As the Apostle of Faith, Paul has been accorded the credit for the Herculean task of spreading the message of Christ to all the major cities of the Roman Empire in his time. Additionally, as a mystic, Paul also advocated that Christ’s death and resurrection is the salvation of all those who believe in him as dying to oneself meant rising in Christ’s glory. Due to the use of highly figurative language in the epistles, there are occasions where the meaning and understanding proves to be abstract, and therefore, the cause of misinterpretation is seen. And yet through his intellectual and spiritual leadership, Saint Paul played a key role in the mission of spreading the Gospel to the farthest corners of the Roman world, constantly striving without ceasing for the spiritual unity of Christian believers. By blending the practical and the theological, Saint Paul made sure that the believers of Christ adopted Christianity as a way of life and not as something one was obliged to do, which has immensely influenced the Church in all ages.

As part of his three major missionary journeys, Saint Paul contributed immensely to the building up of faith in the Churches that were instituted on account of his preaching. In converting the Gentiles, he had to make certain compromises in keeping with the society of those times, and therefore, circumcision was not made mandatory but the people had to abstain from food offered to idols, fornication, etc. On his second and most important missionary journey, Saint Paul went to Corinth which was considered to be the most immoral city of that time, and succeeded in establishing a strong Church there. On his third missionary journey, he is said to have visited Galatia before returning back to Jerusalem. Thus, he introduced Christianity to all the great cities of the Roman Empire, and became the model who converted Christianity into a universal way of life.

In keeping with the norms of his time, Saint Paul laid down certain laws for men as well as women to be observed within the Christian community. Although he explicitly did not discriminate against women, many of his teachings have been misinterpreted for various personal and selfish reasons over the century. An important thing to be kept in mind while reading the epistles of Saint Paul is the context within which he wrote his epistles. There was no recorded moment in early Christianity where women were considered as absolute equal to men. As such it must be understood that Christianity was born in the patriarchal social structures. Saint Paul explicitly mentions in his letter to the Galatians that there is neither male nor female as all are one in Christ.

Saint Paul claimed authorship of his epistles based on the encounter with Christ, he considers himself as the head of Apostle of Christ as he believed he worked harder for Christ than the rest of the Apostles (15:9-11). The influences of Saint Paul on Christianity were tremendous as he played a vital part in not only knowing the scriptures, but also preaching and teaching as well as living by every word it said. He was persecuted by the authorities who were against his messages and he was executed under Roman law. The effects of culture on early Christianity was also an important aspect of Paul’s epistles as it drew from the cultural milieu of the community and that was followed in Church. Another reason for contention among Paul’s contribution being vital to Christianity is his treatment of women. He is often misunderstood as a misogynist and as a women hater, but that was not the case with Saint Paul, his ministry had the right proportion and weightage given to women who were sent out disciples to carry out the Gospel work.

The Apostle bestows them with authoritative names and places value for their work done; he appreciates their earnest efforts put forward by them towards the work of Christ. The treatment of women saints in the epistles is given a lot of importance contrary to what disclaimers of the Gospel would suggest. The Apostle gave tremendous credit to women saints and applause them for their mighty valour shown in carrying the gospel message of Christ even in difficult times of persecution. The missionary work carried out by the Apostle was significant to the believers of the early Church as well as all Church ages. The Church of Corinth was one of the most vital challenges faced by Paul as conflicts arose between the rich and poor believers and there were problems of law suits, modesty, incest, sexuality, carnality which Saint Paul had to address in order to maintain Church discipline. The challenge for the Church believers was to strike a balance between religious piety and sensual and corrupt environment that was part of their cultural upbringing which surrounded them. He wrote instructions to them in order for them to live a life in accordance with the teachings of Christ. The Apostle’s letters depict the personal strife’s and difficulties he faced along with the class struggles and poverty that were part of the Greco-Roman world.

The Apostle challenges the social order of Greco-Roman society and brings about a transformation in the circumstances faced by the Corinthian community. Saint Paul’s stand was always to fight against any form of racial, gender injustice and to deconstruct the biased patriarchal domains of the Greco-Roman world. Even though there existed severe marginalization of women, children who were part of the slave community, he called women to a role of leadership and social demeanour, and challenged the influences of the patriarchal structure of Church and society which restricted full authority and freedom to women to occupy leading titles in the Corinthian community. He devalued the traditional roles set up for women and empowered them by giving them elite positions and calling them authoritative titles like deaconess, prophetess and apostleship. The Apostle challenged the social identity of women irrespective of her being a slave to sex, sin or immoral living and gave them their due credit as carriers of the Gospel. He believed that if Christ was the sinless and perfect one didn’t discriminate men or women but accepted them wholly then it would not be right for anyone else to do so. Saint Paul never shied away from the social reality of the city of Corinth, he pressed on to form a space for women in Church where they can achieve complete freedom and not be discriminated. The Apostle’s contribution to Christianity is greatly appreciated as being of vital importance to the very existence of the religious formation. By his writings which are part of the New Testament, he carved a niche for himself and came to known as one of the mighty men of Christian theology which are taught and followed in Church even today.

Women played a vital role in the ministry of Paul. The women who are called by name in the epistles of Paul represent only a fraction of a number of women who might have actually lived and worked with Paul. There is no reason to believe that in the Pauline communities, men were numerically more than women. The origin, history, duties, and functions of the women mentioned in the epistles of Paul should not be reduced only to those found in the epistles. Each of them should be studied in one’s own independent, larger context. He considered women important at a personal level, at a ministerial level and at a theological level. He respected, trusted and recognized their commitment to the Church. Based on his actual experience and attitude, the evidence indicates that by the standards of his time and place, Paul was not only appreciative and supportive of women, but also very open-minded in his attitude towards them. Paul’s view on women and their roles were intended to liberate women from the non-Christian aspects of the society, so that they might be free to live their lives as full members of the Church. In Colossians, he calls men and women to mutual responsibility (Col 3:12-13, 18-19). In 1Co 7:1-11 and Ephesians 5:21-33, Paul equates wives and husbands as responsible human beings who deserve to be addressed, exhorted and encouraged as full members of the Christian community. Besides warning against illicit sexual relationships of various sorts, Paul’s exhortation to husbands is to love their wives as Christ loves the Church (Ephesians 5:25-26) implying a new standard of self-giving and fidelity. If one is blind to such realities, one may find contradictions in the writings of Paul. However, according to Saint Paul, all are one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:26-28). In Galatians 3:28, Paul makes a revolutionary statement: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This implies that women are equal members of the Body of Christ. It emphasizes oneness in the person of Christ. In Christ, racial, social, and sexual distinctions become irrelevant. Although each individual maintains unique and distinct qualities, all are one. Before God, male and female have the same status as they are equal recipients of salvation.

4.2 Corinth as a city

Corinth is a rich city with two harbours. The city was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC under general Lucius and was re-founded as a Roman colony in 44 BC by Julius Caesar by settling freedmen and urban trades-persons and labourers. Since 27 BC, it became the seat of the governor of the Roman province of Achaea. By the 2nd century AD, it had become the largest city of the region. The soil and clay were good for cultivation and pottery. It was one of the most productive regions in Roman Greece. At the time of Paul, around 100,000 people consisting of native Greeks, Roman settlers, immigrants from Achaea, Macedonia and the East and Jews lived in the city. A large majority of them were slaves. Probably slaves formed the majority of the Christians (1Co 1:26-29). There are nearly 1550 inscriptions discovered from the city, which point to a Roman way of life, e.g. the wearing of hoods by women in public, and head-coverings by men (1Co 11:2- 16). In the Roman society, a married woman without a hood was considered to send out signals of sexual availability, or it was considered at least as a lack of concern for respectability.

There are also archaeological evidences which point to the fact that a number of cults and temples were built to the Greek deities in the Roman period such as Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Demeter, Kore and Asclepios. The first century inscriptions containing the dedication to such gods are found in Latin. In the Corinthian Archaeological Museum built in 1931-32, we find models of heads, hands, feet, arms, eyes, ears and other parts of the body excavated from the temple of Asclepios, god of healing, which were presented to him in thanksgiving for restoration of health. The same excavations also point to a “dining” room attached to the temple (1Co 8:1-11.1).

There are also excavated monuments (e.g. one of Gnaeus Babbius Philinus) which demonstrate the ideas of self-promotion, publicity and recommendations written on stone. Large bathing facilities, Isthmian Games conducted every two years (which later included poetry and musical competitions), tourism and the Corinthian coins were other special features of the city. One can recognize the following features in this city: status inconsistency, religious pluralism, cosmopolitan immigration and trade, priority of market forces and emphasis upon recognition and perception of honour and shame within a socially constructed world.

Paul comes to Corinth from Athens during his second missionary journey. The distance between Athens and Corinth is about 50 miles and Paul must have covered the distance by foot, passing through the Isthmus which consisted of dangerous journeys (2Co 11:26). He must have come there hoping for a better acceptance of the faith than in Athens. He comes there with the intention of “planting” (1Co 3:6) the Church. The founding of the Christian Community is reported to us in Acts 18:1-18. At least during the initial weeks Paul was alone in Corinth. Paul stays with Aquila and Priscilla who had come to Corinth from Rome. Proclamation of the Gospel in the synagogue and turning to the Gentiles was at the core of his missionary journeys. Paul encouraged the people with the word of Christ, ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you.’ In the context of Corinth, proclamations about the cross of Christ (1Co 1:18-25) must have appeared to be a folly (1Co 1:23). Further, Paul’s engagement with physical labour as a leather worker (1Co 4:10-13; 1Th 2:9; 2Th 3:7-8) was also completely opposed to the status-seeking attitude of the Corinthians. The vast majority of the Christians in Corinth came from the lower classes (1Co 1:26) who stand in contrast to the few influential members who came from the upper classes. The internal stratification in the Corinthian Christian community will testify to this fact. As such, 17 names could be identified as members of this community. Among them at least Gaius (1Co 1:14; Ro 16:23), Stephanas (1Co 1:16; 16:15) and Crispus (1Co 1:14) are from the prominent sections of the society.

4.3 Contribution to the Corinthian Community

There are two letters written by Paul to the Community of Corinth. He also reveals his intention of writing such a letter. As he says, it is not intended to shame the Corinthians, but he wants them to imitate him, i.e., they follow the example of the Apostle which would require a paradigm shift in their behaviour. They are asked to change over from following the standards of the world with its familiar roles and patterns of behaviour which lead to divisions, and finally to a new paradigm i.e. the cross of Christ. The decision to send Timothy to them and his own planned visit only reveal the fatherly concern he has towards the Christians in Corinth. In 1Co 7:1 we read about a letter from Corinth which raised certain issues in the Christian community there. And Paul also must have received reports from different people such as Chloe (1Co 1:11). These are the two reasons that occasion the letters to the Corinthians. 1Co was written in the year 54-55 AD from Ephesus. The second visit of Paul, which is announced in 1Co 16:1-7, never materialised. However Paul went again to Corinth in 56 AD (Acts 19:21) and stayed there for three months. Even before this visit, 2Co was written in 55 AD from Macedonia (2Co 7:5).

We read in 1Co 10-17 that Paul makes an appeal by the name of Lord Jesus Christ that all be in agreement and that there be no divisions among them but they be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. Now this appeal is not primarily based on rhetoric, i.e., not on persuasion and convincing arguments, but is actually a request which depends on some prior personal or official relationship (apostleship) between the writer and the addressees. The report is about the quarrels on the basis of personal loyalty or personal allegiance to four different people: Apollos, Paul, Peter, and Jesus. It is not certain whether these four were specific, concrete groups or rhetorical constructs. Taking into consideration the book of Acts, we see Apollos is associated with considerable skills of rhetoric and learning in the sacred scripture. His name occurs six times in 1Co 1:4:21 and probably the group which adhered to him must have espoused “wisdom” theology, which Paul calls in question in 1:18-4:21. The group of Paul might have consisted of initial converts and of those who accepted his teachings on law, etc. It is uncertain whether Peter visited Corinth at all. Still there was a group affiliated to him. The group that claims its allegiance to Christ can be seen either as a Pauline rhetoric of irony or as an interruption from a copyist or it might have consisted of Judaizing groups.

In 1Co 2.6-16 Paul has affirmed that the spiritual and the matured understand the mystery of God. There we get the impression that Paul is also considering the Corinthian Christians to be among the spiritual people, because he qualifies them as sanctified people and saints in the foreword and contrasts them with the gentiles and the Jews. The relationship between the type of ministries and the nature of the Church is explicated with the help of three images: God’s Field, God’s Building, and God’s Temple. All the three show that the ministers of proclamation are neither makers of the Church nor mere full-time servants, but they are God’s agents. Further, Paul tells them ‘you belong to Christ’. It means that there can be only one party that belongs to Christ, and that every believer can rely upon him in every situation. Finally Paul states: ‘Christ belongs to God’, meaning that God and Christ should not be separated.

The text of 1Corinthians prohibits disruptive speeches during the worship, it does not prohibit women to pray and prophesize. Paul forbids only married women, so unmarried women can speak in public. Women should keep silent in a larger assemblies, but they are allowed to speak when the Church meets in their homes. Paul prohibits women prophets to speak in public at Corinth (the text represents the opinion of the Corinthian Church which Paul in fact corrects in his letter.) The threat to order women to be silent originally stems from too many speaking in tongues or prophesying at one time. The inclusion of vs 34-35 suggests, that it is the women’s questions that broke the peace (14:34). Saint Paul’s problem was not with the fact that women could not speak, but is with those who intervene in the meetings by asking questions that can very well be asked at home from their husbands. It is said that if the women wanted to learn anything, they should ask their husbands. Thus, it would mean that women were probably asking some elementary questions.

According to the Jewish tradition, women were not allowed to come to the lectern to speak in the synagogues. Women in almost every ancient society were reprimanded for displaying authority through rhetoric. Paul may be referring to such a custom (1Co 14:34). However, in 1Co 11:5 women are praying and prophesying. Finally, it is not just women who are banned from raising questions. Men too are called to be silent on certain occasions (vs 28-30). In fact, it is in the interest of peace and order, that Paul commanded the women to be silent, just as he would have commanded a male prophet to be silent if his speech was disruptive and unedifying. Paul’s primary concern here is not authority over or subordination of women, but about appearance in worship. Paul’s concern here is the appearance at public worship. Moreover, according to him the appearance has to be in accordance with the traditional values and customs (1Co 11:2-16). To support his position, he draws arguments from creations’ theology of Genesis and appeals to the practice in the community. The reasons as to why he is insisting on a traditional appearance at worship may lie either in some misbehaviour from the part of the Corinthians themselves, or in his concern to avoid misunderstanding by the outsiders who do not belong to the Church.

4.4 Saint Paul’s view on Slavery in the Church of Corinth

Slavery was rampant in ancient Greece at the time when the Romans invaded Corinth and took over the city. Slavery can be defined as the condition of a person whose powers are in the hands of the rights of ownership with one individual. The subject of slavery is very relevant to Saint Paul’s ministry and to the backdrop of the human rights violation of the habitants of ancient Corinth. The Apostle understands slavery as a system of the Roman rule over an invaded nation i.e. Corinth. Saint Paul’s letters were set against the backdrop of war and invasion which contributed to the rise of slavery. The Roman society and its economics cannot be understood without grasping full knowledge of the centrality of slavery that was part of their structure. Slavery was considered as a foundation to the Greco-Roman societies. Slavery was set as a condition where one is solely dependent on one’s family; they were slaves to their masters. This was considered normal in Paul’s day, no government or law considered abolition of slavery.

During the Apostle’s time slavery determined one’s economic conditions. Slavery during the time of the New Testament was not about issues of discrimination, or Paul did not address the issue of slavery directly. The Biblical pattern of slavery was different, the owner cared for the slaves and owned them but did not ill treat them in any manner. The Bible did not endorse slavery even though it existed in the New and Old Testament. The Apostles did not sanction slavery as well; they spoke about having fair treatment for all human beings. For economic purposes in Greece they had slaves where the relationship was more like a servant to a master. According to the Biblical laws, they would be free after seven years. Saint Paul faced questions on the subject of slavery and he told them to honour their masters just as we are slaves of Christ and honour God. The Apostle did not condone or condemn slavery as he knew it was part of the Greek culture. Mostly servants were purchased by the elite class and used for the purpose of domestic work. The idea of the abolition of slavery was not existent as it was part of the society and culture, so even the lawgivers did nothing about it. The idea of slavery was not set to keep the slaves in bondage or discriminate them; it was just as a bond of servants to God. Even though slavery was a reality of the Greco-Roman society, it was more of a condition of wealth.

The attitude of Paul towards slavery in the Christian traditions was one of acceptance towards it as a social institution, and contended with the slaves to accept their condition in order to be economically stable. The influence of the Greek culture of owning slaves was established by the Romans due to the invasion of Corinth. The Apostle was accustomed to a world where owning slaves was a common part of society. This does not mean that he condones slavery, but he writes to the slaves in the epistles asking them to remain obedient. As per the slave traditions of Rome, a slave had the hope of emancipation after reaching adulthood and one could not distinguish based on race, colour, and clothing. Slaves also had many legal rights which includes right to appeal to a higher authority for justice in case of ill treatment. Even though the role model for Roman slavery had it legacy in Greece, Saint Paul knew that the slaves were owned and kept with a significant amount of respect. Since the slaves had to be part of the same religion of their masters, they would have a certain status in the society.

Paul addressed that within the Church all are equal and free. The behaviour of the slaves and free should be in manner that is respectable, and must honour sentiments of love and Christian conduct of behaviour. The Church of Corinth was considered a troublesome Church, and he addresses the epistle to the whole issue of slavery. The Apostle, by addressing the issue of slavery, did not challenge the norms of Greco-Roman society, but up-held their values and sentiments of their cultures. He knew that even though he preached the message of the risen Christ, their cultural would still enslave them to the traditions of the time. The reason being, the Greco-Roman culture was a place of hierarchical society where discrimination among gender and class was evident to the habitants. The Greco-Roman slaves on being faithful to their master could achieve Roman citizenship within ten years of service by the authorities. A striking paradox in the Greco-Roman world was that no slave was forced or exploited in anyway. In the days of Saint Paul, a lot of Greco-Roman slaves who were men, women and children improved their conditions by serving their masters to obtain their own legal rights. The slaves of Saint Paul’s times equalized their freedom in the sense of having character built in them and they sought to be free from being bond servants to the law. The first two centuries instructed slaves to be obedient and please their masters. According to some scholars, that due to this behaviour, Saint Paul comes across as indifferent to the issue of slavery. The only solace he spoke of was the coming of Christ which would get rid of the existing social order which could give them hope of their current social condition and this would enable them to persist in their present condition.

The Apostles’ view on slavery was not only set against the cultures of the Greco-Roman societies, but was also existent during the time of the Old Testament, which considered slavery as a rich inheritance of one’s social position. The Apostle did not equate the lack of interest in freeing slaves with indifference, but rather to a different social milieu than one finds more oppressive to the slavery of later centuries. Biblical slavery was seen as Christians being ransomed with a price in order to bring in more wealth. Saint Paul’s letters was liberating towards the issues written about the aspect of slavery which resorted to being called as bondservants, who would be free after sincere service to their masters. The reason behind restricting the slaves to be pleasing to their masters was to minimize the social evils system and to show the exemplary relationships with their masters. The idea of Greco-Roman slavery made Saint Paul a tactful missionary in dealing with the social upheavals of the times. The Apostle also encourages the masters to work out their relationships with the slaves and demonstrate Christ-like equality in their dealings with them. The golden rule to treat them well must be applied in dealing with them. There were certain household codes presented in the letters of Paul’s epistles which addresses the social situations among the inferior members of the family like women, children and older people. This addressed a social reversal to honour the household codes and it gave an acquired social status to the slaves.

Saint Paul sees slavery as an act of obedience to the law whereby it would bring glory to Christ, says another scholar (Brooks, 2010). In the Hellenistic world absolute power was given to the master over the slaves and this put heavy weightage on the social order of the patriarchal Greco- Roman society which meted out certain level of cruelty to women and children. Even though their social conditions didn’t change, the Apostle encouraged the slaves to render their services unto Christ, and even though the social reality was less participatory, their freedom in Christ was guaranteed and it would give them an eternal hope. He reminds them that they are bought with a price (Resurrection of Christ), so they should not see themselves as slaves to their human masters. Even in the scriptures he requests the slaves to honour their masters as they would seek an eternal reward and accept their status for the Love of Christ.

Another way of looking at Apostle’s Paul understanding of slavery would be to use slavery as a language metaphor while writing the epistles, thus characterizing the slave imagery as an example to deal with certain issues that has taken place in the Church. The metaphoric image of slavery used by Saint Paul could be a figure of speech to impart the literal implications of Christian life. He regards himself as a slave to Christ, identifying with the conditions of a slave’s life in the society of Corinthian and communicates the Christian life and message in a concrete manner; this would be another way of critiquing Paul’s image of slavery in the scriptures. It would be subjective to fault Paul for not confronting the institution of slavery. The Apostle didn’t condemn or condone slavery, he only empathized with their condition as well as gave spiritual answers to the problems of slavery. He ends by saying that every one of us are bond-servants of Christ, thus placing all on one platform. He addresses slaves on the precept of the law given by society and the grace given by Christ. He encouraged them in their present condition by expressing their position in Christ as equals. Slavery was part of the early Church culture and society which played a vital role in the structure of the New Testament Theology.

Saint Pauls’ explanation of slavery seeks to understand the socio-historical context of his writings where he emphasizes himself as being a slave for Christ. Slavery plays an important role in the language and theology of the New Testament and describes the issues of slavery used as an example to participate in the fullness of the Christian life. The traditional ideas of slavery was part of the Christian religion at the time of the early Church and the Apostle deals with it on a spiritual level leaving the reader to come their own conclusion. The Apostle knew the conditions of ancient Greece and was fully aware of what brought about turbulent behaviour in Church order. It was only then that he sought to resolve the conflict of the troublesome Church of Corinth where he addresses the issues of slavery thus trying to find a pattern through which harmony could be restored in Church.

The Apostle, while dealing with the slaves, was always compassionate by making sure he understood their position and reckoned with their social identity in the Greco-Roman world. Saint Paul was fully aware that slavery was rooted as a result of war and invasion and this condition became part of the Church. The early Church culture of ancient Christianity attempts to understand the bonds of slavery from the point of view of the social context which declared slavery as part of the war effects of Corinthian cultures. The New Testament writings refer to the acceptance of slavery as part of Biblical history which marks the historical tragedy of discrimination and chattels of slaves which lingered for centuries since. It left a deep scar on the social structures of the Biblical Age in which the letters of Saint Paul was penned. His epistles leaves the reader perplexed as he doesn’t take a position for or against the conditions of slavery that was part of the larger culture and Church of the Greco-Roman world of first century.

4.5 The History of Corinth

The history of Corinth is divided into two parts: Ancient and modern. Corinth was still an ancient city when the Greeks invaded it. Greek historians claim that it was in Corinth that the first triremes, the Greek battleships, were built. Legend has it that it is in Corinth that the Argo was built, the ship in which great Greeks and historians sailed. In 146. B.C., disaster befell on Corinth; it was at that time that the Romans were engaged in conquering the world. When they sought to reduce Greece to nothingness, Corinth was the leader of the opposition and the champion of the Greeks. But the Greeks could not withstand the disciplined Romans and it was in 146 B.C Lucius Mummus, the Roman general, captured Corinth, and sacked down and devastated her completely. He left her in a deep heap of ruins but any places with the geographical situation of Corinth and a Mediterranean a devastated her so completely and almost exactly 100 years later in 46. B.C. Julius Cesar rebuilt Corinth and she arose from her Ruins, now she became a Roman Colony. Corinth now became a metropolis city of Roman province. It was in those days that Paul traded on Corinth soil and had a mix population settled. They had supremacy of Romans and Jews and Greeks in the Greek world, the greatest missionary work of Saint Paul was done in Corinth which the Biblical scriptures talk about the triumphs in Christianity.

The Apostle stayed longer in Corinth with the exception of Ephesus. He had remained in Corinth for about eight months. He arrived in Corinth and took residence with Aquila and Priscilla. The Jews rejected the Gospel message, and therefore, he preached to the Gentiles. In the year A.D 32, there came to Corinth a new Governor a Roman called Gallio. When the people brought an accusation againSaint Paul and booked him to trial, for charging him for teaching contrary to the law, Gallio refused to do anything with the case or take action, and the Apostle was able to complete his work and move on to Syria.

4.6 Saint Paul’s Correspondence with Corinth

In A.D. 55, Paul received the news that all was not well in Corinth, and he wrote back to the Church asking the Church to mend their ways. The correspondence between Paul and the Corinthians must have existed on papyrus, and putting it together posed as a problem for the Church clergy. The letters of Paul addressed to the Church of Corinth were put in the right order. The letters were not put in any chapter or verse until the 13th century and arranging the letters became confusing for the Church authorities as the Apostle didn’t follow any order, but merely instructed the Corinthians to change their living. There was no change in the behaviour of the Church even after sending the letters, and so Paul made a direct visit to Corinth. Since the Apostle was staying at Ephesus, he paid the Corinthians a flying visit in order to rectify their situation. The scriptures tells us that the visit did no good and the situation only worsened, and as a result it was exceedingly stern and severe letter. The letter written conveyed much anguish and pain, and the Apostle was almost sorry that he sent it. We can see the anger and sorrow of a shepherd’s heart towards his flock in the letters that Saint Paul addresses to the early Church during the first century A.D.

The Corinthian converts were born and bred in an environment that was as vile and vicious as one could imagine. Corinth was a city famous for fornication and adultery. The Apostle tried to break the rituals and practice of idol worship the people followed and show the true message of Christ. From among the fullest sin, the gross sensuality, the filthy rituals and idolatry, the social debasing religious which indulged in animal like behaviours, the false pride of the Greeks and their wisdom made it even more difficult for Paul to intervene in their situation. One cannot find a more awful description of human sin and degradation in the various accounts in the Bible than the first chapter of Paul’s epistles written from Corinth. The upbringing and the environment of the first Corinthian converts who had been changed through the message of Christ and the Holy Spirit indeed broke free from idolatry and pagan worship to know the true nature of God through Paul. The social conditions and seductions ingrained in them, caused them to break free and indulge in their sin. They were caught between the assembly and the footing of sin which was part of their culture. The Apostle flag elated the Corinthians and asked them to draw their spiritual impotency and burn towards spiritual maturity.

