Sárospataki Füzetek 19. (2015)

2015 / 4. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Enghy Sándor: Ézsaiás és Jeruzsálem. Jeruzsálem jelene és jövője az Úr szava és az Úr napja tükrében (Ézs 2-4)

Meaning and Significance of the Instruction about Women in I Timothy 2:7 2-15

Antioch) - had to match with each other. Therefore was decided: Gentile Christians need not to become Jewish, but they can neither stay half Gentile. So they may be asked to break radically with paganism. Pagan is all idolatry, which can be expressed in sacred prostitution, eating raw meat (known from the Dionysus cult) and drinking blood. Nowadays, blood pudding and rare steak do not smell like idols anymore. To put it positively: what Christians through the ages can learn from this instruction is that Christ is sufficient. Being united with him results in a different attitude.21

We are used to deal with Paul’s instructions about the holy kiss and the remarrying of widows in the same way. Why not with his command for women to be silent in the church?22 That women are in an equal position with men is no longer perceived as offensive in our postmodern society. What we today can learn from 1 Timothy 2 is that in church life, peaceful living is essential. Therefore, Paul demands Christians to live a normal’ life. Human relationships are tender and vulnerable. Jesus Christ, child of Adam and Eve and Son of God, was born in the world to save sinners and to sanctify the male/female relationship, which means purging it from the impact of evil.

This way of dealing with Scripture requires readers who are genuine disciples.23 A helpful metaphor was introduced in 1991 by N.T. Wright.24 Suppose there exists a Shakespeare play whose fifth act has been lost. Only four acts are known, and the

21 For a more detailed argument, see Van Houwelingen, Rob: "The Apostolic Decree and our Meat menu: Reading Acts 15 in redemptive-historical perspective,"Verbum Christi 2.1,2015,24-40.

22 The American philosopher Wolterstorff, who stands in the Reformed tradition, has warned against an arbitrary use of Bible texts, and a selective application of principles in regard to the relation between men and women. Wolterstorff, Nicholas: "The Bible and Women. Another Look at the 'Conservative' Position," in Hearing the Call, Liturgy, Justice, Church, and World, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2011,202-209.

23 Of course, much more could be said regarding this theme, but the present contribution claims to be only a response. Vanhoozer compares the reader of the Bible with someone who stands at a well. It is one thing to study well water, to look at the reflection of your own face, or to analyse its chemical composition, and quite another thing to drink. The reader at the well, in order to be nourished, must draw from and drink of the text. To "drink" here means to accept and to appropriate. The reader has a responsibility to receive the text according to its nature and intention, resulting in a creative echo to the text. Vanhoozer, Kevin J. "The Reader in New Testa ment Interpretation," in (ed.) Green, Joel B.: Hearing the New Testament, Strategies for Interpretation Second Edition, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2010, 259-288 [283].

24 Wright, N.T.:"How can the Bible be authoritative?," Vox Evangelica 21 (1991): 7-31. http://nt- wrightpage.com/Wright_Bible_Authoritative.htm; N.T. Wright, Scripture and the Authority of God. How to Read the Bible Today (revised and expanded edition of The Last Word; New York, Harper One, 2011). Cf. Bartholomew, Craig C. & Goheen, Michael W.: The Drama of Scripture. Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2004.; Wells, Samuel: Improvisation, the drama of Christian ethics, Grand Rapids, Brazos Press, 2004; Vanhoozer, Kevin J.: The Drama of Doctrine, A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville 2005. Vanhoozer correctly adds to this metaphor the element that you do not choose your own role; your role - the theologically correct term is: calling, or vocation - is defined by your identity in Christ. Such role definitions are most appropriately understood within a vital Christian community (363-369).

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