Question to Professor Ngong — Important for women
I also have a question for you, Dr. Ngong, that I have pondered for some time. It is rather controversial and you may not want to deal with it, so no hard feelings on my end if you don’t answer it. In 1 Cor. 7:12, Paul says “I, not the Lord say this…and he goes on a discourse about women. Then I noticed in 1 Tim. 2: 8-12 his opinion, which I explained in my post, again about women. I began to notice that he uses “I” a lot and I mean a lot. It makes me wonder just how much of his discourses are his own opinions and how many are truly of God. I have always believed that the scriptures were infallible, but this bothers me. Jesus had great respect for women and never have I seen a thing he said about restricting women in the faith. When I read Paul’s comment in Tim., I have always thought that it did not sound like Jesus. It seems out of place considering how many women leaders served under Paul in the new churches. Can you clarify this for me? I posted a NIV note on this in my main post which explained it from a commenter’s view that it was for the women in the Ephesus church only.
Violet,
This is an excellent question and you did well to take note of Paul’s views. As you rightly noted, the question of biblical infallibility is strained by claims like Paul’s, especially when he appears not to consider his own personal views as infallible. This may suggest that the doctrine of infallibility is not a biblical doctrine and Paul would himself not hold to that doctrine. That is why we need to read the Bible with discernment. Personally, I hold that women should be treated equally in church and society, period. There should be no biblical grounds for discrimination.
Dr. Ngong