4.7 Description of the Corinthians

The Corinthian Christian community was the product of an elegant urban ethos and was assimilated into the Roman imperial order. The historical situation of Paul’s Corinthian community is founded in the subsequent development of his gathering which he constructed through his missionary journeys. The Corinthians were traditionally Greek in their religious outlook, but were influenced by the Romans in their political and economic practices. The community had more faith in pagan gods, structures and temples were built to please their gods, and they followed a calendar that regulated the rhythm of socio-political life that centred on their ritualistic worship. The imperial presence of urban life came to dominate the public space as the Corinthian people exalted their spiritual status and gained liberation they sought through immoral relationships. The Corinthian Christians were confined to the traditional patriarchal cultures of Corinth. Women were subordinated in their personal positions and expressed freedom by fulfiling their sexual desires and maintaining illicit relationships.

The community maintained their social solidarity in avoiding the Christian values that the Apostle bestowed on them, thereby breaking structures of religious morality. The sexual immorality of the Corinthian culture due to temple prostitution detangled interpersonal relations with Saint Paul’s scared community of the Church. The Corinthian Christians were products of the cultural orientations of society and they upheld those values which helped them operate in the socio- political realm of Christianity. The Apostle’s attempt was to persuade the Corinthian community to be sensitive to the morality of religious beliefs, and make adjustments in their behaviour in order to reinforce the authoritative structure of Church and beliefs, and keeping in mind the patriarchal influence of the Greco-Roman society on the Corinthian community. The Apostle’s intention was to transform these people in order to fit the appropriate social roles and group orientations of Church culture during the first century.

4.8 Commands to the Corinthian Christians

The Corinthian community’s way of life was different from the Apostle’s understanding of Christian ethics and values of community upbringing. In the Pastoral Epistles, the Apostle commands the Corinthian community to change their lifestyle and pronounce their lives to a religious way of life. The Apostle stresses on ethical authority in the Biblical texts and orders the Church of Corinth to cultivate an appropriate behaviour for socio-religious development in the community for the full flourishing, personal dignity and human solidarity of the Church. There were religious clashes in the Church due to worship of pagan gods and a clash of the religious viewpoints of Saint Paul’s ministry in the congregation he founded at Corinth. The tensions that the Apostle writes in the letters reveal the social and religious conflicts that were part of their spiritual cultural idea of the new founded group community in Corinth. The letters capture the situation of the divided Church, and the interaction between the cultural values and ideas of a new community that were in conflict. The commands given to the Corinthian community members regarding their way of living provided a significant change among members of the Church as the Apostle instructed them in love and admiration to uphold the morality of the times. The commands given by the Apostle to the community reveals the cultural gaps in the religious beliefs. The commands given to the Corinthians by the Apostle reveals the cultural gaps and religious beliefs which create tensions among the Church of Corinth, and the Apostle writes a letter to instruct the communities about the spiritual concerns of the group, and to uphold the values instead of the religious ideals. The Apostle, through his commands, expressed the anxiety that reveals the socio-political conflicts within the Church that causes them to become a divided community that lacks social solidarity and group orientation. The commands given to the community at Corinth indicates that the warnings exhorted the members to reap the benefits of upholding their group morals, and achieve group oneness and unity that also freed them from their sinful slavery to sex, and uphold the religious beliefs of the first century.

4.9 Warnings to the Corinthian Christians

The Apostle warns the Corinthian Church to bring about order in the community beliefs and practices. The idea was to shape the behaviour and mind-set of the people in the Corinthian community in order to arrive at a social composition so the community could live in harmony with one another. There were different people that were part of the Corinthian community, and they belonged to different social classes. They found it extremely difficult to relate to one another even after their conversion to Christianity. The Apostle warns them that after their conversion they all knew that all were one in God; their distinctions did not make a difference. They had to learn through natural submission and experience that all were seen as one before God. The Apostle warns that there is no superior class, and they should not to be boastful about their intellectual gifts and social status as God looks at the human heart and not the outward social class of people.

The Apostle tried to warn the people of Corinth to adhere to the norms laid down by him for the Church and practice their religious beliefs which will not cause the Church to be further divided. The Apostle raises the question of social status which has no use in the Church of God. Even though the cultural implications such as distinction matter within the community, the Apostle reinforces that it did not matter before God. The Apostle stressed on the ethical issue of Christian living which brought the Corinthian Church to reason with their faith and transform themselves to the Christian ideals. The Apostle warns the community to guard themselves in purity and keep themselves free from the stained desires of the world. Even though the Apostle knows they will not be able to live-up to the standards of the Church, he completely orders the community to bring about a change in their social environment which will help them adapt to the new found Christian community and form social habits and behaviours accordingly.

4.10 The Greatness of Corinth

The city of Corinth was structured for their greatness. The geographical structure of Corinth is positioned and made in such a way for communal purposes and positioned as one of the most ancient trading centres of the world. The city stood as an isthmus between two ports making it easier to have access to both sides of the gulf. The city was well connected. The traffic from Athens and from the northern part of Greece, Sparta and the Peloponnese, had to be routed through Corinth which stood on the little neck of the hand that connected the two. This structure shows that Corinth was accessible from both ports and the greatest part of Corinth was the land for many traders, artisans and travellers who came to the city through a voyage and was not left unsatisfied. The city of Corinth was rich in its cultural variety and trade and commerce. It was known as the vanity of Greece. Corinth was one of the places were the isthmus games were held and these games were second to the Olympic Games held in the ancient world. Corinth was a rich and popular city with one of the greatest commercial trading ports in the ancient world of Christianity.

4.11 The Wickedness of Corinth:

There was another side of Corinth irrespective of her commercial reputation and prosperity. She was also by word very civil, immoral, and sensuous by the living standard a city could have. The very word ‘Rovinthiazisthai’ meaning ‘to be like a Corinthian’ comes from the Greek language. The name suggests to live with drunkenness and immoral debauchery, and the word has actually penetrated into the English language. In recent times, to live like a Corinthian is one of the wealthiest young ducks who live a reckless life. Many Greek writers tell a story involving a Corinthian in a stage play and he was always shown as drunk.

The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery, but in the old days there was one source of evil in Corinth which was known all over the civilized world above (insert map). Above the isthmus they towered on the hill of the acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite the goddess of love.

To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and at evening time they descended from the acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth until it became a Greek proverb. It was not every man who could afford a journey to Corinth. In addition to the crude sins, there flourished in Corinth far more recondite vices which had come in with the traders and sailors from the ends of the earth until Corinth became not only a synonym for wealth and luxury, but also, drunkenness and debauchery and filth.

4.12 Saint Paul and the issues of Morality and Religion in the City of Corinth:

There is fine line between morality and religion and its secularity or sacredness. The issues of morality are philosophical, while religion is more spiritual. The religious philosopher often takes morality to be the center of their worldview. The moral issues of the world system are religiously followed by culture and society as norms to a certain way of life. Morality and religion are both important aspects of religious living, and the sacred texts stress on the importance of moral living, according to the sacred and secular world, as part of an overall holistic culture of society. The New Testament scripture of Paul’s epistles treats the issues of morality in the Church as a social problem causing unrest among the Church brethren. The writings of the Apostle were set to alter their lifestyle and ways according to the sacredness of the scriptures and religious sentiments of the Church. The immorality of the Corinthian Church was very famous as part of their cultural life in the Greco-Roman society. It became a socially accepted fact but did not go down well with traditional religious institutions in the first century.

Religion has created barriers for women’s overall development. Religion influences societies’ perceptions and beliefs about the way women should conduct themselves. The religious norms and traditions contributed to the gender inequality and sub-subordination of women’s roles in society, since women are considered to be more inclined towards religious beliefs and practices, and follow customs more rigidly than men. It is an underrated fact that religion dictates one’s way of living (life). Women and religion are inter-related with regard to the social, democratic, and economic progress of their emancipation and equality. Religion is that powerful voice which can break down the strongholds of patriarchy by voicing the injustice done to women since centuries. Gender roles contributed to religious cultures, lifestyle and upbringing. It is important that religion shifts to women’s rightful place in religious institutions and other arenas of society, as religion is androcentric in its discipline and tends to affect women’s status in society. With the changing face of a more liberal era, religion will be more accommodating to women and will break down traditional patriarchal structures in order for women’s full participation in society.

The epistles contributed by the Apostle gave the Church a new-found authorship and a role for women to take her rightful place in ministries. Even though Pauline letters seem restrictive as he instructs women to learn in quietness and total submission. The Apostle is much ahead of his times as he wants women to recognize their roles and call before God, the epistles of Paul to the Church of Corinth calls Christians to live as Christ wanted them to, as having a harmonious life. The Apostle instructs the Corinthian Christians to change their immoral ways of living and come to live a life of faith in Christ. The extreme correspondence of Apostle Paul’s letters to the Corinthians gives us an insight into the wide range of issues including women’s status in Church and submission to their husband in their class distinctions. The Apostle gives a clear picture of a life in the early Church. The writings clearly depict the Apostle’s heart in instructing the Corinthian Christians and asking them in love in order to bring them to a true realization of Christian living.

4.13 Paul as the embodiment of Christ, the Charismatic leader

Saint Paul was an important figure in formulating the evident Church doctrines and practices which are an integral part of Church life. His missionary work made him a significant leader in his own right, as he led the Christian movement which converted many pagans and gentiles into Christianity. He became an instrumental leader in organizing and leading many people to Christ. The Apostle was a zealous teacher of the law and a man of strong principles and convictions. The Apostles’ new variation of Christianity arose, which was called the charismatic movement, and emphasized practicing 'visible' gifts (speaking in tongues, healings, etc.) It also focused on the 'Baptism of the Spirit' as an identifying sign of conversion. Although it started in mainline Protestant Churches, the charismatic movement soon spread to other denominations of the Church such as the Catholic Church. Many contemporary leaders in the Charismatic movement have been convinced that the manifestation of supernatural power can and must be an integral part of their evangelistic efforts. The virtue of Charisma is necessary for a transformational leader, and many books often promise to share the secrets of being a person with Charisma. Other people hold that charisma cannot be ‘unlocked’ or ‘discovered’ at all because it is innate and present only in the rarest of individuals. Charisma’s origins are found in the letters of Saint Paul written around 50 AD. The word ‘charisma’, is derived from the Greek ‘charis’ (grace). For Paul, charisma meant ‘the gift of God’s grace’ or ‘spiritual gift’. In Paul’s letters to the fledgling Christian communities spread across the Roman Empire, he wrote concerning the ‘charismata’ or spiritual gifts available to each member of the community. He identified nine charismata, including prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues, interpreting that speech, teaching, and service – a range of gifts both supernatural and pragmatic.

For Paul, charisma was a mystical notion: the gifts were thought to alight on each individual without the need of Church authority or institution. And there was no charisma of leadership, the interlocking charismata were meant to serve the community without the need for an imposed leader. The Church largely suppressed the notion of charisma deriving directly from the Holy Spirit by the fourth century. It was replaced by a hierarchy of Church leadership, with bishops at the top, interpreting the fixed religious laws inscribed in the newly authorized Bible. Charisma survived only where prophets claimed direct inspiration, without the need for the mediations of the bishops or scriptures, which were then forcibly repressed by the Church.

The idea of charisma then lay largely dormant for centuries. Only in the writings of the 20th century German sociologist Max Weber was it reborn. The contemporary meaning of ‘charisma,’ is given by Weber, who took Paul’s religious idea and secularized it, placing charisma within the sociology of authority and leadership. For Weber, there were three types of authority: the rational-legal, the traditional, and the charismatic. The charismatic form of authority is seen by Weber as a revolutionary, and perhaps unstable, antidote to the ‘iron cage’ of rationalization found in the contemporary world. He held that there was something heroic about the charismatic leader, who galvanized followers with great feats or with the ‘charisma of rhetoric’ found in inspiring speeches.

Weber defined charisma as ‘a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. The link between contemporary charisma (considered a special form of authority) and the religious charisma of Paul’s time lies in the notion of innateness, of the gift. Paul stated that no bishop or Church required the blessing of charisma; it simply lighted on the individual, as a spiritual gift. Today Charisma is seen as an enigmatic and irreducible factor, and there is no explanation that is available to us that explains why rare individuals are blessed with this mysterious gift. The idea of charismatic leadership and its beaucratization of charisma are seen in Saint Paul’s ministry of Corinth whereby he ministers to the religious community through his religious charisma transforming lives and bringing about changes to their world. The idea of charisma can be explained by a leader’s success to a particular group who usually has an attractive public personality and style. It is deviated in a culture which is religious and brings in the emergence of the leader’s gifts. The charismatic leadership of Saint Paul can be seen through the theoretical ideas of Max Weber’s routinization of charisma and bureaucracy in the sociological realm.

In understanding the charisma of religious leadership Weber makes an important point about the distinction between magic and religion. He argues that a person’s relationship with the transcendental powers may be one of prayer, sacrifice, and worship, or one of magical compulsion. Accordingly, one may designate as “gods” those powers that are venerated, and as “demons” those that are compelled by magic (Weber, Sociology, 1963, p.30). This is a useful starting point for a distinction between religious leadership of the type outlined in the biblical material and the superstition associated with magic. The priest’s function is to superintend the worship of the deity, while magicians seek to compel demons. Priests are employed functionaries in a permanent organization in the role of a mediator, while magicians are free professionals hired by individuals to provide a service. Priests possess theological knowledge, while magicians and prophets to a degree, prove their worth by their personal charisma. Prophets also are contrasted by their knowledge of formulated doctrine and their appeal to the same deity as the priests. Moreover, in the biblical sense, they are not simply hired hands, but have an independence to reveal the truth to the people which is drawn from that doctrinal foundation. Weber does not consider this distinction as a hard and fast rule and would see many similarities between the prophet and magician, as far as their function is concerned. Overall, these distinctions of charisma are related to Weber’s major interest in the “rationalization of religious life.” A systematization of people’s relationship to the divine and religious ethic based on metaphysical conceptions is absent where ritual is conducted without an established priesthood or where magicians prevail and regular worship does not exist. Weber argues that, in the absence of organized religion, magical procedure, when repeated, makes these practices sacred, traditional and, therefore, unalterable. He states that every magical procedure which has been “proved” efficacious is naturally repeated strictly in the successful form. That is extended to everything which has symbolic significance. The slightest departure from the approved norm may vitiate the action. All branches of human activity get drawn into this circle of symbolic magic (Weber, Essays, 1948, p.245).

Charisma, which has its origins in a deity or spiritual power, is the foundation of Weber’s understanding of religious leadership. Weber’s three types of domination or authority provide a clear framework to discuss leadership. The distinction Weber draws between leadership and authority is embedded in his work which is not always clear from his terminology. Essentially, a leader can only request, an authority can require. Leadership depends upon the personal qualities of the leader (charisma) in the situation in which he leads. With authority, the relationship ceases to be personal, and if the legitimacy of that authority is recognized, then the subordinate must obey the command even if there is no relationship between the authority and those under authority (Weber, Essays, 1948).

Weber believes that ordinary people of a religious community are influenced by religion out of their mundane expectations and not out of any concern for great religious ideas or theological truths. In the end, Weber argues that irrespective of a person’s motivation to follow a leader, whether it be for religious reasons, superstition or other reasons, the raw purpose of that allegiance to those ideas will be predominantly economic. The setting of charisma and its place in the development of leadership in a community of faith had an impact on the early Christians. Weber’s analysis of various historical manifestations of charisma came out of a concern for the importance of this whole area of research which extended over a major portion of his life’s work.

Max Weber’s idea of “charisma” was a short hand term for “extraordinary quality” which was possessed by a person and is thought to give this person a unique, supernatural or spiritual power (Bendix, 1962, p.88, 299 & Weber, On Charisma, 1968, p.18-19). In his analysis of domination, he attached the importance on analysing legal authority and contrasting it with the other types of charismatic and traditional. In this analysis he argues that a person possessed by genuine charisma exercises authority, but the nature of command differs from legal and traditional domination in that it is extraordinary. Weber considers “charismatic leadership” as a separate level of analysis from the other forms of domination. The division of power is seen in a threefold phenomenon of: (a) power on the basis of constellations of interests, for example, on the market or status groups, (b) power on the basis of established authority or (c) power on the basis of leadership, which is described as the extraordinary qualities of a person and the identification of those qualities by that person’s followers. (Weber, Theory, 1947, p. 364f). Weber saw legal and traditional domination as permanent structures that provide for the everyday needs of the community. However, such structures are not well adapted to satisfy the needs that are unusual or extraordinary. Therefore, in times of trouble or chaos the leader that emerges is neither the official nor commander whose authority is based on some form of sanctity of tradition, but the person who appears to have been raised up for that particular purpose and who possesses those extraordinary gifts necessary. The chaotic circumstances that make people cry out for such a leader and the leaders who respond to such a call can be of many kinds. Leaders may adopt the role of hero, magician, cult figure, or prophet. They could be leaders of mobs, bands of thieves, musical groups, or nations. Weber’s understanding of the concept of “charisma” was a “value neutral” term. He did not see the role of the sociologist to make value statements in this regard. If they dominated by virtue of their charisma, their relationship to their followers is of the same type, from a sociological perspective.

According to Weber, charismatic leadership occurs most frequently during emergencies, charismatic leadership, in this strong sense, exists only at times of the original happening or crisis, while the other two types are associated with permanence and enduring structures. The charismatic leader is always a radical type who will challenge the established order by going to the very essence of the problem. Charismatic leaders will dominate by virtue of qualities that are inaccessible to the ordinary people and their mandate is often incompatible with the rules of thought and action governing the everyday affairs of life. Jesus is a good example of a Charismatic figure; in the four gospels the writers indicate that his presence, his word and actions became intolerable to the official leadership of the day to the point where they had him arrested and executed by crucifixion. In this way charismatic leadership effects an “internal” revolution of experience, in contrast to the “external” revolution that occurs when, for example, people adapt themselves to a major change in legal rules without, at the same time, internalizing the ideas behind it. In essence, this is at the heart of faith, and therefore, at a fundamental level this form of leadership demands a response that involves great commitment on the part of the followers and that response had no parallel in other forms of domination outlined by Weber (Weber, Theory, 1947, p. 364). In Weber’s typology both charismatic leadership and traditional forms of domination differ from legal (bureaucratic) order in that they involve personal rather than impersonal rule. However, the difference between charismatic and traditional is more significant than the similarity. The patriarch possesses authority because he represents the inviolable sanctity of tradition, whereas the charismatic leader dominates others because, through his presence and mission his legitimacy becomes apparent, which often has the effect of transforming the established order. It is a leadership of crisis and enthusiasm. Weber argues that there is a contrast between charismatic leadership and other forms of domination. When the charismatic leader is involved in the routine of life, there remains a problem as far as any succession of charismatic leadership into a next generation. Weber’s understanding of charisma that is transformed to “familial” and “institutional” is significant, particularly how he may have used these concepts in the analysis of the Christian community. Weber argues that domination based strictly on charismatic leadership alone is highly unstable because the objective to preserve the ‘pure’ form of charisma can be satisfied only by its transformation. This transformation happens in the interests of the group, the disciples and retainers, who wish to appropriate the leader’s power of control and determines the rules of succession and selection of the appropriate successors. In Weberian thought this is done to monopolize the economic and emotional opportunities that the leader’s influence has made available. (Weber, Theory, 1947, p.366f).

Weber’s idea of transformation is understood in the pursuit of other interests by the charismatically led community. While a community looks to these interests being met in a concrete person there will be an incompatibility with regular forms of domination. When the idea of Charisma is depersonalized, it evolves into a compatibility with traditional and legal types of domination. The only provision is that the original characteristics of an extraordinary quality are preserved, and are not accessible to everyone. There is an understanding generally that this extraordinary spiritual or otherwise power is the source and substance of the life of the community. The giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church at Pentecost is an example of a community being charismatically empowered (Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellscaft, I, p.772). Institutional charisma loses the sense of an extraordinary, personal quality and gift that can be tested and proven, and becomes instead an impersonal capacity that, can be taught or learned. Over a long historical development charismatic education in ecclesiastical circles consisted only of the appropriate selection and training of the qualified. In this historical evolution this education of charismatic leadership remains today in the professions of priests or ministers. With the bureaucratization of the Church, even more emphasis has been given to the specialized knowledge that must be taught and that no one is born with. It is a charisma of knowledge of the few specialists, who through that knowledge, have power and influence over others. Nevertheless, according to Saint Paul in the Pastoral Epistles, the equipping and training of Church leaders was a charismatic activity. The founders of the early Church deliberately routinized charismatic leadership to ensure the lasting stability of the community (Bell, Simon Fishe, Anticlericalism and the Early English Reformation, 1888). The charisma that Weber develops is particularly relevant in the consideration of spiritual leadership in the Christian community.

The Sociology of Religion offers spiritual incentives for its believers which analysed the reciprocal effects of society. His theories are used in order to ascertain the divine objectives a particular phenomenon has on a one religion. Weber states in identification with social groups that the social structures of each group have a primary focus which can gradually shift with the changing times.

Weber’s analysis of the Church as an organization is seen in contrast to secular forms of authority. The Church, as an organization, has always moved to exist apart from secular government, because the leadership believed it had a mandate from God to be a distinctive, holy nation. It is not that the Church and the state have nothing to do with each other, but rather, the mission of the Church was to witness to the world and be the very means whereby people find salvation as members of this holy congregation. In this community of faith, charisma becomes the attribute of the institution. The Church believes itself to be the guardian that has sole power over the administration of grace or eternal favour of God to the people. In principle this favour is offered to everyone, because the Church is the sole embodiment and administrator of a charisma that resides in its own institutional structure, rather than a group of persons who possess the requisite charismatic qualifications (Weber, Essays, p.319ff). Churches, in this form, have existed only in the West and to varying degrees in Islam, the Buddhist religion, Judaism, and at times in ancient Egypt. It is more often than not opposed to any personal forms of religious experience that promote a person’s relationship with God apart from the organized structure. Weber’s great concerns was with the various historical manifestations of charisma. His sociology of religion is devoted to the religious communities in the thousand years preceding the birth of Christ, especially the charisma of the prophets of “Ancient Judaism”. Weber repeatedly referred to the analysis of charismatic leadership and organization in the early Christian Church during Saint Paul’s time. Weber argues that charisma will be continually in the process of transformation whenever it comes into the permanent institutions of a community. This has been the case in religious communities in particular. His view of history alternates between the charisma of the “great man” and the “routinization of the bureaucracy.” Weber clearly argues that the decline of charisma in its “pure” sense, is its fate in the processes of history. He regards the development of legal rationality to be the major factor in the emerging distinctiveness of Western society and does not necessarily believe in a theory of history that perceives, at every point, the dynamic element of change in charismatic breakthroughs of great leaders. In his sociology of law he demonstrates that not all positive historical forces are associated with “charisma” and not all negative, regressive movements are related to “routinization”. In fact the creation of new legal forms and the routinization of charisma is a dynamic, innovative process in itself. The stability and the survival of the Church and the economic progress of Western civilization are a testimony to this process.

Saint Paul’s definition of leadership is detailed for the Corinthians by his own selection of leadership examples which the community are invited to his first example is his own lifestyle. He contrasts his own modus operandi used during his first visit to Corinth (1Co 2.1-5), with that of the Greco-Roman expectations of leadership. This is set against the paradigm of Paul. In 1Corinthians 2:6-16 he states that in contrast to the great orators of the Greco-Roman society, he is not an eloquent speaker, but he does speak with wisdom. His wisdom is not taught by the world, but by the Spirit of God. Thus he claims Charismatic legitimacy for his leadership. He then appeals to this “spirit endowed” leadership by pointing out that his authority is not man-made but of a divine appointment and spiritual character. He argues that all leadership in the Church has divine blessing and appointment. His main purpose appears to avoid the congregations of faith being dependent on the wisdom of the world in recognizing leaders. This claim by Paul is a mirror image of the claims of the prophets in what Weber would define as “pure charisma”. The idea of charismatic leadership promoted by Paul is not to exalt the leader to think too highly of himself or herself, but to put aside the personal traits and characteristics as of no importance. This statement of a “thorn in the flesh” is probably one of the most candid, transparent and vulnerable admissions that a charismatic leader could make – that the Apostle would admit to becoming conceited. At the time of writing his epistles, the fledgling Church at Corinth was identifying with the personalities of various leaders. Paul argues the leader in the Christian Church does not and should not see his or her legitimacy in boasting about his great, spiritual or personal qualities. For to focus on the individual takes the followers’ eyes away from God to another human being who is just like them in the weakness of the flesh. He states that power of God is “demonstrated through human weakness.” (2Co 12.2-10). Paul also has an attitude to seniority that stands in stark contrast to that of secular society. Rather than apostolic leaders being elevated and revered by the community at Corinth to a social standing which creates a pride and arrogance, Paul points out that the leaders belong to the community. The apostolic leaders belong to the community and in this light Paul’s view of leadership is the opposite or the reverse of the world and in this way mirrors the leadership of Jesus. Therefore, Paul, in 1Corinthians Chapter 4, clearly encourages the community to model their lives by this example.

Saint Paul is concerned with four specific areas through which secular thinking has penetrated the life of the Church. In answer to that, he addresses the Churches and gives them certain guidelines i.e., the privilege of authority must not be understood as an opportunity for boasting to create one’s social status or reputation; one’s reputation must not be protected from people of lesser means through the use of the legal system; one must not rely on the reputation that one has carved out of one’s oratory powers; and one must be moral beyond reproach and respect the influence of the leaders of the Church. These are universal principles of Christian leadership in any age. A question of ethical behaviour of the powerful towards the powerless are timeless issues. Through these points Paul’s view of leadership goes to the very foundation of how people should authentically relate to each other in a community. His view constitutes an inversion of the world’s practice of leadership in any age. When discussing charismatic authority it is necessary to concentrate on the group of disciples and followers that is the typical result of the charismatic eruption. Social and historical analysis of Paul’s leadership provides a further solution to what Weber would describe as a struggle between “charismatic innovation” and “bureaucratic rationalization”. His argument that the charismatic leader himself is the primary routinizing agent because he desires to build a lasting community is a compelling and accurate reflection of New Testament leadership. This routinization of charisma creates a new society and a new spiritual leadership which is permanent and the mortar that ensures the stability of the Church (Theissen, 1999, p.121f). Church leadership in every generation should reflect these same characteristics that Paul modelled and taught. What was passed on to Timothy at Ephesus was also clearly intended to be established in every generation. Today we have a model of leadership from the New Testament where charismatic innovation and creativity is combined with traditional and bureaucratic rationalization to form a new, permanent and stable charismatic leadership.

