One of the rules that he [St. Paul] promulgated concerned women and their role in the church. He recognized that if given free rein, women would begin to place themselves in positions of authority, where they would inevitably cause trouble for the early Christians. Therefore, he made himself very clear about their role, taking special care to prevent them from teaching and preaching to men.

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This may not be a pleasant or comfortable passage for the modern Western woman, but there it is.

Unfortunately, a number of women calling themselves “Christian” have taken it on themselves to teach and preach to men. It is quite common these days, having become almost normative, and the results should have been predictable.

Take Katherine Jefferts Schori for example. Currently the head of the Episcopalian Church in the US, she has all but run that institution into the ground. Some may argue that this is because she is liberal, but I’m not sure that’s the case. St. Paul made no distinctions based on politics, but rather sex.

Certain conservative women have also taken it upon themselves to ignore Paul and start preaching in all but name themselves. They certainly don’t shy away from presuming to teach men when it comes to spiritual matters, which is also clearly proscribed by Paul.

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With little to do, these women go around gossiping and provoking people, and taking on inappropriate roles. They might pit men against each other for some little thrill, or simply as a consequence of getting involved in what rightly ought to be worked out amongst men. When the inevitable spat develops, men’s instinct to come to the defense of women is triggered, and next thing you know guys are raising their voices and balling up their fists. This is almost guaranteed to happen, and it proves Paul’s wisdom in his epistle to Timothy.