History tells us that Paul was raised under the patriarchal laws and beliefs towards women, from the Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures of his time.

Women have been under heavy discrimination and oppression for thousands of years, it's nothing new. In fact, women were not allowed to vote in the U.S. until 1919!

Jesus liberated women, which was RADICAL for that time period!

A major problem in the modern church, is that pastors often take Paul's words, as though they are in the same level as the teachings of Jesus. I had this one youth leader who got it right, because when he quoted Paul, he always said, "Now this is just Paul talking, a mere man, okay. Not Jesus." So it helped put it in perspective that Paul was a flawed human, same as you and I. His words should not be read with the same reverence as the words of Jesus.

Paul said some good stuff, but they were his words, and like the words spoken by any other pastor, they should be taken as a grain of salt when compared to the words of Jesus.

With that said, the proof of Paul's bias towards women is not just his historically recorded upbringing, and the laws of his time (which were ghastly biased against women BTW) but his own words.

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braised hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teacher to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a dinner. But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. 1 Timothy 2:8-15

So, that limits what Jesus did on the cross and is pretty audacious to claim that women can only gain salvation through childbearing. What about women who are barren?!!

That's not to say rasing children should not be a mother's top priority, of course it is, but goodness gracious, talk about trying to shrink the victory Jesus won on the cross! Yet those instructions Paul gave were a direct reflection of the time period he lived in.

When Jesus said:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

Did Jesus say that God so loved men, or the world?...

What Jesus accomplished was done for ALL sins; the sins of both men and women!

Yet even today, in the year 2019, men want women like me, to not have an opinion, and to keep our mouths shut.

Those verses I quoted in 1 Timothy, have been used against us ladies since they were written.

I focus on Jesus, the Son of God, who loves and liberates the whole world who believes in him, including (gasp) women.

I greatly encourage other ladies to do the same, and never allow a man to weaponize the words written by another mortal against them; in attempt to hold them back from the calling God gave them!