Like Paul, we too share the experience of the Risen Lord. His personality was Christ-centred and Spirit-led. He understood the Christian message of love and grace of God manifested in the Cross, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that needs to be proclaimed to the fellow human beings. This grace, which is a gratuitous gift, does not just deliver us from the consequences of sin and selfishness but leads humans to reconciliation, righteousness and life, which means to be heirs of God.

CHAPTER 5

WOMEN’S ROLES IN SAINT PAUL’S WRITINGS

5.1 Introduction

Women’s roles in the epistles were considerable and noticeable in the ministry of Saint Paul. Women were engaged in different ways and many noteworthy roles were given to them in the early Churches. Even though special relevance was placed on men to be Apostles and lead the ministry, women were taught, honoured, and ministered to during the first century. The imagery present in the Pauline letters regarding women’s roles in leadership are influenced by cultural attitudes of the Greco-Roman societies. The culture influenced the Christian tradition, and within the Churches one can observe discrimination the basis of social caste and class. Such was the marginalized attitude towards women during the first century and it was different from the epistles written by Paul from the Socio- Religious contexts aspects of the day. The texts calls to re-imagine the status of women in the epistles and the attempts to re-construct the model of the Church’s leadership from a historical outlook, and to restructure the way of ministry of Pauline Apostleship towards a more liberal role for women. The Pauline concepts of women’s positions in the Corinthian Church remains a perplexity to many Christians today because Pauline teachings regarding women’s ministry is paradoxical. The Apostle restricts women’s ministry, according to certain scholars who misinterpret scriptures, and this image reinforces the commands set by the patriarchal biases of the society and Churches’ orders which is considered reformable. The impression given by the Apostle is considered anti-feminist which leads men to have a supportive attitude towards women, and demonstrated that Paul accepted women in his ministry. Saint Paul makes a mention of several women whom he considered his respected co-workers in the spread of the Gospel such as Lydia, Chloe, and Phoebe. Out of 27 men, the Apostle mentioned 8 women by name, and described these women as earnest workers of the Gospel who have co-laboured with Paul in his missionary work. Women were part of his ministry and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Early Churches. There were unmarried, divorced, married women who were part of his ministry, and the Apostle didn’t discriminate among them. The constitution of gender biases that is emphasized in Paul’s ministry and his ideology towards women working in the Churches of Corinth was more towards a cultural construct of performing one’s own gender. As Judith Butler (1990) asserts, gender is a cultural interpretation of sex and it is culturally constructed, which transforms human beings into role playing, which creates their bodies to culturally prescribed roles set by societies. There are cultural compulsions set for women by patriarchal strongholds of the society which use their gender to make sure they remain passive human beings. The importance of women in Saint Paul’s letters are visible to the reader as he places prestigious titles as those of a deaconess, prophetess, etc. when he makes references to their work. The letters signify a strong emphasis on women workers being involved in Paul’s ministry. Women were seen as labourers in spreading the Gospel message. The Apostle writes with great honour commending them for their valour and willingness for laying down their lives for the sake of spreading the Gospel (message of Christ). Women were exhorted to accept freely and willingly the proper hierarchal order in the family and in the Churches, according to the cultural milieu of androcentric Greco-Roman law. The letters of first Corinthians duly sanctions the dignity of women in the Churches of Corinth as the Apostle claimed equality for all races, gender and caste. Women were not secluded like pagans or slaves even though Greek cultures view women as a secondary category and did not favour them for religious duties. Women were considered as partakers of Christs’ mission in the missionary work with Paul. Even though Judeo-Christian practices were traditional and culturally backward, as they restricted women from the mainstream religious institution, the Apostle takes a radical and liberal stand for women, and even welcomed and encouraged their apostolic authority, even though it seems like the Apostle reminded the women Corinthian Churches the norms of being silent in assemblies. He qualifies women and sees them as distinguished Apostles.

5.2 Feminist Analysis of Saint Paul

The active participation of women in Pauline Churches became problematic and the issues on leadership roles were questioned by the dominant structures. The letters (epistles) exhibit social problems in regards to women’s public participation in early Christianity. The letters of Saint Paul give evidence of women’s active participation in the early Churches and in his ministry, but the same are not found in the poSaint Pauline Churches. In relation to women’s libertine role in Church and society, the feminists like Susan B. Anthony, Amy Levine and others critically outweigh the social positions of women and the context in which the texts are formed and the shift in reasoning that took place. The study brings forth the position of Paul in the epistles and the social identity of women within the Church of Corinth from the feminist perspective (V. Devashayam, 1993).

5.2.1 Saint Paul and women

Saint Paul led a ministry where women had an equal role to play in the missionary journey of the Church. The Rabbinic and Hellenistic teachings restrict other men to call a married woman by name except her husband alone, but Saint Paul is found to have crossed such boundaries by mentioning the names of the women disciples before their husbands (Priscilla and Aquila), and even recognizing their identity as women, and appreciated their work rendered for the sake of the Gospel. The letters of Paul charge the readers to maintain and restore relationships within Churches, but the epistles deal with the existence and stability of the Church. The Christian teachings that subjugate women’s demeanour, take a standpoint on Saint Paul’s writings. But when it is an issue within a Church, Paul ordered a sub-ordinate status as a defence mechanism and so his concern for subordinating women is partly exegetical, cultural and practical. Saint Paul was open minded to women taking up roles of leadership. The common term in Pauline worship such as co-worker, brother-sister and Apostle indicates the weightage the Apostle places on women’s leadership and engages them in serving as equals in the ministry and the Church. Eudia and Synchye worked alongside Paul with mutual empowerment. Priscilla, a prominent co-worker of Paul, alongside with her husband Aquila, worked independently with or without Paul’s authority. Phoebe, another important figure who received titles such as deaconess, and leadership roles, was also given a teaching capacity in Cenchreae. Saint Paul’s letters present prominent leading of women figures as deacons, preachers and leaders in the early Christian community who had the same function as their male co-workers. Thus it shows an egalitarian ministry in the early Christian communities.

5.2.2 Feminist Reading on Position of Paul’s in the Epistles

Fiorenza (1983) defined the term feminism a the radical notion that women are puppets in the hands of a dominant male, the prejudices a society has towards women, the ideological bias and heresy in particular The definition affirms women as full citizens and equal sources of justice without discrimination against them in every aspect of life. It challenges to bring changes in the structure of society and advocates equality. Saint Paul is the most discussed Biblical author while addressing women related issues as his texts are often read and misquoted and misinterpreted. Saint Paul’s teachings and instructions in regard to the public participation of women is determined by the cultural situation. The epistles that have been written in the first century, carries the teaching of Paul to certain aspects but with different notions. The sources of the epistles are assumed to have been Hellenistic and Jewish and it became part of the Christian tradition in the Post-Apostolic period through the Pauline school of thought. This created a literary form with the object to articulate the theology of women’s position in the Church and society, as the public participation of women’s in Paul’s time became problematic in the new Church Apostolic Age. The letters of Paul shows an egalitarian viewpoint towards women’s involvement in Church but the patriarchal outlook of the Greco-Roman society restricted the role of women and asked them to be in silent submission to the post-apostolic era in the Church. Dalter (2001) argues that the epistles of Paul are genuine in its approach and practice, in relation to the wrong imagery that some have about Saint Paul in regard to women’s issues. The other Apostles were instructed by Saint Paul, keeping in mind the patriarchal outlook of the structure initiated by Christ which was carried forward by the Church thereafter. Against the Old Testament, Jewish and Greco-Roman background, the existing reality of women was inaugurated by Saint Paul’s challenges in the epistles that women were given a due place in society, and were not restricted in any way in the Corinthian society, and the epistles clearly state the same. Within the Pauline epistles, women’s liberation was achieved by the Christian sculptors despite patriarchal influence and Roman, Greek and Jewish cultural strongholds. Women leadership in early Christianity was another dimension that held much value in the scriptures. It was believed that power could marginalize people or create an inclusive community as in the case of the Corinthian community. The patriarchal systems in the early centuries of the Church relegated the social behaviour of women. The epistles reflected the women’s religious struggle in Corinth for public space which limits them in the private sphere of their domestic life or culture. From the feminist point of view, the texts of Paul’s epistles restrict leadership roles for women and argue that the teachings were orthodox and primitive. The texts cannot be universal for every woman as it applies to the inclusive community of Corinth and the mutual participation of women in a particular community. Women’s social demeanour during early Christianity certainly had a better position during the Apostle’s time and Christs’ Ministry in the first century. One can say that the feminist understanding of Saint Paul’s writings endeavour to bring about human equality and they are developed on the basis of Biblical and Theological perspectives. Feminist Theology takes its roots from the traditional awareness that Christianity, as an institutionalized religion, has been formed by men. The male biased language of the religious texts centres on male hierarchy and put women in a subjugated and powerless state. The subjugation gives women a subservient role to play in the society of ancient Christianity but the scriptures of the religious texts (Bible) gives women a subsuming authority which depicts their identity from men. A re-reading and re-interpretation of the Bible from a women’s stand (voice) can promote gender equality in Church and society. The same would be the case with the community of Corinth and Saint Paul’s ministry in the first century.

The feminist’s perspectives on Saint Paul’s letters are an important element in exploring the consequence of the segregation of women in the Bible. The inclusion of a feminist standpoint is an attempt to promote woman’s equality in a male dominated interpretation of the Biblical scriptures. The fundamental message is to bring out that, women are created by God and deserve dignity and respect which is withheld from her from the time she is born a woman. Like other religious texts, the Bible is a product written during patriarchal times where hegemonic strength and dominance was prominent. The Biblical scriptures and texts are believed to have enforced this kind of patriarchy on issues related to women. It seems that the scriptures (religious texts, i.e. Bible) were written, canonized, and interpreted by men in the patriarchal society and the world. In order to bring out the true meaning of the Pauline passages a feminist understanding of Paul’s work is of vital importance to the study undertaken by the researcher. Women’s place in the Pauline letters are given sufficient representation by the author in the epistles.

The Greco-Roman society of the first century rarely gives women much role to play in society, even though it seems like the Church had a place to cater to their needs. The letters of Paul portrays his attitudes towards the emancipation of women in relation to gender, race, and class compared to his later letters. Saint Paul strived for equality for the sake of the Church. Christians have encountered a legitimate kind of freedom in applying the scriptures intelligently and framed a new social meaning to it which turned the Apostle into a male chauvinist, and therefore it became difficult for readers to grasp Paul’s position with regard to women. The active participation of women in Paul’s ministry determines his acceptance of the role of women in Church worship. His instructions towards women on certain behaviour correlated with the problems arising in the Churches through the assertion of freedom. The change on the position of women in the family and society from the household to obtaining high social positions may be for the understanding that Paul maintained an egalitarian position towards gender and women. The Biblical freedom gives to women in the epistles the view that the Apostle exhorts women empowerment. The rules gave women a full place in Church. It helps to seek better titles for women who were bereaved by the chains of culture and the misery of a sensual life.

The feminist’s study of the position of women in Church and the offices they held in ministry are seen as a common condition in Saint Paul’s age. Women in relation to her class, gender, and race occupied a marginally low position and were seen as secondary members in society. The Apostle was aware of women’s oppression in the scriptures, yet they failed to do much about it as their own women were slaves to the patriarchal culture of Greece. The leadership condemned the social positions and roles of women based on the fall. Such rhetoric limited women’s political power during Christ and Paul’s time, and carried on the legitimization of the hatred of women as maintaining the true identification of Church and the proclamation of the Gospel. The restriction on women’s dress codes and behaviour in Church was also connected with the economic, political and social power. The demand of Biblical authors for women to keep silent and submit indicates the role of women who could have been speaking with the Church authority and protesting for the thoughts of women.

The Biblical traditions become an important criterion in tracing the history of women and their social behaviour. It is based on the social positions of women being marginalized in the Jewish and Christian religious traditions. Feminists argue that women’s issues are meshed by the patriarchal cultural system and further view them from a women’s perspective. Women are excluded from leadership roles and the early Church fathers too became ignorant to the teaching of the role of women and forbade their roles as public teachers. Restriction of women’s participation may be one of the reasons for women to move away from mainstream ministry and leadership titles. Judaism carried negative attitudes towards women’s authority, and the Greco- Roman society was highly influenced by the patriarchal culture. Yet, certain rights were given to women in the Corinthian community. The Christian community in the New Testament, despite the patriarchal structures, advocated the dignity given to women, and also challenge and reflect the values and traditional roles for women of both Hellenistic and Jewish cultures which the Apostle didn’t support in his writings. With the authoritative restriction of the Apostle’s instruction, women’s positions had undergone a transformation in Church orders, which was applicable to the Corinthian Church as well. The idea of a gendered body is the main contention of Butler’s theory of gender performativity. She builds her argument by claiming that the treatment of gender as a social construct leaves one’s body as a sexed object of desire. The issue of gender and body can be seen in the way Saint Paul addresses issues related to women’s sexuality in the letters written to the Church of Corinth. The Corinthian community lived in a culture of sexual immorality which was seen as sinful according to the Church laws; the women would act as baits to the culture of the time and the appetite of patriarchal men in the first century. The women used their bodies in the Corinthian community to satisfy the society’s accepted behaviour which was considered as immoral according to Church laws. The idea of women’s performing their gender in accordance with the cultural identity set up by the Corinthian society was seen as a socially accepted idea. The behaviour of women in the Corinthian community was considered by Saint Paul as inappropriate for Church. He instructed them in the letters written to alter their behaviour and stick to the Church laws laid down by the first century Christianity. Butler’s treatment of gendered bodies focused on the inclusion of cultural impacts in the gendered person sexuality. The treatment of gender as a social construction of sex is seen in the way of women in the Corinthian community are asked to correct their behaviour which has been part of their culture for a long time. The use of their bodies for religious intercourse was considered a regular cultural norm in the Greco-Roman society, and this behaviour was considered an abomination to the Church and the Christian ethics set by Pauline Christianity. The use of Butler’s theory is significant to the way in which she explains that gender identity cannot presuppose sexed roles. The cultural norms of a particular society do influence an individual to act in accordance of what is conventionally accepted and understood as reality. In the Corinthian community the issue of gender was of prime importance as it challenged the prevailing structure of the Church and patriarchal societies which interfered in the accomplishment of spreading a gender-free religion. The instructions the Apostle imposed on the Corinthian women in order to alter their gender behaviour in accordance with the roles set for women of his time, led to question the status of women in Saint Paul’s day and time. This led women to stick to gender specific roles and identities which made them act out their gender in accordance with the Church’s idea of morality of the times. Butler’s theory acts as a powerful agent to bring out the ideas of bodily subordination which acts as an agency of power in women’s sexuality. The treatment of the body as an agent of subordination in the Greco-Roman male dominated society uses Butler’s idea of gender performativity to bring out the meaning of socially constructed ideas attached to gender, sexuality and one’s body. The gender identity of a woman’s body was an important dominant feature of understanding the way in which gender roles were written for women in the Corinthian Church of Pauline Christianity. The gender identity of women drew in an inequality for them which was socially and culturally determined by the Greco-Roman world. The Corinthian women’s biological identity was seen through her performative acts, which she would act either in Church as a silent voice or in the community as bait towards anti-Mosaic men of Greek society. The Corinthian women were slaves to the Law, the Church, society and even their own bodies. The theory of Judith Butler brings out the idea that the issue of one’s gender lies in a role play, it is crucial to the gender that one is, it produces series of effects. It consolidates an expression of being one’s gender. Being of a man or a woman is an internal validity; it acts in a way to produce gender norms so women act out their gender in a prescribed manner. The rules of this gendered behaviour is laid down by society and Church which are followed by women in every area of society and culture. The gender of the Corinthian women was culturally formed and they did not have the intrinsic freedom to be themselves; they were often torn between Church and society’s way of life. The idea of conformity to one’s gender is also seen as the most forceful restriction had on women was to act out their gendered roles in the Corinthian society during the first century Pauline Christianity. The instruction given by Saint Paul was to instruct women in the Corinthian Church to behave in a manner that was considered gender appropriate by the Church communities. The order given to them constantly reminded these women of their secondary status in society even though the Apostle tries to make the Church environment liberal for his day and time. The Hellenistic people were stereotyped in their view of women which made Saint Paul look like a misogynist, but even then the relevance of his teachings is considered in the socio-economic realm of religious and cultural contexts of Church history even today.

As pointed out by Butler, gender is a social construct, kept in place to check the behaviour of men and women in the patriarchal society. While Saint Paul did not discriminate among men and women when it came to giving instructions or disciplining the Church of Corinth, he too had to follow certain cultural and social laws that were laid down and followed in the Greco-Roman society of Corinth. Therefore, certain practices like the subordination of a wife to her husband or the covering of the head was kept in place, while he admonished both the sexes as far as sexual immorality and idol worship was concerned. Culture and religion are often coexistent; they influence each other. Therefore, most of his writings, even though written to address the spiritual concerns, often carry the influence of cultural norms, and thus, women as seen as secondary to men. While the Apostle allowed for women leadership, we see that there aren’t many women leaders in the Church. This was because the Church was still under the control of the patriarchal society which made it difficult to keep women as leaders above the congregation in a male centred society. Women were considered fit only for the domestic sphere; because of their lack of education, they were not qualified enough to be leaders. Also, depending on one’s socio-economic class, there were a lot of restrictions laid down for women who were mainly seen as mothers or caregivers. Since men were considered as the head of any social or domestic structure, women were prohibited from taking up positions of authority as it would bring disgrace to her family.

Women were not given positions of power in early Christianity. The first reason was because it was a male dominated society, and they were therefore considered as inferior to men. The second being that since the human race was destroyed due to the sin of Eve, women must not be given positions of authority in the religious sphere. A woman was never looked at in terms of her capacity and capabilities; it was always in terms of her body and gender roles. And therefore, we see gender biases being quite prevalent as a result of the patriarchal society. Women were given roles of temple prostitution and breeders of children, and yet women who were of higher classes had many restrictions put on their sexuality. Men on the other hand were expected to have sexual liaisons with many women as well as concubines for their own sexual pleasure, all of which Saint Paul speaks vehemently against.

In the various letters of Saint Paul, we see many instances of women as leaders in the Church, or as helpers and key apostles in the missionary journey of preaching Christ to the gentiles. Through baptism in Christ, gender hierarchy was dissolved to form a new humanity that was beyond gender. Everyone was considered equal in Christ in the eyes of Saint Paul. However, mistaken interpretations of his letters often lead one to believe that the Apostle was a male chauvinist and a misogynist, rather than a victim of the social orders which was prevalent at that time, like everyone else who came under the laws of the patriarchal society.

5.3 Sociology and theology

The two disciplines have a progression that enables a multi-disciplinary approach which brings sociology and theology on one platform according to Beteille (2001). It enables people in various disciplines to come to an understanding and conduct a comparative study of a religious subject from a sociological perspective. There exists a sociological approach to view religion. The idea of sociology to study the fundamentals of religious ideas, methods, and different subjects like race, gender and class draws a sharp distinction between two disciplines. Religion has been a subject for study and reflection for a long period of time. The oldest branch of study that is devoted to the study of religion is that of theology.

The sociological perspective on the Christian traditions leads to an enquiry which brings the two disciplines in a debate with each other. The philosophy of religion which now occupies the ground of Biblical studies is in correlation to the study of religion which is an important branch of sociology. The study of religion should not be rigid and stick to boundaries between the disciplines. Hume, a celebrated philosopher, writes that religion is mainly a historical evidence of events that has occurred in time. There are different perspectives through which one can analyse the way a theologian and a sociologist view society. The theologian’s concern is primarily with questions of truth and the rectitude of religious beliefs and practices, while the sociologist is more interested in the obscure, and describes and interprets the way in which religious beliefs and practices affect or alter society.

When we historically try to understand the contrast between theological and sociological approaches to study religion, it is no accident that historically speaking, the sociological approach came into its own with the decline of the theological approach. The study of religion could be governed by religious faith rather than scepticism and agnosticism. The sociological approach towards studying religion is more inclined to know about the culture of society, compared to a theologian who is interested about the divinity of a particular phenomenon. Now that one sees a comparative feature about the two disciplines, there is an important way to approach both the disciplines in a similar manner.

The collaboration between sociology and theology has never been an easy case for treating issues of women and gender related issues. There is a fine line in the way both disciplines view women’s issues. While sociological interpretations view the problems face by women in a particular community, the theological field looks at women’s place in the religious domains of society. The truth lies in what reality brings out through the sociological analysis, while theology would bring out the realities of social issues giving an explanation based on spirituality. The difference between the two disciplines is seen in the context of the letters of Saint Paul’s work in the Church of Corinth and the issues women faced in the gender-biased Church. According to the passages written by Saint Paul in the first century, the women in the Church of Corinth struggled to keep a distinction in the behaviour between the public and the private spheres of their lives.

The profession of sacred prostitution was a kind of religious worship that was customary at the time of the Greco-Roman society. Sacred sex rights and Babylonian customs for women in Greece considered engaging in such acts as part of their culture. Saint Paul struggled to keep the piousness of the Church morals, and the customary obligations of Greek cultures was seen as contesting ideologies. Theology would look at the morality of the Christian text by the sociological approach will view the women’s culture and beliefs merely as the norms of society. A woman’s worth was measured in terms of her sexual modesty in order to fit the norms of society.

In order to understand the cultural implications of society which pertain to a theological area or religious texts, we need to understand the relationship between the two disciplines, theology and sociology. There are three sociological approaches to the study of theology. One is the social context of studying theology, which means the theologian makes a claim on society or culture within which they operate, and they incorporate these claims into theology. Sociological analysis could provide the necessary rigor for the ideas of theology to pursue and understand a better social context. Another component of studying sociology would be to study the social determinants of theology.

It suggests a co-relation between social structures and theology. Theology views ideologies and beliefs which is a product of the social constitution. The techniques developed in the sociology of knowledge study the ways in which different positions are co-related to different social structures. The final way of looking at the relationship between sociology and theology is the key to a socially constructed reality. Sociology of knowledge acts as a social determinism between the roles that theology plays within society. Church historians have emphasized the roles of speaking theological ideas in Church which are shaped by religious and political events. The social significance of theology offers the disciplines in order to rate the social effects it has on both disciplines.

The praxis between sociology and theology is offered to study the social implications of society and culture in order to examine the positions between faith and practice. The praxis of theology and sociology distinguish social implications and effectiveness in order to produce knowledge to assess the positives of the two disciplines coming together.

The debate between sociology and theology is exercised through two branches of knowledge in order to bring out the social functions of the discipline. The sociological approach has a reasoned interpretation of practices, beliefs of a certain group or culture. In the community of Corinth, Saint Paul’s work in the Greek society reflected the social religious context during the first century. The women’s social settings in the epistles dawned and distributed in the atmosphere as they had to stick to the norms of Greco-Roman legislatives where women were tangled due to the socially constructed reality created by society. The social structure raised by the community disturbed the whole order of the community. Saint Paul’s Church, according to the theological perspective, had to deal with morality issues against religious ideas of Church leadership. However, in the sociological realm, the shift changed to the hierarchy of women that was considered as existing social norms and regulations of a particular group.

Theology would be interested to know the result of the author’s treatment (Paul) of women in the religious domain of the Church. Sociology would try to interpret the author’s ability to address the problems of gender bias and norms which belittled women within the community of the society of Corinth. The sociological understanding would view the social settings of early Christian women in the community of Corinth as being excluded from a particular strata of society as they failed to follow group rules and norms that were existent within the cultural context of the Greco-Roman society. This cemented the growing gap between the relational differences created within the two disciplines, and helps develop a religious paradigm within society in the social sciences. This orders exclusion for the discipline of a socio-religious world through the eyes of faith and religious conduct. The sociologically centred ideas of a particular cult within the context of society draws the fundamental difference between the two disciplines and provides the basic framework to be studied in the way they function together.

The study becomes relevant as it enables the researcher to understand the cultural implications of a particular religion has on women in the community, and to identify the gender stereotypes that exist in the religious text within a particular events in Biblical history, the functions of the way in which culture partitions the researcher to draw an objective analysis within the domain of Biblical narratives by Saint Paul who is the greatest contributor to Christian theology. The researcher will draw out the sociological insights of the way the women function in the community in order to conform to the existing social orders and group solidarity of the first century. The researcher aims to understand the way by which traditions of the Church pose a serious threat to women’s social status, and challenges the status quo of gender within the Corinthian society.

5.4 Social Values

Social values form an integral part of one’s culture in the society an individual lives in. Social values ascribe weightage and bring in stability in a particular order of society; they lay down the general rules for proper social conduct. Social values are rights given to an individual person, and it governs a person’s behaviour in a particular culture. Social values can be fundamental rights, like respect for human rights, property, and equality, and democracy which restricts or orders one’s behaviour in a particular manner. Values of a group bring out certain desired behaviours which a group uses to assess a particular individual. One can have group behaviour which governs a particular course or one’s daily living. Values are norms and rules which govern individual behaviour in society. Social values, with a realm of a social culture, get developed from the group interaction among individuals, and it is one of the main components of social structure. Social values formed within a particular culture objectify the culture and social conditions of behaviour which involves the sentiments and significance of a particular group.

