Saturday, January 31, 1998

Women deacons should be celebrated, not condemned

By Dr. Carl Trusler, M.D.

Dewayne Bush's letter on Jan. 24 prompts me to write regarding the role of women in our churches. I was thrilled to see that First Baptist Church had elected women as deacons.

I was a member there all through my childhood and my college years, and some of those ladies helped rear me. They are extraordinarliy qualified to be Baptist deacons, and I wish them every blessing.

I am no longer a Baptist, having had the good fortune to marry into the Presbyterian church. Although my knowledge of biblical teachings is limited, I feel compelled to argue with Mr. Bush that the Scriptures do not in any way prohibit women from serving as deacons.

One mistake we make when we study the Bible is that we take a literal, contemporary interpretation of Scriptures without considering the context in which they were written.

If we clarify the literary context in Paul's letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 3:1-13), we learn that Hebrew women in Old Testament times were not even permitted to study the Scriptures.

But Jesus' teachings changed all that, and he elevated the staus of women to that equal to men. First century Jewish women were experiencing newfound Christian freedom; and at that time, they may not have had the maturity of faith to be servant-leaders in the early church. Certainly, 20 centuries of Christian experience have changed that concept!

Another mistake we make when studying Scriptures is to forget that there are many translations of the Bible, and much often gets lost in the translation.

Indeed, the very first Engish Bible, that of Wycliff, was translated from the Latin and not from the original Hebrew and Greek texts.

Moreover, there might be 15 or 20 meanings for a single Greek word. In many translations, Paul's advice to Timothy calls the wives of deacons to be "deaconessess."

The Greek word "deacon" generally means "one who serves." Paul's instructions to Timothy leave no doubt, however, that the behavior of prominentwomen in the church should be just as responsible and blameless as that of prominent men.

Women are as qualifed as anyone to serve as deacons. Even in the first century, there were women leaders. The first that comes to mind is Phoebe, whom Paul refers to in Romans 16 as "servant."

The Greek word used here for "servant" is often also translated as "deaconess." Phoebe, a wealthy Corinthian, provided financial support for Paul's ministry, and Paul's commendation of her in his letter to the Romans provides evidence that women had important roles of leadership in the early church.

I also think of Priscilla, who with her husband Aquila, befriended the Apostle Paul, taught others the gospel and hosted an early home-church (Acts 18). Priscilla's hospitality opened the doorway of salvation to many.

In first-century Jewish culture, women were treated as second-class citizens with few of the rights enjoyed by men. But Jesus, and those who followed him, crossed those barriers and showed special concern for women.

esus talked to a Samaritan woman at the well, raised a widow's son from the dead, had His feet annointed by a sinful woman, kept the Pharisees from stoning an adulterous woman, visited Mary and Martha, healed a crippeld woman, and appeared to Mary Magdalene and other women after His resurrection.

Jesus treated all people with equal respect, and I suspect he wants us to do the same, if we would be like Him.

Thank God for women deacons at First Baptist Church! I hope there will be many more!

(Dr. Trusler is a family physician in Abilene.)