Suffering Women to Learn?

by Deborah Forteza and Kevin T. Bauder

“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man…”
1 Timothy 2:12

Is it ever right for a seminary to give theological education to a woman? That depends upon what you think the purpose of a seminary is.

Most of our seminaries claim to exist in order to assist local churches in training church leaders. They especially focus on preparing pastors. Even so, nearly every seminary has students that do not enroll with a desire to shepherd a flock or to enter vocational ministry. Some of these students want to be better disciplers; others hope to be good Bible study leaders; and some simply wish to understand the Scriptures better for their own personal growth.

One could argue that if a seminary has been established to prepare pastors, then people who do not intend to be pastors should not be accepted. Few, if any, seminaries are that stringent, however. Who would object to admitting a student who simply wanted to be a knowledgeable and faithful deacon, even if he never meant to become a pastor? Indeed, would it not be unreasonable to deny seminary education to any believer who sincerely desired to study the Scriptures, increase in knowledge, and nourish his love of God?

Since seminaries are not biblical entities, no chapter and verse tells us what they are for and who should be allowed to attend them. The New Testament makes it clear that churches are supposed to have pastors and leaders who are apt to teach. Insofar as a seminary exists to help a local church accomplish this goal, then seminaries are biblically legitimate. Since the Scriptures give no particular instruction about seminaries, however, each school is free to articulate its own mission and purpose, so long as these do not contradict the Bible. Each seminary has liberty to admit or reject students according to the goals of the institution.

Therefore, if a seminary wishes to prepare pastors exclusively, then the mission of that seminary determines that the sincere deacon cannot enroll. If some other seminary wishes to prepare church leaders in a broader sense, however, then that school might allow a godly deacon, provided that the deacon meets the other criteria defined by the school’s mission and purpose.

Now, back to the question of whether it is legitimate for a seminary to admit women for theological education. Seminaries, as we have stated, are free to admit and reject students according to the mission and purpose of the institution. It is possible, then, that a seminary could have a broader mission of preparing believers in the church to handle the Scriptures accurately and to love God rightly. Would such an institution have any particular reason for excluding women? Is it clear a priori that women should not be prepared to handle the Scriptures accurately and to love God ordinately?

The question could be asked the other way around: Why should a woman be trained to handle the Scriptures accurately? This question does have a biblical answer. The argument of Hebrews is that all believers (not excluding women) should press towards maturity (Heb. 6:1). If maturity consists in being able to discern what is good and what is evil (Heb. 5:14), which cannot be done apart from knowing the Word of God (Heb. 5:12-13), then women cannot rightly be hindered from learning the Scriptures.

Of course, virtually no one believes that women should not study the Bible. Pastors and church leaders commonly encourage the women of church to learn the Scriptures in group Bible studies, at church, and in their personal devotional time. Many Christian leaders seem to entertain the notion, however, that women must not study the Scriptures beyond a particular depth. Women are encouraged to have their devotions, but they are discouraged from learning biblical languages and exegetical skills. Women need to have a general knowledge of sound doctrine, but the intricacies of theology are beyond their ken.

Though it is seldom spoken, the concern seems to be that an educated woman will forget her place and seize authority that can rightly be held only by males. This concern is not entirely without merit. Many an egalitarian has come along, contextualized away the passages that forbid women to be pastors and preach, exploited the references to Priscilla and Phoebe, and left the church with the fear that any woman interested in theology is ready to usurp authority over males in the church. It is understandable that godly leaders rightly wish to guard their churches from such women. In protecting their flocks, however, they sometimes seem to overreact and to deny women training that could make them more useful servants in legitimate venues.

If a woman is ever involved in teaching children or other women (for example, in Sunday school, Bible studies, or ladies’ meetings), in counseling, in encouraging others (particularly her husband, especially if he is a pastor), in evangelism, in discipleship, or in personal Bible study, then her knowledge of theology and her ability to handle Scripture ought to be first-class. Otherwise, women and children taught by women are relegated to spiritual baby food and, many times, unsound teaching. If a female has the inclination and opportunity to learn the biblical languages, why shouldn’t she be allowed to see the details of the text that sometimes are not evident in translations? If she has the intellectual capacity and the desire to learn, then why should the mysteries of theology be withheld from her?

Of course, such a highly trained woman might be tempted to sit in judgment over her pastor or even her husband, particularly if she knows more than they do. Knowledge tends to make people proud. This problem is not restricted to females, however. The problem is not with the knowledge but with the underlying character of the person. An increase in knowledge simply allows an opportunity for character to display itself, whether the individual is male or female. Pride of intellect and rejection of biblical authority are sins that both sexes can commit.

A woman’s duty is to love her husband, nurture her children, and maintain her household. A high level of biblical and theological learning in no way contradicts this duty. In some ways, it may reinforce it. A learned woman may be a better help-meet to her husband, a better instructor of her children, and a more thoughtful ruler of the house (this is Paul’s term—oikodespotein—in 1 Timothy 5:14) than otherwise. Besides, in case no one has noticed, women are capable of doing more than one thing at a time!

If, indeed, the Bible is the Word of God, then every believer should endeavor to scrutinize it, to learn it, and to love it, with the aim of loving its Author increasingly in order to obey Him more faithfully. Obviously, seminary is not the only place to acquire this kind of knowledge. But good seminaries are the only kind of place where such learning is available in concentrated doses.

True, the chief mission of seminaries is to prepare Christian leaders such as pastors and missionaries. That mission does not preclude a subordinate mission, however, of equipping church members for excellence in their spiritual responsibilities. This subordinate responsibility includes women.

If I Could Shut the Gate

Anonymous

If I could shut the gate against my thoughts,
And keep out sorrow from this room within,
Or memory could cancel all the notes
Of my misdeeds, and I unthink my sin,
How free, how clear, how clean my soul should lie,
Discharged of such a loathsome company.

Or, were there other rooms without my heart,
That did not to my conscience join so near,
Where I might lodge the thoughts of sin apart,
That I might not their clam’rous crying hear,
What peace, what joy, what ease should I possess,
Freed from their horrors that my soul oppress.

But oh, my Saviour, who my refuge art,
Let thy dear mercies stand ‘twixt them and me,
And be the wall to separate my heart,
So that I may at length repose me free,
That peace and joy and rest may be within,
And I remain divided from my sin.

This essay is by Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, MN). Not every professor, student, or alumnus of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.