The social values of a particular group comes to be formed, followed or judged based on the interactions of its members’ goals, ideas, emotions, and expected or anticipated behaviour. Values enable one to evaluate oneself and tends to bring out a certain kind of behaviour that is expected for the group such as values of honesty, purity, honour where an individual learns to conform to the group norms. Norms are a salient feature of social values; norms are specific to a particular culture and keep evolving as times change. Norms are rules for behaving in a certain desirable manner and are more independent of a specific situation. Social values may come to be a great reference point for a particular premise of equality which values to keep a certain criteria for accepting or rejecting a particular behaviour. Social values form the basis of unity with members of a particular group or cultures. Values bring in power and legitimacy and act like governing rules which are embodied within a particular group and are expected to be followed by a certain culture or community. Social values are considered to be understood in the realm of different people and communities within a particular culture. Cultures are part of some communities and it has a major influence on a person’s behaviour and attitudes, and serves as a socially accounted principle which governs one’s life. Social values are considered to be important as they reflect a person’s belief; they influence one’s thought patterns and govern a person’s behaviour in society. Social values are an important part of culture and society as the differences which values bring to one’s life changes one’s wellbeing and increases one’s behaviour for socially approved conduct. Social values form an integral part of Religion and Sociology, as they bring to one’s knowledge lasting beliefs and shared ideals, which is often seen in the particular culture or group as being desirable and having a lasting influence, and serves as guidelines in all situations. Social values are an important part of the culture of a society as they facilitate social control in governing the lives of people in everyday situations. Values are seen as governing concepts in a religious set up or cultural framework in order to pursue goals in different contexts and situations.

Social values reflect religious beliefs in different contexts and situations. Social values reflect the religious beliefs that one holds important to one’s mind-set or their views, which one perceives to be good or bad. The ideas of having strong religious beliefs and a conservative or traditional view on social values will effect a person’s religious beliefs. We can see this in the cultures of Greece where the religious beliefs were different from the cultural mind-set of the society. Saint Paul had to wrestle with the sensuous culture of the Greco-Roman society and the traditional and conservative ideologies of the Church, which pertained to certain social values which could deter or have an impact on the culture, or an individual of a particular group or community. In the Corinthian community, there were certain moral values like honour of the community, sexuality of a women, modesty and appropriate behaviour for women, and rituals which governed a group’s cultural orientation and marriage customs within a particular group, which distinguished and set apart the community from the rest. The social values of honour and shame, purity and pollution, authority and legitimacy, and structures, could define a certain role or issues addressed by the Apostle in the Corinthian community.

Social values brought out the social elements of morality in a particular religion to influence the governing culture of a particular community. Social values can be seen to influence the attitudes, and behaviour, which could include the morals and Church conduct of the particular community. The ideological and doctrinal principles given by the Apostle in his letters to the Corinthian Church brought out the social values which can be easily connected with the issues he discussed in the scriptures. Religious instructions given by the Apostle is about values which impact the Church doctrines, the status of women in the role she plays in the society and religious domain, and it helps to demystify the cultural implications values have on society and the way it creates a change in individual lives.

Social values influenced the cultural attitudes on gendered behaviour in the way in which societies and cultures have an impact on their roles. The oppression of women and the impact of gender roles within a particular culture have an impact on the values created by culture or society in order to make sense of their social world and the gendered behaviour of men and women at Church and in the society. Social values are an integral part of one’s cultural and religious framework, and it impacts the way religious personalities like Paul had to deal with the cultural divisions that impacted the Church orders and created chaos and disruptions during early Christianity.

Social values like honour and shame, purity and pollution, authority and legitimacy, etc. have a deep impact on the cultural values of a particular society. Even in the Corinthian community, these values were deeply imbibed as cultural strongholds within a particular society. It was difficult to wrestle with the way it impacted the early Church and especially the lives of women in the Greco- Roman world. Saint Paul indicates the deep dishonour and shame it brought upon the Church morale’s and conducts of morality within Christian ethics. Saint Paul tries to draw a distinction in keeping the purity of a particular community which is totally at risk when a woman indulges in sexual promiscuity and strays away stepping out of socially acceptable boundaries.

The Corinthian community supported male men being dishonourable and unfaithful even in the religious sphere, and did not make any qualms about it. But in the Biblical scriptures, Church orders and society drew a social worth of acknowledgment on a women’s character if she did not stick to her boundaries regardless of gender norms. Women were seen as symbol of shame and bringing dishonour or polluting a culture or community, which was not an acceptable or moral thing to do. This behaviour, when carried into the Church, was totally charged with the women’s prerogative of gender specific behaviour. Social values within religious, moral or cultural spheres were treated as honourable and prestigious. When it came to the ethical values of modesty, cultural restraint and sexual exclusiveness for women, the gender of her body and her representation and status within the Church, social values in the form of honour and shame, pollution and purity, authority and legitimacy etc. will assess the issues and tackle the different subjects of concern as Saint Paul raises in his earthly ministry in the congregation of Corinth. The importance placed on these social values greatly impacted the culture of the Corinthian society and the religiosity of the Corinthian Church that laid down strict Christian ethics for moral codes of conduct for women in Church. The social eminence placed on women with special reference made and given to her gender roles helps the researcher to show the double standards that were existent in the early Church with regard to the status of women in Church.

Women in the Corinthian community had a specific list to stick to in the name of giving them religious titles in the institution called “Church”. Even religious institutions like the Church did not spare women from placing value on them if they were considered as “good women” but were equally shamed if they served as religious prostitutes within a particular culture in time. Their husbands, serving as pimps or having concubines, were considered prestigious, wealthy and traditional within the androcentric attitudes laid down by the Greco-Roman societies during first century Christian era.

5.5 A Sociological Analysis of Apostle’ Paul’s instruction to the Corinthian community

5.5.1 Leadership roles for women

Women’s role in the Biblical scriptures was influenced by the androcentric nature of society and the extreme dominance of men amidst religious laws and the cultures of the time. The position of women in the Corinthian society of the first century differed from culture and religious laws of the Church. Christianity as a religion was born into a complex and syncretic world where the traditional role of a woman was known for the silence and subordination it ensured. In the real life situations of women in Biblical history, women were neither silent nor subordinated even though the Bible is a product of a particular culture and society which is highly influenced by patriarchy. Though the Biblical scripture in its nature and context are divinely inspired, it is quite influenced by patriarchal cultural values and prejudices of men who were deeply influenced by the systems of society and its functioning. It was a human writer who wrote down the systematic analysis of the religious texts which were influenced by the patriarchal cultures, it was developed in a culture entrenched by male knowledge values and ideologies. The tensions and conflicts generated by the social milieu of the New Testament writings in which Christianity and Saint Paul’s letters were formulated. Women were called to take up leadership positions even though the religious scriptures does not give prompt and key roles to women to exercise authority and power Saint Paul, by mentioning several women whom he considered as co-workers in the spread of the Gospel message.

Women were commanded to assume positions of authority in the Bible; the power of leadership roles given to women in the scriptures is marked by the Apostles’ tremendous respect and charisma for the women co-workers whom the Apostle considered as significant contributors in the early Church. Even though leadership is commanded to men in the scriptures and women are asked to submit to the authority of men, there is factual evidence in the scriptures mentioned in the New Testament which allows women to be chosen and be equal representatives to the Church and the Gospel work of Christ. The idea of authority and legitimacy is relevant to the leadership roles played by women in the early Church as authority is seen as a legitimate source of power. Power may be understood as the one who tries to control and bring in a change; it means to achieve one’s desired end, and one’s social behaviour of a person or a group to have control over others. Power in the scriptures can be seen in the epistles of Saint Paul where women are placed in authoritative roles like deacon’s Apostles and co-workers given authority to claim positions of power. The idea of power is seen in the context of women trying to find a space and exercise authority based on the titles bestowed to her in the socio-cultural context at the time of first century which was dominated by men, and women had no right to claim positions or to hold an office. The early Church, by an institutionalized way of patriarchal patterns of the Church structures, eliminates women’s leadership as main stream Christianity. Women’s leadership roles is connected with their class and status and the authority of women is defined from her social position.

The Apostle’s notion of equality in Christ is expressed in the form of subjective to the hierarchical order of the patriarchal family. A joint society demands the service of women and the power equally shared. Women are expected to play passive roles in the dominant cultural systems in the Church or society, and though the Biblical scriptures do not mean to subjugate to women, but it holds to exercise power and authority, and legitimate power in a way that women can be empowered. Women’s leadership role in the early Church was barely visible as it was strongly controlled by the Church hierarchy. Women’s leadership roles are seen in the social values of authority and legitimacy which are visible in the roles women play in Church. The mutual empowerment with women will give the women a new identity as equal partners by self-emptying oneself of power which is seen in the roles women play in leadership. Leadership functions as a call from within, it is called to not deprive others of one’s right of a certain imposition put forth by culture. Power and control dominate the Church structures and denies women their place in the Church. Leadership roles for women are given in order for them to be engaged from various and different substantial noteworthy roles in the early Church. Women were considered as Saint Paul’s equals, companions, and fellow-workers in doing the Lord’s work in the missionary activities carried out by him.

Women were instruments in bringing new converts into the Church and in building up the newly found Churches. They worked as Church leaders and participated in worship, prayer and prophecy. They were involved in various kinds of ministry such as teaching, evangelism, and social ministry. They were involved in house Churches. Women like Lydia, Phoebe, Eunice, Syntche, and Chloe played an important active role in the Church ministry of the Apostle and these were the chosen few who proved to be equally powerful and authoritative to the men. The leadership roles of the women can be seen in the community of Corinth played by strong dominant women suited for the Church roles and appointed by the Apostles. Leadership roles of these women can be seen as an authority and power being of legitimate value in the sociological realm of Paul’s ministry. The idea of authority was brought in by Weber where he talks about traditional charismatic and rational legal authority. These structures of authority can be seen in the way women in Paul’s Church were powerful charismatic women who were capable of handling positions of headship which was considered a man’s domain. Saint Paul found eight women who were given legitimacy and power as a sign of their leadership qualities in the Church ministry, irrespective of the culture and rationalist attitudes held by the Greco-Roman society. Women like Phoebe, mentioned by the Apostle, pointed out that many women who were unnamed played the role of leaders in the first century Church. If these titles were given by the Apostle and handed down to women in ministry, one cannot state that Saint Paul was against women’s leadership roles in Church. Even though there could have been cultural factors which prevented the Church fathers or early Church leaders from allowing women to minister a Church, clearly the Apostle allows and even commends these women to carry on the Gospel work even in his absence. Recognizing their abilities and encouraging women to be efficient leaders in the Church ministry was welcomed by Saint Paul during his missionary activities carried out during first century Christian era. These positions of power and authority as a legitimate form of leadership roles governed women’s status in early Christianity even though the early traditions of Christianity constructed its history on the cultural milieu within patriarchy. This assumption of culture was destroyed by Saint Paul by placing women as equal partners amidst the prejudiced myths and negative attitudes they had towards women in Greek society.

Example 1

Verse- 1 Corinthians 11: But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man.

Saint Paul blames the Corinthians for their carnality and divisions which divides the Church and instructs them how the situations in the Church could be rectified in the following way, Matthew Henry (1991), in his commentary on chapter 3 of the first book of Corinthians, blames the weaknesses of the human body and asked them to honour the human body by keeping themselves pure. The Apostle brings in authority when he talks about the verses that God has given authority to the man and explains the guidelines of women’s position in the Church by asking them to function according to the design given by God, describing God as the head of the man and man as the head of woman. The Greek work kephale means physical head or rank. It is important to note the true meaning of the expression when he brings it in the verse clearly saying God has appointed every man to be head. Taking into account their rank or order before God, this is reflected in Christianity and reflected merely in a way the relationship between a Christian woman and man will look at the term headship, not as authoritative submission but appointed authority in reverence and love. Some commentators take the position of headship that is reflected in the Christian scriptures in terms of hierarchy. The Bible never intended to view headship in term of hierarchy where a male gender displays its authority over the weaker women. The New Testament writings that man and women and husband and wife are considered as two equals were seen as a discriminatory factor in the Church of Paul. In the Church, it was respectable for women to serve in the dual function that adds to their total control. In the context that the Apostle is talking, the principle of headship within the Christian assembly would generally mean in the home. In the Church and beyond societal relationships, the word would mean in the Greek authentein which is to usurp authority or to entrust oneself over which strictly refers in the governmental sense, meaning God has not designed women to govern over man in the institution of the Church. It would also refer in spiritual matters that a woman is not to act in an official capacity as in authoritative figure over men in any sort of religious teaching capacity. Women in the modern world are allowed to take positions of authority over a man but in the sense that she finds herself in the role which she must be encouraged and have a desire over the scheme of things. It is important to know that man’s authority over woman is never a license to be rude or abusive to her, and this was applicable in all social relationships.

Ronald W Pierce (2011) in his article on the interpretation of 1Corinthians reveals that the Apostle spoke about the passages as parallels in gender, and that culture deviates and religion utilizes the authority of the scriptures and points out the unity between the sexes is an important aspect to validate authority given by God. His concern was that women need to exercise authority over themselves by keeping a reality check on their movements, and obeying authority given by God. Saint Paul was always concerned that men and women use their spiritual gifts with appropriate authority while presenting themselves in a manner that celebrates the uniqueness of their gender. The cultural markers for this would vary from time to time and place to place, but the principle endures even in today’s contemporary Christianity. Although the appearance is dictated by culture, many Churches are quite sensitive that it appears in the right context when it comes to women’s ministry in Church roles given to them. As a sense of authority which places power to their roles as women in Church gathering, it was customary for women to take up certain positions only if the male audience approved of it.

Example 2

Verse- 1Timothy 2:11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Women in the Greco-Roman period were primarily restricted to the domestic spheres and were not welcomed to receive any formal education. The passage is reviewed by the researcher on 1Timothy 2:11 through the lens of culture, and more specifically when it comes to women’s education. Most historians argue that the city of Corinth provided higher profitability to have access to education even for women, but due to cultural inhibitions and no support from the men folk, women were instructed to keep their associations to domestic chores and home activities. Saint Paul’s assessment of the situation in Corinth gave an insight into the way women in the Corinthian Church behaved, and indicated they were not educated during the first century Christianity. There was a need for them to legitimately receive instructions from their husbands in order to educate themselves or take part in any activities involving the men. Education was another element that was in the socio-cultural background of the New Testament writings. The women’s education levels were clearly reflected in Saint Paul’s writings, and therefore he directly instructs them to keep silent and forbids them from creating any disturbance which will disrupt the calmness of Church order. Women in the first century could not access formal education due to the cultural backwardness of that time. Women’s deprivation of education was one of the major drawbacks of Saint Paul’s stringent injunctions to the Church of Corinth. Another important factor was that education was a need for the upliftment of women but it was not made available to them. Women’s education was based on the race, class and social position they acquired in society. The chief barrier towards women education in the Greco-Roman society was that they were pressurized to work. Women had to take up any kind of ill-fated jobs in order to meet their daily needs. On the other hand aristocratic women were educated in the school of philosophy, and received training in sports and politics to a certain extent. James Riley (2005) states that women’s education during first century Christianity was attained for women to actively take their position in society. Women’s education was highly criticized during the time of Saint Paul and the formation of the early Christian communities.

It would depict that the Corinthian women portrayed a certain level of ignorance in the Church due to which the Apostle strongly writes for the women to maintain their décor in the Church orders. Patriarchy restricted women in enrolling themselves for a better education during the first century. A woman’s education was her voice of power and control for a better advancement towards life. The gender gaps are intentional, forcing women during the early Churches to remain distantly educated in exchange for a more domesticated livelihood. Education served as an antidote to prostitution which was an evident part of the Greek culture of the Corinthian women. Even though Saint Paul greatly encouraged the Corinthian women to take up leadership roles in the Church, the sexist mind-set of the congregation did not hold women in high regard, and seeking out the destitute women would lead astray number of former prostitute women in Church. Women had to juggle between how to educate themselves and survive in the old Biblical times.

Example 3

Verse- Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek nor slave nor free nor is there is male and female, for all are one in Christ.

Even though the Greeks saw women as inferior in their culture, this was an encouraging verse for them given by Paul with the same interpretation of the Old Testament and the Hellenized Jews and used in Paul’s writings to give authority in the same philosophical viewpoint that Paul opposes. Even though Greek philosophers Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates disregarded women’s sexuality and accepted their equality as a failing demand among sexes, women were always kept below men and lived secluded lives and practised slavery. The right of freedom belonged to men, and though certain writings of the scriptures were sensitive to women and cultural influences, they did not let the culture dominate their following of God’s order and decision, or their understanding of scriptures. Saint Paul was led by this same spiritual mind-set when he saw women’s place in God’s plan rather than under the submissive authority of her husband. She was not be trampled upon, but meant to play a complementarian role. He respected women in God’s given place in creation and knows the rightful place Christ gave them in the Gospels. Many of the Apostle’s followers and disciples were women, and they played important roles in the Church of Corinth. Gender equity is very evident in Pauline writings and verses where he mentions in Galatians3:28 when he overlooks race, culture, ethnicity, and sex, and calls for one and all to serve in Christ’s name and for the kingdom of God. The Biblical scriptures are crystal clear on gender equality, and that is evident in the Old Testament and the New Testament writings of the Bible, in the ministry of Saint Paul, and his Church. He elevated women’s status in the Church and religion, and culture tried to demand for them a second class status in society, and see them as objects of desire. They seem to men as though they are unfit and incapable of participating in the ministry. Women stayed with the Apostles and disciples at crucial points in their lives. This affirmed and gave them strength throughout the ages. Saint Paul preached the crucified Christ and oneness among Christians. This verse is path breaking for women as they found the Biblical scriptures fulfiling man’s calling to God, and the radical preaching of Saint Paul’s letters were life transforming. He states that all human beings were slaves to sin, and that God has bought us off the slave market of sin, redeemed us and set us right. There is a paradoxical equality Paul proclaims i.e. oneness in the body of Christ. The new found equality Paul gives, assures a new life that is in Christ, which is given through the redemption of sins by virtue of Christ’s death on Calvary. The verse stands for Biblical equality between men and women as they are equal in God’s sight. When it comes to Biblical equality, there is no confusion between gender and equality. The foundation of gender equity is not the ontological difference but a prejudice of difference between the sexes, of the roles they play in the offices they hold as Christians. The Bible doesn’t promote race, class, gender or colour, but the newness in Christ as Christians. In Paul’s Church, he welcomed women, slave, free; this was unusual under Roman law. One needed to maintain hierarchy and yet equal treatment was needed as well. The Pauline epistles were strictly egalitarian principles.

5.5.2 Sexuality, honour and shame:

Saint Paul’s view on sexuality is often understood in the light of women’s marginalization in the Church and society. The prevalent notions of sexuality imply that defilement of the woman brings shame to a particular community by risking the honour of men and their household. The Apostle dismantles the gender based distinctions that existed in the Corinthian community by promoting communal equality among men and women. Sexuality in the New Testament scriptures can be viewed as a sense of moral responsibility which an individual adheres to in order to fit into the traditional social and family values of their sexual discipline; women and men could not leave their social conditioning or be cut off from social inferiority by leading lives which did not fit in with the ideas of Christian chastity. This idea was mostly pertaining to women as the Christian scriptures shows more hostility to women if they go against the cultural prejudice of the times. Women were often labelled as bad and immoral by the early Christians. For the Christian aesthetics, maintaining one’s sexuality was always in relation to women having their sexuality controlled or restricted by the men in order to maintain the honour of men and not bring shame on the community. Women’s sexuality in the epistles of Paul’s letters were seen as making a clear demarcation between sexual immorality, celibacy, and marriage, where one was asked by the Apostle to marry in case one cannot stick to the celibate life of one’s professing faith. The idea of sexuality was more connected to the body and the idea of sin was connected to the soul. Saint Paul explains sinning against one’s own body with regard to fornication, incest, lust or bodily sins would mean to corrupt one’s soul which is the spiritual realm of the person’s identity. For women who engaged in religious prostitution which was part of a cultural identity in Greece, the Apostle instructs the community that women as men cannot be true followers and worshipers of Christ in case they are living in defilement of their body, as he considered the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, meaning the body was given to pay reverence to God and any sort of immoral doing or defilement would cause a barrier in true worship to God. The Apostle carefully creates roles for men and women to play and bring in change. Power in the scriptures can be seen in the epistles of the Apostle where women are placed in authoritative roles. In order for the women to stick to the cultural orientation of the Greco-Roman society without disrupting the Church orders, the Apostle claims that in regard to sexuality in the Bible, it is mentioned that women must be chaste and holy, considering that Saint Paul saw religious prostitution as a cultural evil prevalent in the Greco- Roman society. The Apostle felt that it disrupted Church order, destroyed the morality of a religion and created chaos in Church politics. Women in the scriptures always faced social and religious constraints if they did not follow the orders of the state and Church based on the prevailing social views and religious beliefs. Sexuality of women in the Christian scriptures were mostly related to protecting the honour of the particular community. In the community of Corinth, the sexuality of women was considered to be a serious issue of destroying Church morals and violating Biblical principles. It caused heresy in the Church practice of living a blameless life. The Apostle addresses the issues of sexuality in the scriptures where men had relations with temple prostitutes, which violated Church morals. He was trying to curb the confusion and disorder caused due to the mixing of cultural fads and sanctity of the Church, by drawing a line of distinction and stating that an individual had to leave their old life of pleasure in order to be a part of the new life. Since there were many religious prostitutes who converted to Christianity, the idea of sexuality was seen by the social value of honour and shame which was bound by male ideology and values in order to keep the community free from dishonour. Honour was seen as a socially appropriate in the areas of power, sexual status and religious ideology. Honour is a value that a person holds in terms of one’s self worth, or claim which goes along with one’s social acknowledgment of worth placed on an individual being. The society of the first century Corinthian community shared a set of beliefs, values, feelings, and meanings bound by power, sexual status and religious ideologies. The gender roles played by men and women in the Church of Corinth were ascribed to them by the culture and society, and the Church community. Honour of a person means to obey the principals and teaching put down by a social institution like a Church, family and certain values that a community upholds in order to preserve their honour. The men of the community often hold the women responsible for bringing shame and dishonour to their status, and the community as a whole. The reward of showing honourable behaviour was held in the highest esteem which bolstered the values of that particular community. Since the city of Corinth had women as sacred prostitutes it brought shame to the Church congregation, which clearly Saint Paul instructs the women in his letters. The women were held responsible for their sexual misconduct; even though men would go to these women for sexual favours, the Corinthian community shamed these women and held them responsible for bringing dishonour to that particular community. Even though he corrects the men for matters on incest, headship and authority, it seems that the Apostle is a bit laid back when it came to sexual behaviour of men which would seem to target an audience that was not interested to restrict the men privileges and enjoyment of sex. The ideas of control sexuality was always a reference made to women even though men were equal perpetuators of sexual misconduct. The women were held responsible for bringing dishonour to the community. The Apostle wanted to restrict this immoral behaviour in the Church by maintaining a Christian specific identity that was sin-less and moral. The Apostle defines the idea of honour and shame for liberating the newly found converts stating that honour in the Roman city of Corinth had a male face to it and had little to do with men being responsible for their voracious sexual appetites. The aspect of shame was mostly interested in holding the women captive as women were seen as subordinate, inferior and sexually promiscuous. Women were part of the religious prostitution which was considered shameful to the Corinthian community. The social values of honour and shame were primarily seen as a male matter in the patriarchal Greco-Roman society and shame was seen as a female matter as this behaviour was expected from women who were slaves and religious prostitutes and had a socially low position. Women were blamed for causing dishonour and bringing shame by dividing the community and causing conflicts and disputes in the Church and in the Corinthian community. The culture of the first century was agonistic to women and treated them as second class citizens; women were part of the slaves’ community and were involved in sacred prostitution in order to be part of the society’s slave labour. Women were expected to show socially accepted behaviour and be morally free from any kind of behaviour which brings in shame to the community. Saint Paul was re- defining the whole aspect of the way women’s roles could be defined in early Christianity. He wanted the newly found converts to change their lives of sexual promiscuity and be pious before Christ. The idea of having women be part of his ministry and give them a place in ministry proves that he did everything in his capacity to redefine their public status which would help women to regain their lost honour and obtain a respectable place in the Church and the community of Corinth. The Apostle’s strategies to deal with the newly found Corinthian converts was to draw a strict line of distinction of honour and shame so that male’s sexual behaviour would produce shame as equally as women’s behaviour would. Though the cultural situation accepted religious prostitution but held women responsible for the illicit behaviour, the Apostle made even the men accountable by instructing them to flee from sexual immorality and live their lives blameless and holy before God. The Apostle’s attempted to bestow the real honour and dispense the lasting shame on women which societies and culture held them responsible for; he attempted to counter attack the culture put forth by society with a set of values that were spiritual as well as restored women’s place and honour in the larger society.

Example 1

Verse- 1Timothy 5:3-6, 9, 11&16, “Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, and has been faithful to her husband. As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the Church be burdened with them, so that the Church can help those widows who are really in need.”

Women’s sexual purity was highly priced at, and any other kind of sexual misconduct was paid by death in the form of stoning or hanging during first century Christianity. A young woman’s virginity was considered as an important sign of purity and women who did not demonstrate hymeneal bleeding on her wedding night could be stoned to death for entering her marriage unchaste. Virginity was more valuable in the passages of the Bible during the first century and loss of virginity was regarded as a property damaged to the father or an interchangeable damage to the groom. Virginity was more valid in the marriage market than property goods of a person within marriage. If a wife allowed any other man other than her husband to have sexual relation with her, she could be put to death. The choice of men to have concubines and wives were possible but women were not given legal means to obtain sexual freedom the way the men did. At the time of Saint Paul’s ministry, this situation existed clearly among Jewish and Greco-Roman society. A woman’s sin was equated with adultery while men could get away scot-free. Widowed women had to constrain themselves after the death of their husbands. In case of children, they had to rear them up and be under the control of their sons. In case she had no heir she could not enjoy the joy of her youth; she must marry according to Saint Paul’s epistles. In the Greek culture they considered prostitution as a sexual outlet for men to enjoy freedom outside their secluded homes while no such privileges were given to women. It remained as a social institution which permitted men to have immoral relations outside marriage, there existed double standards for men and women caught in the act of adultery. The women were put to death by her husband and his family while men walked free. The Roman emperor Constantine, whose mother Helena built the Church of the Holy Sepulchers, was himself the son of his father’s concubine. When wives accused their husbands of being associated with other women, they reminded their wives that they were giving them a dignified status in society. Greek culture was more promiscuous than Roman culture due to the temple prostitution in Corinth, and it had an effect on the Church of Saint Paul’s ministry. Saint Paul stressed on the importance of sexual purity among unmarried women and widows, fully knowing the ongoing problem of the Greek culture. Prostitution was considered as an acceptable social institution in Greek culture and many former temple prostitutes were a part of the Corinthian Church. The sexual temptation and immoralities were some of the concerns that Saint Paul addressed, and it appears in the passages where he asks the Corinthian Christians to stay away from such temptations as Corinth was considered an ancient centre for sexual pleasures. While Greeks saw no wrong in patronizing a brothel, Saint Paul encourages women and men to walk in the love that God has called them to receive and forbids them to walk in the ways of sinful life.

Sexual immorality of men is not a new phenomenon but is visible in all societies. Women’s mischievous ways were not tolerated and she was labelled by society, men, and other older women. Even in Biblical times, the issue of virginity and purity for women was important for her economic and social standing in society. The sexual behaviour of women is determined by her social status in society even today. Widows and unmarried women are still controlled by their fathers, brothers, and sons in the name of maintaining religious purity. Religion and men both are responsible to control women’s sexuality to a great extent, be it in any religion like Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism the women’s body is seen as a powerful force to bring upon honour or shame to the religious community and their men folk, so the scriptures and the religious priests, institutions make it difficult for women to be unruly or free as the men especially in issues of sex. The control of women and her sexuality is seen as an important aspect to be honoured and protected by the men. Indian religions and cultures are diverse and have always influenced the way people live in this part of the world. Religion has been a very dominant influence in marriage, choice of marital partner and cohabitation. The present paper looks at various religions in India and their influence on sexual attitudes and the institution of marriage. Sikhism, Jainism, and the traditions of the Parsi community’s faith with its influence on sexuality and marriage are reviewed. Christian values and the role they play in shaping sexual notions as well Christian marriage traditions are explored. The paper also looks at the influences Islam has had on marriage and sexuality and ends with a feminist perspective on women and sexual attitudes towards women.

Example 2

Verse- 1Corinthians 3:16, 17 – “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

2 Corinthian 11:2 - I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.

J B Lightfoot (1985), in his commentary on Saint Paul, discusses the standards of Biblical purity for unmarried men and women. Pre-marital sex is a detour from the divine plan for physical intimacy. It is never God’s will for a couple to give themselves to each other before marriage. The passages in the epistles discuss the matter of the purity of the heart which can be maintained only if a true believer keeps oneself free from bodily defilement of sins. The Bible teaches young people not to compromise themselves in order to meet one’s sexual contentions but enjoy a pure relationship within marriage by making a wise choice and guarding one’s heart from any kind of sexually intriguing thought before marriage, as it would destroy the couple’s future physical intimacy. Many a times, men’s sexual struggle and temptation often lead to their sexual urges being satisfied, but when it comes to the women’s freedom, her desires are caged. The Biblical scriptures testify that God created sex to be enjoyed only in the context of marriage. Many times Christians resist the temptation by resorting to other means of relieving their sexual tension. But the Bible states that if one looks to God, these thoughts would not even figure in the first place, and their deepest desires would be satisfied as one begins to read the scriptures and find the infinite pleasures that exist in God. The Biblical scriptures help men and women suppress their sexual desires by drawing closer to God, meditating on his words. In the above issue, serving in ministry as well as exercising faith and praying will help a person return to the true love that God has for a person’s life and not fall prey to the emptiness that the human life and body has to offer. Many people think that the notion of purity only applies to women but it applies to men, older people, women and children, and unmarried widows as well. The more one grows in purity, the more one draws closer to God. Finding true love in God and not falling prey to the world’s system of desires will help to maintain purity of heart and body.

From the sociological perspective, studies point out that Biblical purity was a cultural custom of looking at sexual immorality as an impure thing, and in Saint Paul’s time, he addresses the issues of women which deal with sexual purity and virginity stating that a woman should be pure in character before being betrothed to a man, but more importantly, she should be pure as she would be presented to Christ as his bride. British anthropologist Mary T Douglas offered to look at Saint Paul’s passages in the general language of clean and unclean, and in the specific forms of Jewish and Christian scriptures, the analysis looked at purity in terms of bodily defilement and cleanliness in terms of spiritual perfectness before God. The issues of purity and pollution are other cultural markers, and an important aspect in order to descriptively approach Saint Paul’s passages through a sociological interpretation of women’s sexuality. The notions of purity are replicated by Biblical concepts of cleanliness and holiness before God. Saint Paul struggles with the related issues and states that Biblical purity for women in the scriptures is an important issue and must be followed. He describes sexual union before marriage as being polluted and bringing in an unclean spirit. His need for control over the bodily matters mirrors his urging need for control over the Church matters which sets the social background of the letters to the Corinthians and brings them in a state of holiness before God. This helps explain Saint Paul’s dedication to unity and wholesomeness of bodily life. He also labels people who drive Christians who commits acts against the purity of the body as ‘Satan’s angels.’ Example 3

Verse- 1Timothy 1:10- The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.

The Biblical scriptures condemn same sex marriages as immoral and unnatural, and it is an abomination to the Lord. It is a shameful act, and it is believed that homosexuals will have no place in the kingdom of God. Since it is not God’s will for a man and man or woman and woman to have a union, he created male and female for a sexual union. The passages of the scriptures clearly define that marriage is only considered between a man and woman, as it is a sacred union for a lifetime primarily for the process of procreation and providing a stable family. The Bible alone doesn’t discriminate between the need for heterosexual relations, but the Quran and Bhagwat Gita state the same as well. The Biblical scriptures’ viewpoint on marriage has been universal in understanding marriage from the period of human civilization of history. Psychology states that emotionally and physically, men and women fit perfectly well, and children born out of heterosexual relationships are well-adjusted to the physical environment. The Bible, history, psychology, and nature, all argue for marriage between man and woman is the one of the most common successful myths created in the constructions of society; those which are anything opposite to it are labelled as religious bigots. Most religious institutions are opposed to having same sex couples as part of their local assembly. The scriptures say that homosexuality is immoral and unnatural, and the only way to normalize is by using religion as a justification to work against the idea of same sex marriages. The equal space given to same sex marriages is when the traditional set of hetero-sexual relationships are done away with. Christian families stand against the rule of gay marriages and give the Biblical context as a reason to it. One doesn’t have to be an evangelical Christian to recognize marriage between a man and woman as a correct order of marriage. According to Biblical scriptures, gay marriage is against God’s will and bad for his people. A practicing Christian cannot contain the idea of a same sex marriage. Saint Paul could not condone this great a sin so addresses it through the use of religious doctrines. The Apostle clearly states that as Christian, one needs to stand for truth and justice, according to what God has revealed in the scriptures even at the cost of being persecuted. The Apostle condemned homosexuality and same sex relations. He believed that one cannot go against nature in their sexual orientation. Saint Paul clearly condemns homosexuality and same sex marriages; he also condemns the temple prostitutes who were not living in accordance with the Church orders. Saint Paul uses the words just, dishonour, unnatural, etc. to degrade individuals and totally view the same sex relations as godless and immoral. Saint Paul says that homosexual behaviour is immoral, unnatural and against God’s desire for heterosexual marriage. It causes man to abstain from the natural sexual compliment God has originally ordained for man since the beginning of creation. The Apostle’s view was deeply influenced by God’s view and Christ’s idea of marriage.

The understanding of the same sex marriage constitutes a significant threat to the wellbeing of it being a social problem. There is a need for people to talk about it as a bigger issue, though society does give approval to same sex marriage as a matter of an individual consent and preference, for a very long time religious orders like the Church didn’t give any open acceptance to this form of marriage but in today’s changing times, it seems to be an accepted fact. Religion stands against it, upholding the morality and sacredness of heterosexual relationships. The researcher questions whether individuals should maintain traditions that foster social cohesion and social solidarity among religious institution or allow the individual liberty and freedom to choose one’s way of life. By constraining the individuals, one makes them to adhere to society strongholds of moral beliefs which is more fixated by religion.

5.5.3 Incest, Purity and Pollution

In the Christian scriptures, people are labelled as unclean and polluted in regard to contamination of the body. This defilement is caused through disease, sin or body waste and fluids (semen or periods) which was considered to be the cause of a person’s contamination. In the Christian scriptures, a person if found with a contaminated body is claimed to be unfit to stand and worship God in the Sanhedrim or in the Church. A lot of emphasis is given to the body as it is considered a holy space where the Holy Spirit resides in a person. The wholeness of one’s body is seen as a prerequisite for performing tasks in places of worship. Even a priest is considered unfit for performing tasks in places of worship, if found with any bodily defects. The body is seen as a point of contact which can disqualify a person under the laws of religion. In Christianity, the notion of bodily lust in the form of sexual sins like fornication and incest is considered to be an extremely serious form of defilement. The social value of purity and pollution is dealt along with the issue of incest in Saint Paul’s letters to the Church of Corinth when he was informed about a man sleeping with his father’s wife which was considered as the worst possible sin that could be committed. The Apostle’s writes that not even the pagans practice such unholy behaviour. The acts are considered as sexually immoral and an ongoing problem which polluted the Church, and was considered a taboo in the Greek society. It came as an equal shock to the Jewish society as such kind of sexual relations were considered a dishonour to the Jews. The Apostle describes this as a cultural and religious pollutant which affects the purity of the religious laws laid down by the Church. Incest was considered to be defined as the crime of sexual intercourse or cohabitation between close relatives where even lawful marriages were prohibited.

According to the laws in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament, incest was a taboo that existed in situations where there was no one to carry the legacy of that particular generation. In the letters addressed to the Corinthian Church, Saint Paul marks the social boundaries of the body by asserting and emphasizing on purity within the religious conduct of Christianity. The idea of sexual purity was accepted to be a rule which secured the social boundaries for the communities of Judaic and Greek societies.

The Apostle forbids sexual impurity which is caused by having sexual liaisons with close relatives or family member, and insists on creating a community which is pure and holy. The Apostle abhors illicit sexual connections and any kind of incest, fornication or homosexual behaviour, or the equation of irregular sex among the Corinthian Christians. He asks the Corinthian Christians to maintain their purity which would not infiltrate the religious codes of purity and pollution for one’s community. The social values of purity and pollution can be seen as clean and unclean as it was a necessary social practice to maintain the sacredness of the community. According to the cultural situation of the time and place that he was writing in, the Apostle laid down rules related to purity dealing with the issues of sexual immorality and incest which occurred in the Corinthian community.

The rules of purity dealt with the issues of impurity which created an unclean spirit in the Church amongst its members. The culture of Corinth was so sensuous and pleasure fulfilling, that even Saint Paul struggled to maintain harmony amongst the recent converts. He instructed the community to change their immoral ways and not cross their boundaries of religious purity which were set by the laws of religious sanctions in the Church. The behaviour of the converts caused religious abominations in the eyes of a particular faith (Christianity) during the first century. The rules of purity laid down by the Apostle, dealt with the system and orders which created social boundaries of exclusiveness and inclusiveness for the Corinthian community. The early Christianity of Saint Paul’s ministry set rules which preserved the purity of the community. The notion of purity and pollution is very relevant to the issue of sexual immorality and incest that took place in the Corinthian community as Saint Paul immediately asked the couple to reform their behaviour or leave the Church.

The author of the epistles wanted the communities in the Church to stick to the earliest traditions of the rules of purity which was applicable even during early Christianity. The social codes of proper conduct for men and women restricted their behaviour in the Church and society. Saint Paul was a firm believer in the rules of purity in conduct, and authoritatively instructed the converts to follow a behaviour which was morally prescribed by the religious laws of the Church.

The Apostle stressed upon the idea of purity to be maintained amongst the community, and always emphasized on the need to remain pure. The Apostle believed if one did not maintain the sacredness of one’s own body, one would not be able to achieve a relationship with God, and therefore stresses that the communities adopt holy lifestyles by consecrating their lives to the work of God and spreading of the Gospel message. The considered the rules of purity to be relevant to the distinctions between clean and unclean, stating that one’s body is a temple which is a sacred place for God to dwell in, and a sanctuary for Christians, who should therefore maintain cleanliness of the body and purity of one’s soul, which can be only achieved if a person flees from the sins of sexual immorality and conducts oneself in an appropriate and holy manner, so that the individual can have a relationship with Christ.

Pauline Christianity draws a relative sociological framework with regard to the values of purity and pollution related to the issue of incest and immorality taken up by the Apostle during the early Church. The notions of purity and pollution are always seen in the aspect of a particular culture which is known to defile or keep the sanctity of the purity rituals of that community. The teachings of Saint Paul, to his gentile audience in Corinth, were closely related to the rituals of purity. His notions of maintaining purity enabled the Church to prosper in the sacredness of faith. In the formation of the community at Corinth, the behaviour displayed by the people made them social outcasts, which forced the Apostle to mark the rules of purity which included the sacred-non sacred exclusivity for Christians who had to develop and share the complexity of purity structures in the Christian Churches.

The Corinthian Christians had a strong tendency to pursue a lifestyle that was morally contrary to the purity of the Church. They came across as proud and boastful and arrogant before the Church leaders and religious heads. They were puffed up and self-opinionated; the culture was an additional pollutant which made the issue of incest even more difficult to deal with.

They were lax and cold in their faith, and with regards to moral questions they simply took the case of fornication with levity and arrogance. The moral purity was not maintained and instructions were put forth by the Apostle in regard with maintaining Church discipline, and instructing them to change their ways which would about bring a sense of religious morality and help the new found converts to stay in line with the religious rules of purity laid down by the Apostle. The social values of purity and pollution were able to smother the gender stereotypes laid down by the morality of religious teachings. Women and men were given instructions to follow in the Greco-Roman society as there was a certain gendered conflicts affecting the congregation and in order to alter their behaviour, he set up rules of purity so that the culture of the time wouldn’t pollute the morals of the Church.

Example 1

Verse- 1Corinthians 5:1- It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.

John Walvoord (1985) states that the Corinthian Church was caught in acts of incest and adultery and wickedness of behaviour. Therefore, the Apostle states that widows and divorced women should marry rather than burn with desire or create sexual immorality in lives. Saint Paul made specific arrangement for widows in case they did not have any relatives to take care of them or assume responsibility. He allowed their services to be used in Church and paid for their work to sustain their livelihood. Financial and family status was a primary concern for widows in Saint Paul’s ministry. If a widow was left with young children or was under the age of sixty years, the Church would help and give charity in order to help and run their lives. Widows were accorded a place of honour in the early Church as they were to teach their younger women the ways to maintain a home, life of Church, and ministry. The work of women was connected to the ministry during the time of the early Church. Divorced women’s sexuality was another major concern in the early Church of Paul’s ministry. Divorce was forbidden by God and hated in the Old Testament of the Bible. It was not allowed in any case other than adultery. Jesus, in the New Testament (Gospels), clearly states that men and women should stay clear from divorce even though allowed for divorce almost on any ground. It was only the man’s right to prohibit or grant divorce. The historical circumstances were very different in the Greco-Roman societies and Jewish cultures, and Christ’s idea of divorce was the same. The culture at the time of Saint Paul was also the same. Even though Christians, divorce, and marriage for women who were widowed, were part of the teachings in order for no immorality or adultery to take place in Church. He encouraged women to marry, widows and divorced women, even though she could not marry as it was against the law. In case she married, she will be termed as an adulteress. The only solution, according to Christian law, would be to give her life for the services of the Church and to God.

The sociological perspective states that women empowerment emphasized the invisible position that they had in Christ, which elated their standing in society by suggesting alternatives. The teachings were far superior for the times that one lives in. It brought about a significant change in the status of women by giving more freedom in terms of choice. This emphasis put down by the Apostle on sexuality of widows and divorced women keys the researcher to a proper understanding of women’s status in the Church of Saint Paul’s ministry, which was exceptional and ahead of time. During the first century Christianity of Paul’s ministry, even though the patriarchs of the time were unhappy about the drastic changes brought about to women’s position in Church and their role in public congregation, this did not deter the Apostle from writing the letters upholding the values and likeness of thought which was similar to Christ. Teachings of divorce, marriage, and women’s issues were discussed in early Christianity. These teachings changed the status of women in the early Church and brought about a more egalitarian position approved by the Apostle, even though he is blamed for being against women’s active leadership roles and giving them a fixed status in Church and society in early Christianity in the first century A.D. The idea of a naturalistic family was very evident in the social acceptance of family among the Biblical times. Family was seen as an influencing factor in religious institutions of the Church. The notion of family introduced by Giddens, he describes the way in which family influences individual behaviour, the aspect of a naturalistic family was seen as the only way acceptable amongst religious mind sets.

Michael Foucault’s Theory of Sexuality (2012) describes the concept as a social construct which is used as a link between power and knowledge. His main focus was to reject the repressive ideas the western world and society did not talk much about. He states that sex is not sensual and erotic or an issue of morality but a normal issue which can be discussed as a non- taboo issue. The discourse on sexuality can be seen as a supporting queer theory and on issues related to body, sexuality. His works are seen as the most respective and highly regarded works done in this particular area. Foucault addresses how Christianity changed the Western view of sexuality and partnership not only from a moral stance, but also from an ethical stance: it will be said that Christianity associated sexuality’ with evil, sin, the Fall, and death, whereas antiquity invested it with positive symbolic values. Or the definition of the legitimate partner: it would appear that, in contrast to what occurred in Greek and Roman societies, Christianity drew the line at monogamous marriage and laid down the principle of exclusively procreative ends within that conjugal relationship. Or the disallowance of relations between individuals of the same sex: it would seem that Christianity strictly excluded such relationships, while Greece exalted them and Rome accepted them, at least between men. While it may initially seem that Christianity completely radicalized sexuality, Foucault posits that there is actually a continuity between “paganism” and Christianity in terms of the discourses of sex.

Matthew Henry (1991) addresses the epistles of 1 Corinthians, confronting the immorality in the Church. It was reported that Greeks enjoy all sorts of sexual freedom outside marriage. The scriptures comprehended all these issues of unlawful relationships which made the Church accept these conducts. The New Testament writings include the sin list of the first Christians which struggled with these issues, and after the Apostles’ repeated warnings, still found it difficult to be restored. The Greek culture clashed with the ethics of Christian values. Sexual immorality was an accepted fact of life for a common person in the Greek culture, but not for the followers of Christ. The word “to have” (Greek- cuphemism) would imply to endure sexual relationships as a passing fantasy which was a part of the Greek civilization. Apostle Paul understood the incestuous relationships that was a taboo even among the pagan cultures. The Corinthian Church Christians were puffed-up with pride, and when found out, their behaviour seemed to be casual. The Apostle addresses the moral problem as they were not walking with God, and their own life kept disrupting new converts. Corinth was a city notorious for sexual immorality and these pagan religions did not value sexual purity. It was not difficult for the Corinthians to be immoral but it was difficult for them to be religious. The Church of Corinth tolerated sexual immorality, and accepted it with an open mind in all dealings besides the sexual sin of the body, the other sins being drunkenness, gluttony, greed and the pleasures of this world. The Apostle, through his letters written to the Church, asked them to turn away from their adulterous way of living. They should avoid familiarity and fornication that the Greek culture offered, and advised the Church to keep pure in mind, heart as well as body. The Christians’ conscience should be purged from all kinds of malice and wickedness of the Greek societies. The Apostle claims that love is the essence of Christian faith and the fairest image of God. He urges the Corinthian Christians to experience the great beauty of Christian living by being sincere in leading a sin free life. He advises the fornicators to change their lifestyles, as it did not fit with the sacredness of the word of God and the belief systems of the Church. The Apostle Paul tried to address this ongoing problem during the time of his missionary journey, by mentioning the hideous sins that men committed by living a life that made them a troubled congregation. The Apostle loved the Church and its people, but he detested the life of sin that they were part of in spite of their conversion. He orders the Church to correct their wicked ways and follow in the ways of Christ, because they were liable to receive judgment from God

P. Edgell (2006) states that in the 1950s, religious boom was organized around the male- breadwinner lifestyle in the burgeoning postwar suburbs. But since the 1950s, family life has been fundamentally reconfigured in the United States. How do religion and family fit together today? His work examines how religious congregations in America have responded to changes in family structure, and how families participate in local religious life. It is based on a study of congregations and community residents in upstate New York, sociologist Penny Edgell argues that while some religious groups may be nostalgic for the Ozzie and Harriet days, others are changing, knowing that fewer and fewer families fit this traditional pattern. In order to keep members with nontraditional family arrangements within the congregation, these innovators have sought to emphasize individual freedom and personal spirituality and actively to welcome single adults and those from nontraditional families. Edgell shows that mothers and fathers seek involvement in congregations for different reasons. Men tend to think of congregations as social support structures, and to get involved as a means of participating in the lives of their children. Women, by contrast, are more often motivated by the quest for religious experience, and can adapt more readily to pluralist ideas about family structure. Edgell concludes, this may explain the attraction of men to more conservative congregations, and women to nontraditional religious groups.

Sheila Vaughan (1995) examines the contribution of cultural sociology to the understanding of religion from a critical perspective. First it examines and summarizes how three Weber, Durkheim and Marx see the nature of religion as a cultural form. It then looks at various recent theories of religion under globalization. The author then assesses the contribution that these cultural theories give to the understanding of real religious phenomena through examining whether they can help in an understanding of Islamic fundamentalism. The sociological perspective looks at the influence of culture on religious institutions, and its dominance on the beliefs and practices which influence religion in a tremendous manner. Culture influences ones beliefs and morals. When people living in the Greco-Roman society were strongly influenced by the culture of the times, it impacted the religions which they professed and it impacted their lives. Most cultural expressions of the Greco- Roman societies influenced the Church of Corinth to a great extent. The cultural expressions influenced the faith of the saints. Culture is a fad with the changing times, and the Church adapts with the cultures. It dictates the behaviour and influences their thinking. The strength of religious beliefs wanes overtime in the Church of Corinth. Apostle Paul was asking the Christians to mend their ways but cultural influences were creating a rift in the practices of their faith. The influence of culture deeply impacts the practices of the Church even in today’s contemporary Christianity.

5.5.4 Marriage-Kinship pattern and group orientation

The idea of marriage in the New Testament scriptures was seen as holy during the Apostle’s ministry. Marriage was considered to be an important element in uniting two extended families; the reason could be for a legitimate heir to the throne, war, peace, or to carry on the legacy of that particular community or race. Marriage in the New Testament scriptures was held in order to glorify God and bear legitimate children, and was part of the Biblical traditions in order for the race to have a new lineage and for another generation to progress. Marriage was ordained to be monogamous by God but as centuries passed it became polygamous. Marriage was done to make alliances in order to expand one’s labour force to sign peace treaties, and was equivalent to a political and economic institution of society rather than a sacred and sanctimonious institution. Marriage was seen as a process of creating ties with another kinship group and this would regulate interactions with other groups; they are often rooted in the expression of having one social unit. Marriage is a union between two people and is in a relationship with the kinship norms which one can divide into four categories. The selection of patterns done by the parents, and the marriage bonds are created by the community. Marriage with close kin within the family and marriage outside the community was prohibited. The social interactions covering the kinship norms were always created within communities and cultures. Kinship and marriage is attained through biological interactions between groups and create group orientations within particular communities. The social interactions challenge the strategies created by the communities and group norms in order to maintain the kinship rules ordained by that particular community. Marriage in the first century Mediterranean world created symbols which brought the families together for solidarity between the groups. During the first century Christianity, group solidarity was considered to be a specific feature of Greek kinship patterns. The New Testament as a whole is the most widely used in battles of kinship patterns and struggles in the scriptures. Kinship patterns are defined as rituals, norms and cultural practices which are seen throughout the scriptural verses. Kinship is one of the most important institutions of culture. Kinship is like a religion and language which brings out the symbols in human relationships. The Apostle’s letters unveil the cultural institutions of the Church, family, marriage, etc. which bring out the dynamics of society, and kinship relationships are thus sustained in a particular culture. In the letters of Saint Paul with regard to marriage as an institution, it lays down certain ground rules for the kinship norms to function with the social and cultural relationships which are rooted within cultural boundaries. Kinship patterns within marriage are said to create special bonds and ties within an individual community in the groups. In the socio-cultural context of Corinth, there was bound to be conflicts within a particular kinship group with regards to inheritance, wealth or illegal sexual relations. The solidarity and co-operation can be prohibited or restrict marriage within the kin unit if an alliance is formed outside the kinship unit. Kinship, within the institution of marriage, has certain patterns which are required to be followed, even in the city of Corinth, on which certain incest taboos were levied by the Apostle on a certain couple within the community. In the New Testament, the list of prohibiting sexual partners within close kin or marrying, which included father, mother, brother or sisters and their children, was not allowed. Saint Paul’s letters state that within a certain community, marriage between blood relatives is forbidden. In the chapter of first Corinthians 5:1, the man is forbidden to marry his stepmother upon his father’s death. This would indicate that somehow she is related to him by blood. Even in the New Testament scriptures of the Gospels, a man was not allowed to marry his divorced sister’s children which again was indicative of some sort of blood relationships. Marriage according to Saint Paul was regarded as monogamous marriages, and accepted within the kinship groups outside incest limits. Even in the first century Mediterranean world, marriage among the Greeks were mostly monogamous but there was marked preferences for keeping daughters as close to the conjugal family as the prohibitions of incest permitted. Among the New Testament scriptures, within the epistles, cross-cousin marriages were tolerated. The most important and specific features was loyalty within the descent to mark the kinship ties which created economic, political and religious awareness among the kin. Saint Paul was aware of the traditions and customs, being a people of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, zealous for the law, and a Pharisee. In order to make known his strong kinship ties of where he belonged to, what depicted that kinship was an important concept with the writings of Saint Paul’s letters. The society of Corinth gave special emphasis on family, traditions and important kinship relationships within the group which maintained solidarity of special relationships among individuals. The incest taboos are considered as the core of kinship systems as much as restrictions on sexual partnership. It creates cultural differences within the religious and societal frameworks. The incest taboos give rise to the kinship patterns among individuals, as there exists the idea of having intercourse within one’s close kin (clan). The kinship patterns of a group or community is a universal institution and so is the kinship, as Levi Strauss (1969) states that each incest taboo is a transition from nature to culture within a particular community. Kinship within the system of cultural differences, which creates group solidarity and identity, is known to be a special feature of kinship systems in order to sustain the culture of the community. The Bible promotes a detached idea from traditional kinships patterns which brings out the roles and status passed on to one’s kinship position within the group orientations of one’s culture. An individual’s race, culture and ethnicity, as well as genealogy is formed based on the kinship patterns revealed in the Biblical scriptures. Marriage was only a form of knowing and craving one’s idea of individual sense of belonging to a particular descent or group within the first century Mediterranean world. Example 1

Verse- Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honoured by all and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

The passages makes claims by the Apostle that marriage vows and the sacred union of two bodies and souls is sacred before God. The Corinthian Christians found that this instruction of Saint Paul was very orthodox for his day as the city was considered as a city of pleasure. His position took a stand against the immorality that was prevalent in the city, and was against his religious standards. Corinth was a city filled with temple prostitutes who were in the service of the worship of Aphrodite, and thousands of courtesans were attached to the temple. The worship of Aphrodite at Corinth was seen like the worship of Aromatic at Ephesus on the eastern worship under a Greek name. Christians in the Corinthian Church were perplexed with the interference of Greek culture in the Church. It is not surprising to find out that matters considering marriage were some of the vital problems that the Church of Corinth struggled with. Sexual immorality was so rampant in the culture that an honourable institution like marriage was taken for granted. Some of the issues at Corinth evidently urged the prohibition of all sexual relations even in the sphere of legalizing marriage. Marriage should be honoured by all and the commitment between the two should be kept with full honour in faith. The authorship of Paul’s letters was elevated to having love for the brethren, the standard of love was found in the Greek society and the comparing of love of a Christian husband and wife with self-sacrificing love for Christ along with the Christian insistence on monogamy surpasses the standards of Greco-Roman and Judaic cultures in society. Saint Paul begins to conclude in his letters with general exhortation and instruction as he addresses the issues of marital faithfulness in the scriptures. The words of Saint Paul are valuable where he sees marriage as a sacred institution, and one must honour it as it was ordained by God. He also states that one must practice sexual morality within marriage and not engage in adulterous relations outside marriage as it is important for a Godly marriage to be the foundation of Church and society. It is extremely important that love must be practiced at home within the family and that they must also teach their kids to attain Godliness and aim to be good human beings. Christian couples must guard their hearts against sexual infidelity. To restrict sex within marriage was a novel idea to many living in the first century. Very often, men would go to temple prostitutes and courtesans to fulfil the counter cultural idea of marriage. In a society like Corinth, attaining moral purity and godliness was the distant sign of sexual promiscuity, and the Apostle strongly considered that kind of behaviour as part of Greek culture. He strived to instruct the Church on the importance of sexual purity in marriage, and the counter attacks of sex before marriage was an easy getaway in Greek culture. Saint Paul states that the Christians would dishonour God if they do not conduct themselves in a worthy manner that pleases God or do not keep up with the standards of sexual purity.

Even in a society like Corinth, the sacred institution of the Church was infiltrated with temple prostitution and that was considered as a religious sanction during first century Christianity. Greeks often viewed women as objects of their sexual desires, and even attained complete independence in doing so if the culture within Greece found it acceptable to practice polygamy and sexual immorality. There was a contradictory view between culture and religion as both counter attacked one’s beliefs. Keeping in mind with the fashions of the world, early Christianity battled the sexual chaos within the Church in order to bring in order and control within the boundaries of Christian thinking.

5.5.5 Attire, Dress code, Head coverings

The concept of attire, dress-code and head coverings are of vital importance in the letters of 1Corinthians. Saint Paul considers these issues as extremely concerning in the congregation of the Corinthian ministry during first century A.D. The women were expected to be draped in modest attire. Women in the Jewish and Greco-Roman world were living in a patriarchal society where attire and dress were seen as indicators of a woman’s modesty. The issues of head-covering was not only seen as a cultural mandatory requirement during the first century Pauline writings in early Christianity, it is also seen as an essential need among women in order to access public places. The veils among the Jewish tradition used by women were seen as wore in market places to keep the honour of the men and have more freedom to move around freely and access places with ease. The religious tradition of head-covering among the Muslims and Jewish women are seen as a sign of modesty and act of faith to their religious requirements also to honour their husbands and to maintain their purity as women. Saint Paul laid down certain restrictions on the way women should dress keeping in mind the culture of the particular society. The Apostle instructs the women to dress in a way that pleases God, but modest in appearance so as to not cause shame and dishonour to the head which could be their husband or father. Women feel convicted to show their husband their covering so they had to dress in a way that would not dishonour him. The modesty of women in covering her hair was seen as giving respect to her head as hair was considered a sign of sexual attractiveness. Women had long hair and braiding the hair with ornaments would add an element of beauty to it. This attractiveness should be reserved for her husband only, and so women were asked to wear their head covering so that it was not flaunted or distract attention in Church. Head covering was a practice in the Greek traditions where women were restricted to the domestic sphere. Women wore veils and covered their head if they wanted to go to the market places, or if they did not want to be seen by other men and relatives. Another aspect of Saint Paul’s instructions to women was that women needed to cover their hair when they enter the public sphere, giving honour to her husband. Women were expected to not have faddish hairstyles in the Church. In order to not violate Church policies by disrupting the order, women were asked to pin up one’s hair if not veil it. Saint Paul wanted them to cover their heads and not show off their fashionable hairstyles in Church. Having her hair led down and uncovered meant bringing dishonour and shame to her husband and his household. The rules for preserving honour and shame are due to the mind-set that these were caused by woman to man causing threat to his worth or status. In order that his manliness should not be lost, honour of his social precedence was considered of utmost value. The honour of men in the Greco-Roman world especially in the Corinthian community was a common value which emphasized on a women’s sexuality as her female exclusiveness. Honour could be increased or decreased depending on the woman’s behaviour in public worship. Honour can be acquired or ascribed. Ascribed honour befalls or happens to a person passively through birth, or family connections, or adornment of power. Acquired honour is actively sought and gathered, most often at the expense of one’s social status. Women’s attire of head covering and veiling was a Greco-Roman custom adopted by the Christians writers of the epistles. It was followed as it was relevant to the idea of honour and shame of their community. It would mean that walking without the head covering or proper attire would mean to be bare headed, and it was seen as a sign of social respect for the man as he might have to be shamed or humbled by the uncovered hair of the woman. The Corinthian Christian women’s uncovered head caused offense and shame in the Church of Corinth. The uncovered head was the traditional garb of prostitutes, and therefore, Saint Paul states that in order for society not to distinguish between the immoral and virtuous women, all women must follow the rules of head covering and veiling. Their dressing style indicated that a woman who uncovered her head was dressed in the traditional garb of prostitutes. Women dressed in overtly bright dresses and gaudy colours indicated that they belonged in the service of the temple of Aphrodite. When women moved around dressed in the attire that was associated with some of the morally disreputable members of high society, it always indicated their character and brought disgrace to the rest of the community. Another aspect was that they indicated their reputation of being high class prostitutes who solicited men at the gates of the temple. The head covering distinguished wives from prostitutes as women would never go without their head uncovered. Women that went unveiled in Saint Paul’s time were thought to be pagan prophetesses. The issue of dress, attire, head covering, and veiling was relevant to the social values of honour and shame as women were humiliated if they were seen to be without proper attire which was a public sign for her outward modesty. The issue of head coverings caused divisions in the Church of Corinth. Men were prohibited to have long hair as it was against Jewish and Christian laws; it was considered as a sign of rebellion. Women were even supposed to participate in worship with their head covered as it was a Greek practice that women were supposed to have a head covering in any religious functions. Saint Paul gave no instructions to men wearing head coverings but confronted women’s dresses by charging women with specific ways to maintain the modesty of the community. Hence, they were instructed to be veiled at all times. Women refusing to wear the veil meant that they were being flirtatious and seeking another man. In the Jewish and Greek cultures, the most desirable aspect of a woman was considered to be her hair. A woman, uncovered in her attire, was seen as sending an open invitation for other men to lust after her. The issues in the Corinthian Church was a clash between the cultural values concerning modesty and Saint Paul’s need for maintaining a religious order in the Church. The more liberated elements within the Church caused Saint Paul to wrestle with the class conflicts that were prevalent in the society, especially in the powerful communal ministry of the Apostle. He persuaded women to cover up in order to maintain the honour and save the community of Corinth from being shamed.

5.5.6 Meals Rituals, Gendered rituals, and social behaviour in public worship

The ritual systems in Christianity carried an important significance in the lives of the first century Pauline Christians. Geertz states that rituals did not merely denote ideas or religious beliefs in particular concepts of religion. Rituals were a symbolic act which displayed the sacred symbols in order to synthesize the worldview or ethos of a particular community. In Christianity, the use of these rituals were held as an array of visible beliefs in particular religious forms of faith in God. The rituals in the Christian assembly were central to the worship ceremonies that took place within the community. The Christians in the Pauline Church, who were baptized converts, gathered for common meals. It helped the Church with the communalized rituals, actions, and questions in the form of gendered rituals which were described in the letters of the Apostle. The meals sacrificed were considered as pagan customs, due to which Saint Paul said that partaking these meals caused disruption in the Church of Corinth. Rituals, according to Durkheim, were a method of perpetrating being framed in society, where the actors are in a rigid space in God but he felt it was necessary for the society.

Durkheim (1963) called it a performative ritual in order for primary information to be carried to a community or group, and this is in the case of Pauline letters hold true. Saint Paul looks at the face of social problems caused in the community of Corinth. Disorderliness and inequality amongst the community members was seen in the Corinthian community. The food offered to the idols commends the Corinthians to become a stumbling block to the weaker Christians. Saint Paul was of the belief that mostly temple prostitutes partook of the meat or passed through sacrifice purposes. Such food was prohibited for the partaking of the meat. These rituals were used by the Corinthians Christians to gather for the common meal meetings. The common meals were the central rituals where a solemn assembly is ordered for the purpose of expelling the members who has violated the sexual taboos. Saint Paul prefers that the Church of Corinth works towards rituals that don’t make distinctions between the people, food or customs which dominate a community mind-set. The community of Corinth was permitted to clearly behave in a manner that reflected the charisma and stimulated group solidarity. It increased the prestige of individuals, which then creates or undermines roles and marks the occasion as one of solidarity which hints at the gendered nature of rituals that are found in the letters. The festive meals that took place in the Corinthian Church were common rituals as a breaking down of the gender distinctions between men and women. Saint Paul uses these rituals of meals to bring out the gender distinctions that was existent in the Corinthian community. The Apostle brings out the social conditions of the Corinthian communities to understand the social interactions in the passages. The members of Church were the hosts of gatherings and would provide food for all. The conflicts were due to different standards of behaviour between the status-specific expectations and the norms of a community of love, and solidarity which entails strong boundaries. The Apostle used the traditional language of the meals to bring out the gender rituals to warn off the participation in pagan-culture meals which would be considered as idolatry would not be tolerated in the Corinthian Church. Saint Paul argues that a Christian cannot partake at the same meal with the likes of prostitutes. Saint Paul uses the rituals to enhance the internal coherence, unity and equality of the Christian group. The passages discussed the exclusion of the idolaters from participating in the cultic meals. Saint Paul is exposed to see the symbolic early pagan butchered meat served to the Christians who have a spirit of indifference which is made into a ritualistic symbol in the public sphere of the Church.

The Christians in Corinth conformed their thought and freedom to participate in the macro-society which did not upset the harmony and development of the Christian community. Gender rituals within the Corinthian community gave importance to the religious rituals like meat-eating which is established in the traditions of gendered behaviour that was existent during Paul’s ministry. The gendered rituals reflect the importance it placed on men and its women to assume their roles and conduct their behaviour according to these religious rituals. Through the religious rituals, the person’s gender is re-affirmed, which indicates the equality or oppression it created between the sexes. The cultural rituals would be masculine or feminine in particular which would make the writings as the traditional beliefs about gender through the roles played by men and women. The gendered rituals of meals partaken in the Corinthian Church clearly showed the reinforcement of the gender through these rituals. Christianity as well as Judaism emphasized on the importance of gender rituals in religious ceremonies. The rituals create parallels for both genders. Nevertheless, they continue to exist in order to define the role of gendered rituals even in the religious communities of the Church.

Example 1

Verses- 1Timothy 2:8-10 - I desire therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission

The Apostles instructions in his letters to the Church regarding the women’s attire, state that since these things distracted men from concentrating on spiritual matters and women ended up comparing and quarrelling, this behaviour divided the Church, states Bristow. By asking women to dress modestly with braided hair, gold, pearls, etc. but professing Godly characters. The Greek word aidous means respect and reverence. Saint Paul admonished Christian women to choose clothing that does not attract too much attention or of excess value but choose clothes in good judgment and moderation. The Apostle states that he was not against pearls or gold but forbids the practice of braiding. This could have been a regular Church service by keeping these cultural practices at bay. J B Lightfoot (1985) states that at the time of Saint Paul, female prostitutes used fine art, cosmetics, jewellery, and adornment. It was one of the practices of women to attract men to immoral ways of life. This weakness initiated a divide in the Church. In the Greco-Roman societies, people who attended the Corinthian Church used these excuses to sexually charge the whole lives and follow the courtesans’ lifestyle. In the Greco Roman society it became a new nuance to colour their hair, and wear gold, and follow the traditions of the Greek society. Saint Paul warned the women in the Corinthian Church not to adorn themselves as the courtesans or with nearly expensive jewellery as they could be termed as immoral women. The Apostle was not against expensive jewellery and a particular lifestyle of adornment, but by doing so it depicts the early life of the courtesans. Ruether (1998) said women need to adorn themselves with grace and faith. Reminding them that the most beautiful aspect of a woman is not in appearance or attire but in her gender role and love as a Christian woman. Saint Paul faced another protest in the Church of Corinth in regards to the head covering stating Jewish women wore vales bound their hair and in case the hair was unbound and free-flowing, it was regarded as a distinctive form of nudity. If a woman had her hair left down in public, she was seen as temple courtesan soliciting men. Women were supposed to cover their head as a sign of modesty and humility. The Bible gave importance to women’s length of the hair and the garment. Jewish women’s head covering, known as tallies, was customary in the Old Testament. In Biblical times, this covering brought significance to their husbands, her standard to the world and his purity to the woman was seen as having vital importance. In the Corinthian Church, during the period of early Christianity, harlotry and slave labour was seen as the law that shadowed the Apostle’s time in the Greek society. Corinthian women (Christian) had to exercise their modesty by veiling themselves. In the Old Testament, veiling in scarfs were considered as a sign of shame as these women would sit at the temple gate soliciting customers for daily business. In an attempt to have a changed life, these women came to the saving knowledge of the Gospel in Paul’s message and the head covering and hair styles was a part of the Corinthian Church.

The Apostle gave women a maintained dignity and gender equity that was part of the Church, keeping in mind women’s status in social and economic independence. By caring for the character of women, and knowing very well the attitude of the Greco-Roman society towards women during the first century Christianity, customs have changed and it is no huge difference that women in Paul’s times covered their head according to the specified instructions that were given to women in the Church of Corinth. Even today the Pentecostal or Latin-rite Churches have veils as a customary obligation for women to partake in the service. The culture did not stop in the Corinthian Church but has flowed into contemporary Christianity. Prostitution took an organized turn in Corinth. Influential men discouraged women’s education. These women were viewed as inferior and uneducated in Greek Society. This stopped them from political participation but Saint Paul gave women a role to play in religious matters which was not surprising, considering that these women were female temple prostitutes. These women get minimal opportunity for education and express it to other women. This was one of the reasons of the Corinthian’s women lack of education in the first century Christianity.

Example 2

Verse- 1Corinthians 7:7 “I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that”.

Walvoord and Zuck’s (1985) comments on women’s use of spiritual gifts in the Church of Corinth, causing a hindrance in public worship. In the passages, the Apostle addresses a spiritual superiority by having men prophesying and preaching, while women were to learn in the silence of their homes and ask their husbands at home rather than murmur in Church. The Apostle was a champion for the liberation of women, and was not against women’s teaching. He just wanted men and women to be sensitive to the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit, and not create a divide in the Church. He revealed that the greatest of these gifts was prophecy, but he defined that the Church needs to have order. Therefore, most of all, one’s gifts should edify the Church. The gifts of speaking in tongues were considered as spiritual superiority even though it was associated with the verbiage not all could understand. Some were of the idea that it was the language of demons as all were not equipped to speak in tongues. The Apostle was not against anyone using their spiritual gifts and gender was never a question in exercising spiritual gifts as long as it brought glory to God. Spiritual gifts would include prophesy, teaching, preaching and speaking in tongues; this was ordained by God and given by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Many Corinthian Christians were involved in the ministry, and they were functioning in the ministry which made them use their spiritual gifts. The Apostles declared that spiritual gifts in the Church could be used as long as it is a blessing to people in the Church. The person using that gift is also accountable to God. It is also a matter of personal stewardship. It is a benefit to that believer, and also a great help to the Church. One should exercise a spiritual gift that can be a blessing to others, and it helps to discuss the will of God for one’s life. The whole choice of one’s secular life depends on putting one’s spiritual gift to use and it will be valuable in God’s sight. It is important to know the will of God in one’s life and understanding their spiritual gift which could be part of their lives. Apostle Paul says that the spiritual gifts are given to know God’s will, and his given capacity to function in that gift; it is not given to benefit the individual personal use. In order to be a blessing to the congregation, one should use one’s spiritual gift in a desirable manner. Self-edification and gifts of language are important and essential in the life of a believer as mentioned in the scriptures. Spiritual gifts are given to the believer by the Holy Spirit and they could differ from human talents and abilities that result in spiritual fruits. Spiritual gifts must not be confused with natural talents, neither should it be divorced from natural talents. The capabilities we have is given to us by God. Even our spiritual gifts are given to us by Him. We can never produce and deliver eternal fruit when we use it for our own personal use. It does become blessed and reaps benefit when our gifts blesses the Church and God’s people. Gifts are exercised in order for ministries to have individuals who can create blessings in the life of others through their gifts. The Apostle Paul emulates such people in the ministry. The Corinthian Church confuses spiritual gifts with spirituality, they spoke in tongues and they thought that it made them superior. Even if they did not possess the gifts, the Corinthian Church was a talented Church, but they were also carnal in the New Testament. They possessed intelligence, spirituality, knowledge, etc., but the Apostle defines all these things as vanity if does not use these things to serve God and put God first in everything. He ends on a note suggesting that spiritual gifts are needed in order to serve God and to make his purpose known in the life of others, and that one must strive to be a blessing and be blessed rather than to live in the vanity of the things and the pleasures that the world could offer. Spiritual gifts are given to be a blessing to others. The sociological analysis of the passages would be that both men and women are blessed with abilities suitable to their individuality as they are both biologically and sexually different. Talents and abilities can never be differentiated by sex and gender; they are inborn, and are few are developed overtime. Men and women have different abilities and strengths which complement each other in their lives. There is no distinction made between men and women in the Biblical scriptures. If the difference is found, it is due to the mind- set of the society which is strongly influenced by patriarchy. The Church of Corinth had members who were gifted in their abilities and talents, yet they needed to be instructed to use them in a correct manner. The prevailing attitudes, practices, and preaching concerning gifts and talents used by women and men in the Church not only conforms to the culture of the society, but also determines the social roles handed down to men and women that shaped their attitudes. This was recorded in the Church of Corinth and the Apostle had tried to create order by instructing women and men to use their gifts and talents wisely, so as not to overpower and cause division in the Church, but use the gifts in an honourable manner by being a blessing to the Church congregation. Christianity has been effected by the gender debate brought out by religious feminists who believe that women’s abilities are underestimated in the domain of the Church, and that male clergy and older women are responsible for and contribute to this dilemma. The Biblical scriptures state that though women are different than men, they are both equal before God. The gender difference caused by these verdicts and cultural domains influences the Church to challenge set doctrines for women’s place in ministry. God created men and women in his image; women are seen as equal in her position in God, seen in dignity and respect. The complementarians believe that women are gifted and full members, and that they have the potential and spiritual maturity to function in their given roles in Church.

5.5.7 Temple prostitution in Corinth- Religious morality versus cultural orientation of the community

Women in ancient Greece performed acts of sacred sex in the temples of Aphrodite as a ritual which was part of the culture. The women who served as temple prostitutes within the Corinthian community were also slaves in Greece who later refined their lives with the messages of the Apostles. Sacred prostitution was known to be a cult in terms of sexual rituals performed for religious worship. These women engaged in sexual intercourse with the temple priests, men who visited the market places, and travellers who crossed the trade posts. The city of Corinth was said to be known as a traveller’s paradise as one could escape from the drudgery of life and could come in contact with the sensual activities that the city had to offer; it was deeply embedded in the culture and society of Ancient Greece. These women were mostly slaves, and in order to rid themselves from slavery it was believed that if one dedicates oneself to God in any form of worship, they would be eventually free. Prostitution in ancient Corinth was seen as an influence of many cultures by which these temples came to be known as houses for these courtesans. The culture of Greece (Corinth) encouraged the practice of sexual rights throughout the far east where women would compel men to have intercourse with them, and as part of their disdain to mingle with the rest of the men, drive around the temple in a trance like dance covered with gaudy outfits and a lot of jewellery, having their carriages covered along with a variety of attendants at their disposal. These women would be seated in the sacred plot of Aphrodite with crowns of rubies and precious stones. There would be a passage line marked through which men would make their choice and throw money into the women’s lap and have sexual intercourse with her outside the temple, and whatever the sum of money offered, these women could not deny their services as that would be an insult to the Gods. This custom of ancient Corinth infiltrated the sanctity of the newly formed ministry led by Saint Paul as many women became part of the Church and still continued their lifestyles. This raised questions in the Church with regards to the religious moral values of the Corinthian community of Paul and the culture of Hellenistic Greece which sought to look at the idea of temple prostitution as ritualistic sex in order to please the pagan gods. This diffusion of sacred instructions given to the Corinthian community defiled the sanctity of the Church and the pious beliefs of the first century Church. The cultural interference of Corinth was brought into the Church by these women who did not leave their previous life. The Greeks exposed women to all kinds of cults which were considered as sexually immoral by the Christian assembly of the first century. They included dowry, prostitution, sexual copulation which was seen to be the culture of Corinth as a city. The city was known for its reputation of loose morals and offered sinful pleasures; the temple was rich, it contained about ten thousand temple slaves who acted as courtesans who serviced the hordes of sailors and sea captains who were hungry for sex, and this came to known as the sacred brothel of Corinth. The Greek court was considered as a delight for every man who passed the trade court of Corinth. These were the cultures of the times during which Saint Paul had to build the ministry teachings and the doctrines of Christ and the Church. He was strict and instructed the sex-obsessed women prostitutes freely roaming around to curb their instincts as it was effecting the morality of the Church, and consequently, effected the newly found convert’s faith in the religious institution of the Church practices. He forbade the cultic rituals to be part of the cultural traditions of the Church which drastically effected Paul’s Christianity. The Church continuously struggled with the issues that took place in the Corinthian community since its inceptions. of The work of the Apostle began during the early centuries, and it became a constant struggle to uphold the religious morality and stride alongside the cultural orientation of Corinth, as the city was widely sex obsessed and had a reputation that could not contain the cultural fashioning which created a clear demarcation ground for the Corinthian Christians to trade on. R C Sproul says that Saint Paul instructed and urged the Corinthian women to veil themselves, as the temple prostitutes shaved their head or even wore their hair short, even though it was customary for women to cover their heads and failing to do so would identify them as loose immoral women. It was more of a cultural custom for the city of Corinth that harlotry was part of their ritualistic traditions. The Apostle warns the Corinthian Church that sexual immorality would not be tolerated in the Church. He says that one’s zeal for knowledge of culture will lead one to commit sin. Saint Paul was not against the culture of ancient Greece, but he certainly did not allow the traditions to be part of the newly found Church. Though he accepted the women who were former prostitutes, he rejected the cultural traditions they carried of their past into the new lives they have assumed in Christ. The focus of Paul’s letters was not to represent the cultural orientations of the city but to bring out the true meaning of the Church’s morals, the people’s (converts) faith, and to mark the advent of Christianity in Corinth. The shrine prostitution of Corinth was not the prime focus of Paul’s condemnation of the illicit sexual, immoral, cultural practices in which the illicit sexual practices in worshiping the fertility goddess lessens the slave life of the Corinthian courtesans. The Apostle ridicules the idolatry of the pagan gods and the worship of cults. Even though he understands that it was a part of the pagan religious life, he does not allow it to be part of his new found ministry. The Apostle makes it very clear that it is un-permissible to let this behaviour of pagan religious worship continue in his Church as it brought sin to the teachings of Christ and defiled the morals of the Church. The Apostle agreed that sexual appetite is good only in the context of marriage, and he stressed that the Corinthian Christians were victims of their own sexual desires as they continued to live in sexual immorality according to the Corinthian community practices. He reminded the Church that they are members of Christ himself and when they become believers they are joined with Christ so any defilement of body would mean destroying the temple of God. The Corinthians dismissed the importance of sexual immorality on the basis of cultural orientations, stating that the body was more valuable than the souls. Saint Paul taught that the physical union with the prostitute will make a person to be inconceivable before Christ. He also taught the Christians that joining oneself to the prostitute, being one with her body through sexual intimacy will directly reject the teachings of Christ, and being allowed to be participants in the sacredness of one’s body for the Corinthians soul was higher than the body. So matters of bodily sin such as sexual immorality was insignificant. They did not want their soul to perish. Saint Paul saw the body not just as a temporary matter but as a permanent shell, and he influenced the Corinthian Christians to change their behaviour. The Apostle identifies with Christians in their human nature, but he does not encourage and allow them to partake in their sins. The Apostle strongly asks the Christians to refrain from physical intimacy outside of marriage and asks the Church to stay away from the sexual sins of the body. The Apostle was not discussing the cultural issues as he knew that was existent even before he embarked to set up the Church of Corinth. He did not want the cultural orientations of Greece to interfere with the religious morality of the Church. The new Church converts stepped into religious idolatry that were pagan in nature. The ideas of sexual immorality was borrowed from the pagan religions of the Greek society which traded it to be more difficult for the Christians to follow the Christian moralities of the Church. The Apostle tried to explain the vile sin that made the converts to be fornicators before the word of God. He requested the Christians to flee from sexual immorality as it would help them grow in the Christian life and would be able to rightly relate to God and Christ. The Apostle’s instructions to the Corinthians were written in the letters addressed to the Corinthians, and dealt with the issues of the Church that were influenced by the social setting of the city. The religious morality effected the cultural orientation of the place in Corinth. The Apostle instructs the Corinthians to pay heed to his advice, or else they would fall prey to sin and defilement of body, soul, and spirit, which would not lead them to be blameless before God. The issue of moral codes in religion even in the likes of Christianity and legitimization of the Apostle’s instruction to the Church governs the ethics given to a particular religious groups. Moral codes seek to regulate the situations which can give rise to interest and influence the person’s practices. The conduct of a person’s behaviour in society is often linked to one’s religious beliefs, and his/her social and environmental conditions. The same was in the society of Corinth, where the cultural orientation effected the religious behaviour of the people who were part of the group. The sexual restrictions of the Apostle was seen as a need to address the proper roles for sexuality in the Church. Different religions had different codes of sexual morality which regulate sexual activity or assign normative values to certain sexually changed actions and thoughts. The view of the religions and their beliefs range widely from giving sexuality a negative connotation to believing that sex is the highest form of expression of the divine. Some religions distinguish between sexual activities that are practiced for the need for a particular culture to function and some in order for a particular religion to have its dominance. The same was with Corinthian culture; sex was seen as a part of their culture which was practiced for pleasure. It was considered as immoral by the Apostle as it was seen as promiscuous within the Church of the first century. The Apostle addresses the issue of temple prostitution with regards to the religious practices of the Church order during early Christianity.

Example 1

Verse- 1Corinthians 8:13- Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Matthew Henry (1991) begins his commentary by stating that Saint Paul’s restriction to the Corinthian Church was restriction on food offered to idols, as he believed that food offered to idols possess the kind of knowledge that is undesirable and influences an individual’s personality to a great extent. Knowledge makes people puff up and swell with pride, by partaking of the food they would give more reverence to the other god than the God of the Bible. As pointed out, earlier Corinth was a city of immoral standards and there were many aspects of rituals and cultures which affected the Holiness of Saint Paul’s ministry. He felt the food offered to idols was not unacceptable to eat as they were offered to other gods. The Biblical scriptures teach and practice monotheism of one God, which also infers a true worship to Christ. By partaking of the food it would be considered a sign of weakness in the Christian faith. Things offered to idols were a custom for heathens to make feasts of their sacrifices. They usually kept this food in the temple and even the temple prostitutes partook of this meat. This was also another reason why Saint Paul restricted the Christian brethren from offering meat as it was considered inauspicious. The meat was sold to the market places where poverty-stricken people would then buy this meat. The Apostle said that the meat brought in a knowledge that puffs up and makes ones prideful. The conscience of the person who partakes of the meat becomes weak and defiled. Therefore, he asked all Corinthian Christians to not partake in the meat offered to idols. Saint Paul’s instruction to the Corinthian Church brought a sense of discipline, and they began to get convinced of the immorality and sensual pleasures they were part of, and changed their ways of living. The Corinthians were of the opinion that eating meat served to idols was no harm, as their lives were more profane than merely eating the meat off heathen’s tables. Saint Paul said that whoever ate from idols had no divinity in them. The gods of the heathens are not real, and there is not many but only one true God says Saint Paul. All things are of him and it is a privilege in knowing that Christians the true God. He tells the Corinthian Christians that those who partake of the meat offered to the idols, become weaker Christians. He tells them to abstain from eating the meat as it causes them to be polluted in the flesh. Another reason to blame women for the contamination in the flesh is if they partake in the food offered to idols. Idol worship is not permitted in Christianity, and so anything offered to idols becomes unholy for them to partake of. The Apostle tries to make a clear distinction between idols being part of heathen association and a belief in a one true God.

Culture and religion associated women’s purity with temple offerings. This is true in the case of menstruating women not being permitted to visit temples or places of worship. At Corinth, meat offered to idols were partaken by the temple prostitutes which was considered unfit for eating by the Christians of the Church. There is a gender discrimination when it comes to partaking food which is unfair to the women in Corinth. Even though the Apostle makes no discrimination about it, the culture surely disapproved of it, and even the Church members agreed with the Apostle.

5.5.8 Social Behaviour in Public worship

The suppression of women and their ministerial role is central in the myth of creation and the patriarchal approach of defining the role for women in ancient Christianity. The understanding of such a tradition is rooted in the Jewish rituals which outlines rules for women in public worship. Saint Paul’s intention is to rectify the dress code of women and their external adornment, and to balance the social status within the culture of the Corinthian communities. The restrictions on women to keep silent and submit are necessary in order to achieve their salvation. This caused the patriarchal society to impose a silent protest on women’s behaviour in public worship. The culture of the Corinthian society prohibited women from active participation in Church worship (cultic) by keeping them restricted to household chores. The author of the epistles intended to keep women in a role that would keep them from having authority over functional activities equally as the male leaders in the Church. The Apostle’s instruction to women in the Biblical texts corresponds to men’s aggressiveness while praying, and women’s negation of godly behaviour through immodest dressing and externals, which present matters relating to leadership titles for gender roles. The social behaviour in public worship is the Apostles’ instruction to men and women to cease their disruptions in public worship. The authority laid on women and men during public prayer is tremendous. Saint Paul deals with the manner of public worship by reflecting on the early Church customs the importance of praying more with standing postures. The restriction on women to cover their heads and external adornment in Jewish and pagan customs was seen as part women’s submission to their husbands, and their social identity among men. The religious setting of Corinth in worship was believed to be women from wealthy families who also exercised authority as men and adorned themselves with expensive jewellery and dresses. It is assumed that these women perhaps may have caused disruption by their immodest dressing, and forgetting their duly assigned roles as “good women.” Some authors emphasized on the attitudes, correct behaviour and women’s dress for a Christian character. The Apostle corrects women’s behaviour before the patriarchal eyes of the Corinthian community to prove to the social orders of the Greco-Roman society that submission and authority should be expected from women, and it was harder to do so while the reigns remain in the hands of men. The patriarchal culture of the Corinthian society is visible in the hierarchal structure of the institutionalized Church that suppresses women and draws ideal forms of virtuous women, which disciplines women’s body in Church and society during the first century A.D.

Example 1

Verse- Colossians 3: 16 – Let the words of Christ dwell richly amongst you, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

Matthew Henry (1991) states that the primary reason for spiritual songs is a teaching of the scriptures; Paul’s Church discovered singing as a God-given means to teach, admonish, encourage and help others to praise God. Singing has the power to take over ones thoughts and emotions in the direction of one’s lyrics. When one’s song expresses common faith, there is a demand of harmony that one enjoys far beyond words can express. Singing spiritual songs is something empowering. Even in James 5:13 where it says “in order for a person to be cheerful let him sing psalms,” Saint Paul and Silas were singing praises and hymns to God by thanking him even in a prison cell. Saint Paul realizes the true meaning of singing and praising God as a powerful means of communication to empower one’s mind and audience so he states that women must not sing in Church congregation where men are present. As singing really brings one closer to God, it also brings in a sense of authority that singing exercises over its audience. One author said that the human voice is a wondrous product of God’s creative wisdom. It results to give a deeper impact on the sexist attitude of patriarchal society in early Christianity and every arena of contemporary Christianity even today. It is the glory of God which combined with faith that goes beyond all measures. Another Presbyterian scholar, John Calvin, says music celebrates God’s praise. It is even more suitable to burn incense or by lighting the dark out. It restores one soul. It is communication with God. When a woman sings, she is responding to God’s love, she is encouraging individuals to draw near to God through melodic words she sings. The singing brings in a meditation which expresses the true desire which resides in the heart of people who love God and encourages the audience in the walk of faith. When the congregation consists of men and if a women is singing, the men get drawn to the melodious voice and admires the woman’s sexuality. If she is a married women she dishonours her head (Husband) by singing and attracting a male audience.

Women are portrayed in a stereotypical and negative manner in the Church and society. When a woman sings praises to God, her femininity and the essence of her womanhood are portrayed as a reflection of her gender to typecast the qualities and look at the dichotomy of her role as a women. Women are constructed on the basis of their gender, and identity and culture contributes to the sexism that exists when it comes to women singing to a male audience. Music permeates all areas of society and affects millions of audience. The relationship between singing a song to a male audience and the imagery of women is music.

5.5.9 Learning in Silence

Saint Paul looks at leadership roles of women in the Church and begins with an emphasis on women’s silence and learning as a submissive expression. The concern is applied in restricting women either to teach or exercise authority over men. The Apostle’s instruction to the Church of Corinth was based on household rules. The Church stood for the welfare of women in society. A way to address the heresy attack was to include in the Church the community norms that forbade women from teaching and exercising authority over their husbands. The Apostle orders women to learn in submission and remain quiet during worship. He forbids questioning or speaking during worship in a way that would create disturbances. It can be assumed that perhaps protest by women who openly speak out and do not become submissive to the dominance ordered by the Apostle would incur the wrath of the patriarchal Greco-Roman laws which are put forth by the men. The silencing of women can be understood as the patriarchal way that tries to define how women should be and how women should speak and conduct themselves in a public assembly. The Apostle’s teaching outlines the domineering roles of men and the subordinate status of women in yielding to men’s teaching and not to interrupt men who speak during Church services. The Corinthian community followed such instructions, and this relegated the position of women to exercise their opinion, but was asked by the Apostle to learn and keep silence in full submission. The Pauline letters demanded the unquestioning obedience and submission of women to men’s teaching, and it silenced women’s voice in the Church that was part of the dominant patriarchal structure of the Greco-Roman society. The verses in first Corinthians 14:34-35 portray the Apostle categorically asking women to remain silent during worship. Some of these verses are written in the context of the passages and appear to look like women’s submission was a cultural requirement of the time and place that the Apostle was writing in. The Apostle supports women praying and prophesying in public as he sees all are one in Christ; there is no hierarchy of gender or race even though it existed in the cultures of the community of the Corinthian Christians. He did accept women in leadership positions in the early Church. Another way of viewing the scriptures is to look at the claim that additional manuscripts were added at an early stage which could be the accounts of Saint Paul and probably carried on forward by other writers in the later years. These passages cannot be used to restrict women’s functional leadership in Church, and it is clear that the passages of the New Testament did not ban women as leaders in the early Church during the first century.

Example 1

Verse- 1Corinthian 14:3- Let your women keep silent in the Churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. Saint Paul teaches the Church of Corinth to always conduct themselves in a worthy manner. According to New Testament scholars, Bristow and Witherington (2013), the Apostle encourages the fellow Christians to reveal what they have received from the Lord in order to lead spiritual lives and leave their immoral ways of living. He specifically asks women not to murmur or gossip in Church, gossip during Church services or murmur while the prayers are being conducted at local prayer times. This behaviour would often bring confusion and chaos which does not reveal the heart of God. According to Saint Paul, it does not bring peace in the congregation when there is confusion, so he writes requesting the women to be silent and not disrupt Church order. This is the case in all Churches in which he makes his missionary journey. Even the men were guilty of creating commotions so he asks them to take headship in their marriage. Saint Paul has written to the Church of Corinth asking women to conduct themselves in accordance with Church behaviour. He even addresses the men thus avoiding a gender divide in the Church. Matthew Henry (1991) stated in his commentary that women are not permitted to speak in Church, but was commanded by the Apostle to be silent while Church meetings were on. When he says this he does not mean to keep quiet or stay mute but to speak loudly or disrespecting the Church gathering. He advises that speaking in an unworthy manner would be disrespectful to the congregation of Christ. He admonishes the people who created disorder and confusion in the Church by talking in the assembly in vanity. The Apostle forbids women to speak in Church in an unworthy or indecent manner during public worship. The Apostle advices the Corinthian Church to draw closer to God and honour the ministry and people in the congregation. He encourages them to speak in a manner that edifies and builds up people, not in an unintelligible language which people may not understand or which may not profit a person. People hearing the messages spoken by the preacher must be comforted and encouraged, this speech should reap benefits with others. The interpretations of Pauline passages with regard to asking women to remain silent means to limit women’s speech and keep away from murmuring, thus keeping a control over women’s speech and showing superiority over them. Henry states that the Apostle says that women daily need to learn in an subjective manner how to keep up with the superiority in all endeavours and to instruct her to answer all the enquires. There is an injunction to God’s order, it commands obedience. It is shameful for women to act contradictory to her rank in which God has placed her. The Apostle rebukes the Corinthian Church in these issues and addresses the problems pertaining to the time of the first century when the troubled congregation acted contradictory to what God had ordained for them.

The Apostles’ passages understands women’s status in the city of Corinth and in Church. Women are always seen doing the mundane activities of the home and the private sphere where their work is not recognized as paid labour. The women are considered to be unfit for outdoor activities or work involves the usage of grey cells. Men are seen as fit to do intellectual works and are their work is regarded as hard, gruesome and difficult and are even rewarded for their efforts. Even the women in the Christian scriptures would take care of house work and ministry and help their husbands to carry out the Gospel message but culture was bias and recognized only the men’s efforts and disregarded women as incapable to carry out leadership titles. As a universal role, to put up with good and decent behaviour to what the Apostle originally written in the letters, there is no ambiguity in expressing the oppression of opinion, as women were not educated enough to understand issues discussed in Church. It is possible that they would murmur and disturb the congregation. There is no rule in the New Testament that prohibits women from taking part in public worship. Yet the Apostle’s authority is taken positively and the message of the passages can be only be understood in the passage it negates too. It shows the drudgery that takes place in public worship in Christian Churches.

5.6 Character of Leadership

The author of the epistles tries to define women’s position in Church in the context of cultural and patriarchal attitudes of society in certain passages by restricting their role. One can see their protest and resistance against the passages put forth by the authors. Women were expected to be silent, but the suggests that there were some women who were openly speaking and protesting out for women to have a more dominant space in Church. In in the midst of this commotion, the Apostle addresses the women to learn and keep silent. There were also false attackers and teachers who disrupted Church order. Therefore, the Apostle stressed that the leader required certain qualification to hold the Church office, and in order to have a maintained and disciplined Church congregation, the qualifications were mostly met by male deacons. There is only one reference made regarding a women deacon i.e. Phoebe, but it is not enough to state that all women held the position of deacons. It was mostly the men who were chosen as deacons, even though women deacons are mentioned in the pastoral letters, which implies it was more of socio-political issue in the selection of Church leaders in order to establish a good ministry.

5.7 Behaviour of Women

The Pauline epistles modelled an honourable and pious behaviour for women in Church. The behaviour of the women in the Church was seen as an important aspect of maintaining Church order and discipline. The character of the ministry was known by the behaviour of women present in the Church. The Church of Corinth was a troubled congregation as the culture of Corinth was bold, promiscuous and sensual in its nature. There were many temple prostitutes who came to the saving knowledge of Christ and converted themselves to a more renowned and pious life, and the Church witnessed women’s chastity, sacred mantras and slogans; in the height of experience sexual pleasure, it was one of the ways of reaching sexual control over their lust patterns. This behaviour was brought into the Church which created total chaos during public worship. The Apostle addressed the issue of women’s behaviour in the Church of Corinth giving instructions to them to remain silent during worship. He stated that these women should be free from sexual immorality, and be pious, pure in thought, and flee from evil. The existence of women as temple patrons in order to serve the priest in exchange for religious intercourse was seen as a cultural norm in Greco-Roman society but was seen as immoral and unacceptable by the Church. The Pauline writings emphasize on appropriate behaviour for women and reminded them of their design and order given by God in the beginning of creation. Writings expected women to follow the commands meted out to the Church of Corinth in order to maintain purity and sacredness of religious order and preserve appropriate behaviour in the Church.

5.8 Role of Women in the Church of Corinth and Reconstructing Models of Church Leadership in the First Century

Women in the Corinthian Church as instructed by the Apostle were asked to be reverent in their behaviour as was appropriate for Christian women, and not be a slanderer or give in to the lust pattern of the world in form intoxication, sexual or bodily sins. It was a rule in the epistles for women to function in their capacities based on their age structure and instructions. Their lives and behaviour was considered as a method of teaching good Christian and behavioural ethics. Ethical conduct among women shows their upbringing and reflected in them as being (good women) and a model for other Christian households. It also proved respect for the male members and revealed total submission to their husbands and fathers. Women’s role in Church was modelled over a period of time during Saint Paul’s ministry; women were encouraged to carry out the Gospel work of Christ and started many house Churches. They were expected by the cultural conducts of society to maintain the preferred attitudes of Greco-Roman societies as well as carry out and maintain their discipleship roles given to them by the Apostle in his instruction to them in the letters. The roles given to women were supported by their male family members and done under the authority of male members. Nevertheless, women carrying out the Gospel work restructured the models of Church leadership which brought about changes in the mind-set of Church fathers, men and older women who restricted women to household chores. The full circle of women’s participation informs of position or titles given to them by the Apostle which encourages women to pursue Church duties with complete boldness. This challenged the new models for women’s liberal role in ministry during first century Christianity which included women’s equal participation in the patriarchal outlook of Church organization.

Example 1

Verse- 1 Timothy 2:12(a) – I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

Matthew Henry (1991), in his commentary, specifically states that women must not be the head of the family or have any headship in outdoor activities. Women must profess her faith by following instructions and knowing her place before God. According to Saint Paul, women must not think of themselves as public teachers or preachers, but as good women they must honour their head by learning to take their place and do everything in a manner which does not usurp authority from the man. The verse which he talks about stands before and demonstrates that women should be of a quiet spirit and submit to God. By usurping control and dominion, she would reverse the order what God has placed her in. Control and dominion, in the Greek society, were always in the hands of men, something that Saint Paul could not ignore. As women were created for man, it is believed that women would be safe through child bearing. The woman is not allowed to exercise authority but must exhibit qualities of gentleness, tenderness and affection. The passage in Paul addresses the culture of the Corinthian Church which has specific instructions for women in the Bible. Another scholar, Catherine Kroger (2001), states that Biblical equality for women was seen as a part of the Church of Saint Paul. Even though he forbids women to hold authority, the Greek word Exousia means to have dominion over, to influence, to assume authority. It does not supersede men to have control over women but to have a supervisory role in relationship to the women. It is believed that the culture did not allow women who were recent converts from religious prostitution to teach or preach in the Church during the particular time that Paul that started his Church in Corinth. Saint Paul gives the culture specific reason that women will not have the permission to teach in a congregation where men presided. It does not profit for title in what accordance to what God has for her. The Apostle gives two reasons for women not to teach in the congregation. Eve was seen as the original corruptor of sin, so women are more susceptible to deception. Paul is saying if one woman paved the way for corruption in Eden, another woman paved the way for salvation at Bethlehem. Saint Paul strictly forbids men to dominate over women, the scripture means that though both are seen as equal before God, they are given different roles and responsibilities where both can function in the divine order God had placed them. Women are asked not to usurp authority thus hindering them to take up pastoral roles or be trained as clergy, and withholding certain positions of leadership titles in the ministry. A large segment of early Christianity states the interpretation of the verse given by N T Wright (2015) who concludes that Saint Paul’s letter has a strong theological foundation to it and cannot be read as one sided and partial to ones gender. The interpretations were written keeping the cultural context of that period in mind. The problem was that it was written to a Church undergoing crisis. In order for no dysfunction to take place he ordered women’s issues of teaching in leadership positions as unacceptable, even in normal circumstances the socio-cultural are used. Relying on historical circumstances and Biblical sources, scholars use reconstruction and the complementarian approach in order to locate the application of the verse to a specific time and place.

The passages did not intend to limit women to a specific purpose. The culture controlled women during Greek times, as they considered women to be unfit to speak in the congregation since education was not given to them. The passages are even applicable in contemporary Christianity where women are prevented from taking leadership positions in Church in certain denominations of the Churches such as Evangelical and Baptist Churches. Christian egalitarian positions given to women believe the passages did not carry the same meaning for today’s nuclear Church but they were interpreted in the light of socio-cultural situations of Paul’s time. Paul’s intention was never to restrict women’s role in setting up a culture that was against taking up teaching positions in Church, but he wanted women to be under the authority of a man. The restriction of the Greco- Roman culture did advocate ways to influence the writer of the Pastoral Epistles, but the mind of the writer (Saint Paul) was always one with Christ, and Christ’s way of treating women was always with respect and dignity. Many anti-women Churches use these verses to justify contemporary prejudices against women. The impact of culture on the gender issues in the Church was seen ahead of Biblical times and the interpretations is highlighted through patriarchal and sexist norms that existed in Greco-Roman cultures, these norms shape the institutions of the Church.

Example 2

Verse- 1Corinthians 16:19 “The Churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the Church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.”

Romans 16:3-4 “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the Churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.”

Saint Paul encourages women and acknowledges their achievements in Church roles. The Apostle before, his conversion to Christianity, persecuted both men and women and delivered them to prison. When he made no difference between them before his conversions, why would he do so after? Saint Paul made no distinction between the sexes in his effort in carrying out the Gospel message. Since the Apostle began his relationship with Christianity treating both men and women in the same manner, it is very unlikely that he would change his stand after his conversion. The disregard for social restriction of contact between men and women was the same, in order to abandon the perfectionist attitudes regarding women that characterize the Apostle’s passion when he persecuted the early Christians. He characterizes this passion when he became the Apostle of the Church. Women were included in the group of disciples even after the ascension of Christ, and women were part of the early Church of the first Christians. Women were even part of the Pentecostal act which took place in the New Testament scriptures. The first convert Paul met in Europe was a woman named Lydia. She was one of the women he personally baptized. These examples denote strongly that Paul encouraged women in taking up roles of authority and encouraging them to follow in his footsteps. The Church of Corinth sees many women disciples that he mentions in his letters like Priscilla, Junia, Euphodia, Synthehe, Chloe, Phoebe etc. There were eight women Saint Paul looked up to as role models, and called them deaconess, prophetess and complimented the Church work that they carried out effortlessly. Some women even went with Saint Paul to prison. Although Saint Paul did not establish the practice of having women lead in worship alongside men, he certainly approved their work in Church. Saint Paul saw women as the glory of man, complimenting him, and a key for being a strong Godly character. He believed that women were not created for procreation and domestic roles, but for better suited ministry roles and authoritative positions. The traditional meanings of Paul’s words were not literal but to debar women from preaching, teaching, serving sacramental bread, or leading in worship. The women of Paul’s ministry were approved by the Apostle. He appreciated women’s intellectual capacity. Women were present during crucial times in the New Testament events, which made it clear that women could be capable leaders, priests, and deacons in Church. The Apostle believed that women had an excellent capacity to serve and receive prominent credit for their status in Christian scriptures.

The sociological perspective states that women have been successful in all areas of life, and have been responsible in carrying off the task given to them with utmost ease. The leadership roles of priests and deacons gives women a chance to serve in the ministry. It was given to them by Church fathers and Apostles, and approved by Christ; it changed their position of status and life in the ministry. The early Christians were influenced by Greco-Roman and Jewish strongholds of culture which viewed women second best to men. But founders of the Christian faith gave women their due credit and positions, which led to their upliftment and empowering status during the first century.

5.8.1 Reconstruction of Women’s Role in Church

The patriarchal society is reflected in the Church which consists predominantly of male members, and neither the Church nor matriarchal societies are free from patriarchy. The image of women’s ministerial role in Church is highlighted in the letters written by the Apostle whereby women are occupied with serving in certain ascribed capacities given to them by Church leaders. The roles given to them indicates that no women were subjugated in Church even though traditional Judaism considered the place of women in household chores and they were restricted from reading the Holy Scriptures. Women were part of the Church leadership roles but their roles in theological place were recognized from below and not above which was considered a male-centred domain. The traditional understanding of the scriptures understood women in their role of them taking less participatory activities in Church functions and thus the structure was more dominant of men. This lead to the marginalization of women and their exclusion from Church leadership roles. According to Amy Jill Levine, “women’s voice against the dominant power structure is considered as a social revolution and affirms social solidarity of women in Church with the perspective of Saint Paul’s ministry.”

5.8.2 Deconstruction of Women being alienated from Church Structures

Women in general feel alienated from the powerful Church structures when the Church orders ignores the presence of women and Church leaders fail to notice the struggle of women for their positions in Church. This is either due to cultural reasons or the structural systems of the Church. The feminist interpretation of the Church calls into question the contradictions between the theological interpretations of ministry as a service and practice of clerical privileges and exclusion. The struggle of women for liberation in the pastoral is not different from the struggles of women even in today’s ministry. The Church structures chose to be ignorant in stifling the leadership rights of women which was the main factor for women’s role in early Christianity to alienate and follow other movements. This was a good opportunity for women to actively participate in the cultic worship and freely exercise their authority without any limitations.

5.8.3 Equal Partnership

Oppression and marginalization characterized the central concern for women to seek equal partnership in Church domains. The Apostle uses the notion of servanthood for deacons and bishops who appear to women as helpers and co-workers in his ministry. Saint Paul acknowledged that women deacons who served in such capacity were active leaders in ministry. Even though their roles are mentioned as deaconess, they were identified as serving in their duties as women behind their men folk. This made it more difficult for women to come out boldly and serve. When the Church faced heretical attacks the members of the community were compelled to follow the social pattern of the Roman society in which the women were suppressed the most. Christian women were compelled to live but the virtues of the ideal Roman women were in relation with Christian ethics which implied marriage submissiveness and care for family members. Women in the Greco-Roman world were considered as inferior, evil and secondary citizens. The social structures and institutions were the religious values or practices they held to subordinate the position of women. Women have key privileges on education for her to focus on her career and be dependent on her husband who is supposed to run the family economically. Women in the Corinthian society were also involved in political matters. They knew of their legal rights. The social reality of women’s struggle in the community of Corinth challenged the Church for their liberated role and from the existence gender barriers that are put forth by society for the upliftment of women’s position, and to accept the full participation of women’s life in the Church. Christ accepted women’s roles in ministry; even though he made men disciples, he accepted women as part of his ministry. Even Saint Paul recognized that women have an equal space in Church and ministerial roles, and treated them with the sense of dignity and worth by admonishing them so that the evil practices against women were done away with. It requires an attempt to liberate the text that seems to suppress women’s participation in the ministry and to ride away from the submerging concept to live in silence and submission. Therefore, the service of both men and women should be equally identified in the Church with equal participation, and not limiting either’s roles in the ministry in Church domains of society. The Church was to identify the role of men and women as equals in the ministry of Saint Paul with regard to his missionary work in Corinth.

5.9 Women’s position in the Household

Women’s involvement in ministry is significant to the shift that took place from the private domain of household to the leadership roles in the public domain of Greek society. Women play a vital role by being present at events like the resurrection, which remarked on the important place of women forming a new identity. Women play a key role in the history of the Church; Saint Paul compares women’s portion with that of women being present at the time of Jesus’s earthly ministry. Women had a unique role which was handed down to them by the Church leaders. Pauline Christianity identifies the significant place of every member be it a woman or man, as they had equal rights. The assumed notions propagated by the patriarchal order pressurized women who were a part of worship who exercised authority and led an independent life, such behaviour of women appear to create suspicion in society and considered women teaching a fault. In the Greco- Roman household, women liberated themselves from the traditional household roles and led a celibate life. They were seen as public figures engaging in the administrative roles of the Church. The Greco-Roman society, bounded by the philosophical notion that existed in society, limited the role of women in Church. The Apostle instructed women to behave in a socially acceptable manner and not disrupt Church services by murmuring. Even though the Apostle encouraged the emancipation of women, and asked women to take up certain positions of authority which guided their role within Church structures, he instructed women in the periphery of the household structures in the Corinthian society. Even though women were politically restricted, spiritually there were encouraged by the Apostle to function in the given titles of their ministerial role in the Church of Corinth. The position of women in the household placed a large emphasis on their Church duties in first century Christian era.

Example 1

Verse- 1 Corinthians 11:9- Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

John Gill exegesis the verse stating the man was created as a protector of women, to defend her as she was considered a weaker vessel i.e. physically and not intellectually or spiritually. The women’s job was a comparative form to man both in religious worship and the promotion of life. Another scholar Robert J views this verse from the perspective that just as Christ thinks of the Church as His bride, so it is man’s call to fulfil spiritual or the natural needs of the woman, and to be a protector and a care-giver. Another scholar Kevin L Moore (2009) suggests that Saint Paul is trying to send a message to the Corinthian brethren and they were probably ignorant of the leadership of Christ, but gave more importance to the gender roles since they considered it a basic and fundamental aspect to Christianity. This would have been accepted by all Corinthians. The instructions which Paul used in Greek is Kephale (head). It is used many times in the Bible and is significant to the verse used by Saint Paul to the Corinthian Church (it means to take authority over). The verse clearly states that God had put the man as the head over the woman to take authority and charge over all the issues even in the spiritual sense. The two are in submission to Christ who is the head for both. This has been suggested as Paul is describing how relationship between husband and wife should be in the confinement of marriage.

From a sociological perspective, hierarchy and egalitarianism are mutually exclusive. The arguments pertaining to Paul’s letters share a common view on the way early Christianity viewed the status of women in the Church. The early Christian discourse still confined to the structures of patriarchy, and as Fiorenza (1983) says, the world is still under recovery from the androcentric expressions of the way women should be presented in society and the religious space is no exception. The Pauline epistles try to draw out the strong distinctions between the ancient androgyny and the sexual differences that naturally create a gender hierarchy in the epistles and Saint Paul’s arguments concerning gender in the book of Corinthians. The dominant scriptural writing fundamentally reflects the ideologies of power and dominion in Pauline legacy.

Example 2

Verse- Ephesians 5:22- Wives, submit to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.

Matthew Henry (1991) concludes that the obligation of husbands and wives in Christian marriage is clearly examined in Ephesians 5:22. Saint Paul’s main focus is that man and woman are a team just as Christ and the Church are presented to restore the glory, which is the chief objective of the wife being in submission to her husband. The point that Paul wants to address here is that Christ wants to satisfy the Church which is considered as his bride and presents himself to the Church in a given manner, which is accepted as total submission in all His glory. The message is lost when the focus shifts to the obligation of husbands and wives and when one tries to interpret the passages through the lives of the pre-supposed gender roles. Saint Paul’s real interest was submission and respect from the wife to the husband and as a mutual submission by both to God. For the reverence of Christ he says both shall be united to one another and he gives the example of Christ, and states that there is no mention of authority or forceful leadership as from the husband to the wife. Certain scholars like Barnes (1980) view male headship not as a gender hierarchy that results from patriarchy or imposition of ones gender over the other. Saint Paul believes that marriage is a building block for unity, love, respect and mutual trust. He chooses to eliminate marriage by looking at Jesus Christ’s relationship with his bride i.e. the Church. John Gill, another Biblical commentator, explains that the general view for this verse is honour and reverence and obedience expected from wives to their husbands. It is the wives’ responsibility to take care of the family and care for the will of her husband. The women should be cheerful, voluntary, and reasonable in matters of sex as the credit of religion requires her to follow her husband’s instructions, and scholars say she has to do unto the Lord to follow her husband’s instructions whole heartedly. Likewise her husband has to love her unconditionally. According to Rosemary Radford Ruether (1978), a sociological analysis gives a critical overview of the attitude of the Pauline passages regarding women. It looks at the ideas of submission, virginity, and sexual intercourse which was treated as slave labour. It was considered that the women had to get done with it the context of her happiness, feelings or thoughts that were excluded from the passages. The wives in the passages of Paul are the second deciding factor, and her authority and equality is not demanded, nor is headship stated by the Apostle. The scripture says that even if a woman does not revere her husband, he is yet to love her and show admonishment for the reverence for Christ. Thomas Aquinas in the medieval era, on his commentary of Ephesians 5, accepts that women are a subjection value as the relationship they share is that of a master to her servant. The comparison made in the passages is that the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the Church. Aquinas states that the wife in obeying and submitting herself, she is obeying and submitting to Christ. The husband is seen as a medium of her obedience. The equality before God for man and women doesn’t range from submission or sub-ordination or any gender based hierarchy but out of voluntary mutual understanding of the scriptures written to acknowledge one’s ontological position before God. The message given by society on gender and marriage contradicts the scriptures as it brings on a tradition of harmony.

Example 3

Verse- Ephesians 5:22 Women to be in submission to her husband, just as she is unto the Lord.

Steve Rudd (n.d.) says that woman’s submission to a man is a delegated principle given by God in the Bible. It steels clear regardless of culture in the creation order for man. He was created before the woman and even though Eve was the first woman, she was created out of man’s rib, for man did not come out woman but woman came out of man. The Biblical scriptures say that God fashioned woman from the rib of man and commanded her to be ruled over. Woman was deceived and she sinned, and because of this she was put under the headship of her husband and was asked to submit to his authority. It was the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression and not the man. Even though God held the man responsible because as the head of the woman he was accountable and came under the penalty of the woman’s original sin, he had identified with her sin as her husband and head. Even though the woman was the logical guilty person, God held him accountable for his participation of woman’s sin. Scripture says that man is the glory of God and woman is the glory of man. The scholars say that even though the culture demanded that woman come under the authority of their fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, scriptures hold it important that submission of woman to man is important for her total and dedicated communion with God. Another scholar, Matthew Henry (1991), gives a detailed account on the issues which Saint Paul highlights in the epistles to the Corinthian Church on the matters of marriage. The understanding of Christian submission in marriage is not dominance or controlling behaviour of husband to wife, but a divine instruction of a wife to honour her husband and make sure his leadership roles are carried out to full capacity. Her gifts will compliment his call. It is her disposition to follow her husband’s authority and yield to the submission of his leadership. Saint Paul instructs husbands and wives in their unique role in marriage, explaining the need for husbands to love their wives just as Christ loved the Church. And just as the Church submits to Christ, so must the wives submit to their husbands. Saint Paul explains that the purpose of marriage is to reflect God’s will where the husbands’ call is to lead, and wives’ call is to submit in reflection to their relationship between Christ and the Church. There are unique roles given to husbands and wives in their marriage which serve as the living message of the Gospel. The husband models the love of Christ by laying down his life just as Christ did and portrays the love of Christ to her. The wife submits to her husband just as the bride of Christ would do, i.e. the Church. This yields to the husband’s leadership as the wife reflects the heart of faith that characterizes the people whom Christ ministers to in His earthly ministry. The Church follows Christ as the head and uses her gift to carry out his ministries. Likewise, the woman yields her gifts and compliments the purpose for marriage and family. The reflection of the Gospel is seen in the marital relationship of the Lamb where the King comes to save his bride from the slavery of sin. By his own sacrificial death, he redeems and restores his bride back to the kingdom. The Gospel is the story of love, grace, humility and sacrifice. The bride is the Church, irreversibly united to the King by his unfailing consent. The Gospel beautifully reflects on the marital relationships of husband and wife to live out their unique callings in marriage. Submission is not a forced control, but is when a husband leads his wife, he is dependent on Christ and not himself. The husband encourages his wife to grow in grace and prepares to be a co-labourers in the kingdom of God. The society views submission as the wives personal immaturity or spiritual weakness or husbands’ control of supervision or oppression done to her. The point will be missed if one does not understand the analogy in Ephesians 5:22 that submission is not about belittlement or control or worthlessness, it is to encourage and build one another up. Women’s submission to her husband is not partial but absolute; Christ is the final authority as he is the bridegroom of the Church who is the bride. Hierarchically, women need to submit in marriage, and ultimately submit to Christ. She gets her spiritual identity and ultimate strength through Christ, and not through her husband who builds her up through and in faith; Christ is sole strength of her faith. Culture equates submission with inferiority, and social changes brought about by the women’s liberation movement has brought out the true meaning of her roles in marriage. The scriptures are clear about the uniqueness of the responsibility God assigns to a wife (women) in the Bible. The role of women in the public sphere is more organized as the state separates the issues of religion between Church and state. The public sphere tries to control religion as a mechanism to address issues that are related to the politics of the state. The private sphere is the personal and spiritual beliefs expressed by individuals in the privacy of their own faith. Many believe that religion should be a private matter as it affects the public morality of the state, politics and governments. Some religious groups spread their religious beliefs, and their arguments based solely on religious convictions should not be offered as reasons for laws and public policies. The Public and private sphere affects all the other religions among peoples of different faiths. The dichotomy of men and women reflects the way Christ and the Church are mentioned in the way the Bible explains the sacred relationship between two are seen as a perfect example of Christian love. The history of early Christianity depicts the relationship between man and women as holy as the union between Christ and the Church. The letters of the Apostle Paul clearly determine that women worked and travelled alongside their husbands as missionaries and were equally partakers of the Gospel message. The relationship of love and honour and submission of man to women in marriage depicts the same unity Christ shares with the Church as a holy bond which is considered as an important milestone in Church history. The eminent work of women and men cannot eliminate the importance places on their lives as believers in Christ. The sociological understanding of gender roles in marriage where Saint Paul’s argument of male leadership was not regarding cultural phenomena, but about an established order from God. The authorities were aware from the beginning of the culture phenomena as an established order from God. The authority was existing from the beginning of culture and Paul’s argument was that it should continue to reflect in God’s Church. Even though God’s original design for women was not to be battered through Biblical acts of submission, societies, through years of dominance and patriarchal code of culture, see man as a predator to control women’s body and sexuality in every possible way. The submission issue was not to make the husbands tyrants to their wives, but engage in a partnership ordained by God. Saint Paul says the husband’s love should mirror Christ’s love for his people and the Church, interprets Brown (2015) when he addresses gender roles in marriage.

5.10 Sociology of Knowledge

The Sociology of knowledge deals with an entire gamut of cultural products like ideas, beliefs, practices of cultural orientation, science, technology, etc. The concept of knowledge production is central to the orientation of knowledge in society and culture. It is primarily concerned with knowledge and the factors that produce certain results in society and culture. The sociology of knowledge is concerned with problems which have taken place in historical eras. It studies the perspective of culture and grasps the interpretations made by society in order to produce precise results. It deals with the concepts of culture, and the social, cultural conditions of cultural diffusion. The sociology of knowledge deals with problems, concepts, and thoughts pertaining to a certain social situation of a particular culture and looks at the areas of knowledge production through these lenses.

Within definite social or cultural conflicts, differences in values, attitudes and modes of thought patterns, a certain cultural orientation is resonated. The sociology of knowledge views the context of group orientation, the differences in the conflicting perspectives, etc. in order to see that within similar societies, there exists between groups a different contention of beliefs. The sociological inquiry views the cultural dimension within its array of interpretations and comes to a wide range of ideas as a connective entity; this could mean a wide array of ideologies, expression, expressed within a certain sphere of human thought beliefs and conduct. The sociology of knowledge enquires into a certain belief system which would have a long historicity of beliefs and discoveries that are socially conditioned within a particular culture of society. The knowledge producing this evidence of truth, held in account with a certain event in historical era of time, relates to the culture of Corinth during the first century.

There exists different paradigms of the sociology of knowledge, which are distinctive units and approaches made towards a particular field of research. Since the researcher is looking at a particular event in time during the period of early Christianity and studying the implications of a particular culture which is unified to a particular society in the Greco-Roman world. The function of certain social or cultural events could draw upon a certain paradigm of knowledge in order to organize a certain distinctive approach towards studying the cultures. The sociology of knowledge imputes a certain historical basis for the research in order to view a certain society held in the confinement of religion and culture. The perennial problem of the implications created by the sociological theory of knowledge could range from a wide analysis of thought in order to validate a certain social and cultural truth, in order to claim equality to one event in time. In the case of the letters written by Saint Paul to the Corinthian community, the sociological inquiry of knowledge would be seen in the way culture acts as a barrier in order to control or restrain women to perform their gendered role within the Church. The women in the Corinthian cultures were subjected to cultural biases that existed in the passages written by the Apostle, and were believed to be intertextual and interpolated, and highlighted as being anti-women.

The sociology of knowledge brings into a sociological inquiry the question regarding how the Apostle could be understood in the light of women’s marginalization in Church and society. The sociological insights of knowledge digs into the way culture would war over the family values as an institution within society, or social values in the particular context of a group. The historical representations brought out the way in which gender and sexuality were part of the religious dogmas of the society and instilled a strong bias against women’s complete participation of the Church, the sociology of knowledge digs into the discourse of culture, community, those as derived from the traditions of historical representation of religious texts. The historical event brings out the academic arguments of looking at the way knowledge is constructed through social reality. The representation of knowledge created by group orientation conceives a historical event and moves towards a generation of socially rooted group identity. Individuals in the Corinthian community are more oriented towards their group, and social relationships among its members are of prime importance. The study of their ceremonies, feasts and class structures reflect in the organizational group behaviour among the members of the community.

It seeks to derive every aspect of knowledge which is existent in the cultural reality of Corinth. The Corinthian women’s customs and rituals were part of their culture and came in the way of the Church, their moral norms which influenced their Church behaviour, in the sense that knowledge was assimilated towards a particular culture and it postulates synthetic judgment which is conditioned by time, helps to be understood in the sociological order created by the cultures, and draws upon a cultural milieu in order to make sense of one social world.

The divisions of culture remained on the periphery of main stream sociological thought. It is reverted in order to understand the social structures created by society in comparison with the way culture affects a group and the people living in a particular social world. The sociology of knowledge brings out the way in which women’s gender roles area a reflection of their cultural expectations which are attached to their gender. They are socially constructed behaviours which have biological determinants. The expectation from women to perform their roles is determined by the cultural implications and this comes in the way of women’s performance of their gender roles at Church. The subject is relevant for the research conducted as it helps determine the way gender roles effects women identity through the process of self-identification which is seen in the domain of the Church, society or home. It helps to understand the way in which knowledge is created through religious rationalism which is a dominant ideology used to understand a certain cultural premise. Sociology of knowledge helps religion and morality to understand how cultural implications have an effect on group orientations and group behaviour in society.

Women, of any culture, are always stressed to perform their gender roles. In order for them to understand their place in religious orders of society, Saint Paul, in the Church of Corinth, by giving women a part to play in the ministry, reinforces how religious morality claims to be part of the cultural modifications of society, and does not stick to gender stereotypes that other religious groups or leader would follow. The body serves as an instrument in carrying out political knowledge in order to produce a political ideology which simultaneously challenges religious domains of the Church and the gender structure of society. The researcher is interested in looking at the way the relationship between knowledge and the sexuality of a women’s body has cultural and religious implications in a society, and leads to the centrality of a women’s gendered body acted out in the epistles written by Saint Paul in the first century A.D.

5.11 Conclusion

The idea of gender and religion with regards to social values are important in order to understand the role it plays within the ethics of Christianity. Religion and social values are the basis for understanding the way in which a particular culture influences people, groups and societies as a whole. Religion like Christianity consists of the symbols, teachings and doctrines of the Church which are documented in the Bible as the Holy Scriptures which influence the mind-set of people in a particular community. Their beliefs become manifested in religious values and effect the whole community. Christianity has certain beliefs and ethics which are governed by the Bible, and the Apostle and evangelists worked towards achieving that, but the values of a particular culture effected the individual’s visibility of religion in a given society. Social values were governed by the political and economic aspects of a given society and religion plays a vital role in ensuring individuals uphold their values. Social values in the New Testament letter of Paul exposed the motives of the religious teachers of the law who strived to control women to the private space of their home.

The Apostle’s response to the cultural norms of the time became a sight for public scrutiny in the epistles. Saint Paul’s work in Corinth was to stay away from the cultural standards of differentiation that existed for the societal people. He requested the women and men to uphold the Biblical values given by the Church authorities and instructed the believers to stay away from the immoral life that the city practiced. The Apostle advised the Corinthian converts to pay heed to the Gospel values and discard the cultural norms, as they could be easily abandoned as they taught immoral ways to live one’s life. The Gospel was based on values of Christian ethics which is drawn from Christ and ought to be exhibited and seen in the life of believers. The Apostle interprets the social values in the system of the Greco-Roman world in the light of the Gospel message in order to bring out the transformation in the ministry. Saint Paul uses the social values of honour and shame, purity and pollution, legitimacy and authority in his writings which clearly explains its relevance to the writings of the letters as an overall theme. Gordon Fee (1975) explains that even though the cultural norms of Corinth within the Church existed mainly to influence men and women to participate in it, as the requirement in the ministry of Paul in instructing the believers was that in order to be part of the Church, the life of immorality and sin had to be left behind.

Philip B Payne (2005) argues that for the Greco-Roman world, culture was an integral part of one’s life and community behaviour. The disorder that the pagan cultures brought into the Corinthian Church afflicted the pious Church morals, thereby bringing confusion in ministry. The Apostle reinforced the customs of traditions and did not promote cultural sensitivity to immoral conditions of the Greco-Roman world; he gave more importance for Christian ethics and Gospel values for men and women. The gendered space that Saint Paul admonished, asked women to behave in a certain manner that even violated the boundaries of space, which brought about changes in the Church order. He asserted that men and women are given specific instructions by God in the Bible and they must submit to it. The Apostle clearly followed the social values in order to re-orient the mind-set of individuals who posed him as a misogynist. He was insistent for women’s equality, even though the traditional interpretations of the scripture moulded a pathway for Corinthian women to participate in the Church life. The ideas of meal rituals also covered the gender distinction that the Apostle clearly addressed, removing the barriers of inequality of traditionalism in the Greco-Roman world.

The social values which described the power relations of Christianity as a religion brings out the varied distinctions of sexual status, power and dominion which had an effect on the Apostles’ ministry. The Apostle claimed that social values were important milestones in the early Christian faith in order to lay down ground rules for bringing about significant changes in his ministry. The Mediterranean social world of Corinth, through these values, depicted their ascribed status in the cultural eyes of religion, and Saint Paul’s place of achieved status in fighting for an equal space for women and their roles in the male world. The social values depict the factionalism that was an ongoing aspect in the Corinthian community and the Apostle’s tactfulness in dealing with the subservient culture of Corinth, the religious aspects of the state and the morality of the Church structures. He protects the unity and solidarity of the community from the social networking of political leaders and clearly gives women a status even though culture opposes them constantly. He calls the Corinthian community to abandon the counter-cultural norms of the society and welcome the believers of the Church to a life of freedom in Christ, which is the best aspect of transformation in the epistles of the New Testament. Social values bring out the Gospel ethics of true Christian writing as it is applicable even in today’s Christian communities.

CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

6.1 Introduction

The community of Corinth during the first century Christianity witnessed an egalitarian ministry that became active during Saint Paul’s time. The Gender roles specified for women in Greece created subordinating positions in the Church structure of St. Paul’s ministry. The author of the pastorals focused on the core issues concerning women and their marginalization in the community during early Christian era. Wayne Meeks (1998) stated that the author ordered women’s restriction to teach in the Church and adherence to the role of mutual submission in order to protest against those who openly raised their voices for women to live a celibate and secluded life. The author of the epistles rejected women living like ascetics or women leading Church services. However, the scriptures permit the older women to teach the younger women.

The gender roles for women in the Corinthian communities were influenced by the mind-set of the men and the androgenic views of society which did not relate to the praxis of women’s social demeanour. The love of Christ was rooted in bringing out an example to all members of the communities for the equal treatment of women, which challenged the patriarchal structure of the time. Public participation of women is found active in Paul’s ministry and his stand for the freedom of women is seen as a radical decision from a cultural, as well as a religious lens. The apostle stresses for oneness in Christ between all genders in the family, household and Church. The role of women exercising leadership and headship is mostly visible among female circles during the late antiquity. Therefore Apostle Paul raises awareness in his epistles about the way the cultural context affects his ministry to a great extent.

The marginalization of women roles in Church and among ministry draws out a structure which challenges and influences the Churches that stress for greater equality and freedom. The issues of gender in the Bible cannot be taken as a standpoint that the Apostle or the men of God were against women’s leadership or authoritative roles in Church, especially with regard to the ordination of women or granting women the access to preach. The apostle, through his epistle writings encouraged men and women in the faith and treated them as equal members, without any gender discriminations. The Apostle always revealed the mind of Christ, and his teachings were Christ centred. The Apostle’s letters always identified both men and women as created in the image of God, who had a significant role to play in the growth of the Church. According to Bruce Malina (2010) each Church member, whether man or woman had a role to play in the Church, and their involvement kept the community of Corinth together. The author’s projection of a good Church did not devalue the traditional outlook that culture or society held regarding the social demeanour of women. This empowered women’s identity with a positive outlook. They realized they were God’s special design and equal social beings, without the biased attitude of leadership roles or prestigious titles placed on them. They were accepted as equal partners in God’s divine plan.

The social scientific approach of analysing the texts through the King James Version helped the researcher gain insight into the structure of the ecclesial organization, the original language in which the text was written and how the manner in which the letters were presented to the reader makes the Apostle look like a misogynist. The advice given by the Apostle included admonishing the believers of the Corinthian Church and restructuring the image and role of women in ministry.

The letters of the Apostle are often used to legitimize prejudices against women and portray them as inferior to men. The hierarchal structures and andro-centric theology reduces the identity and social value for women. Even though the Aristotelian view on gender issues and the attitude of the Church fathers were antagonistic to women, it was mainly due to the tradition and the prejudice of that era. The prevailing belief systems and the religious rituals were predominantly male-oriented and women were not considered as agents of power. Gender biasness and sexism was evident in the early Church and society. St. Paul knew that culture always wanted women to be under the influence of men, nevertheless, he brought out women’s active role in the house Churches and credited them for their extensive work in proclaiming the Gospel message. The Apostle modelled the approach of Jesus Christ in dealing with women which was revolutionary during that time.

The issues of Gender are largely discussed in Saint Paul’s epistles in order to recognize the struggle against patriarchy and sexism which engulfed women in misery. The Apostle attempted to develop human equality which enhanced the Biblical and theological perspectives in their outlook towards women. Women gained an equal status in the society. Being created as equal in the sight of the Lord was a strong contention against the prevailing patriarchal attitudes in those times. It created an identity of equality and mutuality among both the genders in ministry. St. Paul was successful in restoring the original identity of fellowship of believers in Christ. The Church as an institution, became a body of love and respect for women and men in ministry. Earlier, the gender roles created by the society made women easy victims during early Christianity. Women’s discrimination and oppression endangered their involvement in Church and created an insecurity which was caused by the religious beliefs and practices. However, St. Paul through his writings, created a Christ-centred ministry which institutionalized Christianity as a dominant religion in society. The vision given to the apostle helped enhance the lives of women in contemporary Christianity, even today. It has helped distort the gender biased and male centred attitudes that were against women. The efforts put in by the Apostle brought about revolutionary changes in the society and facilitated a real paradigm shift in today’s Christianity.

6.2 Limitations

The first limitation of the study is that since it is a historical, time bound project, pre-dated many centuries back, tracing the authenticity of the epistles was challenging. There are many versions of the Bible; even though the researcher has primarily used the King James Version, it is interesting to know that each verse in other versions had a prescribed meaning and to accurately study that is extremely time consuming.

The second limitation of the study is that even though the originality of the Pauline epistles continues to impact the Church and transforms leadership roles of women, it is difficult to find a relevant point of reference, as the author of the epistles discussed many issues in one single verse.

The final limitation which the researcher came across is that the New Testament epistolary writings model the writings of the Greco-Roman culture which becomes irrelevant to the issues discussed in today’s contemporary Christianity.

6.3 Scope for further Research

For future prospects, the researcher can look into the gender issues faced by the Indian Churches especially in south India, since the issues of caste influences and impacts the Indian Churches and society to a large extent.

The researcher can also look into the way the issues of women as mentioned in other religions, impacts Christianity. The researcher can draw upon the Biblical teachings from the Old Testament or the Gospels, which have specific references to women’s issues.

There are numerous independent Churches and denominations in India, the researcher can choose to do a study on any of the sects, regarding its treatment of women and the resulting impact.

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