Role of Women in the Church, Why Artemis?

 

Joe Kolb asked me about my interest in the role that Artemis worship had on the interpretation of I Timothy 2. Here is my reply dated Aug 19, 2024. 

NOTE: Joe sent my reply to the Board on Oct 1, 2024, as an attachment in .pdf format. I am including it here for simplicity of organizing the material. [NOTE: I have added some context to Glahn's 'eight reasons for looking at the texts about women,' item 7, in brackets [ ] that was not in my original reply to Joe.

 

Hey, 

I’ve taken to using ChatGPT for a quick orientation on a topic of interest (from computers to history to even biblical studies). Here’s my query about Artemis. 

Q) How did commentaries prior to 1600, including remarks by the church fathers, interpret I Timothy 2 in light of the artemis worship in Ephesus

A) Commentaries prior to 1600, including those by the Church Fathers, typically did not interpret 1 Timothy 2 in light of Artemis worship in Ephesus. The early Christian commentators and medieval theologians generally approached this passage with a focus on doctrinal and moral instruction rather than historical or cultural analysis of the Ephesian context.

Church Fathers and Early Commentators

1. Chrysostom (c. 347-407)

   - John Chrysostom, a prominent Church Father, interpreted 1 Timothy 2 with an emphasis on the natural order and the creation narrative. He understood Paul’s instructions as based on the idea of male headship established at creation, with the fall of Eve as a key element in explaining why women should not teach or have authority over men.

   - Chrysostom did not link these instructions to the local context of Ephesus or the worship of Artemis. His focus was on the universal application of the text, seeing it as reflective of the proper order in both the family and the church.

2. Augustine (354-430)

   - Augustine also approached the passage from a theological and moral perspective. He emphasized the idea of submission, which he saw as a necessary virtue for maintaining order within the church and society.

   - Like Chrysostom, Augustine did not explore the potential influence of local Ephesian practices or the worship of Artemis on Paul's instructions. Instead, he viewed the passage as part of a broader Christian ethic.

3. Ambrosiaster (4th Century)

   - The commentator known as Ambrosiaster, whose works were influential in the early church, interpreted 1 Timothy 2 in a straightforward manner, emphasizing the created order and the idea that women should be subject to men.

   - Ambrosiaster’s commentary reflects a view that sees Paul’s instructions as rooted in the creation story, with no mention of any cultural or religious practices specific to Ephesus.

4. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

   - Thomas Aquinas, in his "Commentary on the Epistles of Paul," approached 1 Timothy 2 with a focus on the natural law and theological principles. He argued that Paul’s instructions were based on the idea that women were more susceptible to deception, as exemplified by Eve.

   - Aquinas, like the earlier Church Fathers, did not consider the possibility that the Artemis cult or any other local Ephesian practice might have influenced Paul’s instructions.

General Characteristics of Pre-1600 Commentaries

- Theological Focus: The interpretations of 1 Timothy 2 by commentators before 1600 were largely theological, focusing on the creation order, the fall, and the roles of men and women as established by God. There was little to no consideration of the cultural or historical context of Ephesus.

- Universal Application: These early interpreters tended to see Paul's instructions as universally applicable to all Christian communities, rather than being context-specific to the situation in Ephesus.

- Lack of Cultural Analysis: The idea of interpreting 1 Timothy 2 in light of Artemis worship or other local practices in Ephesus is largely a modern development. The Church Fathers and medieval theologians did not typically engage in this kind of cultural or historical exegesis.

Conclusion

Before 1600, interpretations of 1 Timothy 2 by the Church Fathers and other commentators focused on theological and moral teachings, particularly regarding the roles of men and women in the church. They generally did not consider the potential influence of the worship of Artemis in Ephesus or other local practices on Paul's instructions. The connection between 1 Timothy 2 and the Ephesian context, including Artemis worship, is a more recent line of interpretation that has emerged with the rise of historical-critical methods of biblical scholarship.

Of course, ChatGPT isn’t artificial intelligence, it’s rather a “common intelligence.” And it’s certainly not fool-proof and is best used as a starting point for questions (far better than having to start with Google search). But the history doesn’t surprise me due to the long tradition of assigning women to a lesser status in society, even in the church. For example, I recall listening to an historian a few years ago discuss Macrina the Younger. She was the sister of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, two of the 3 prominent Cappadocian Fathers. You can read a little about her here, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrina_the_Younger. She was, in the view of this historian, equal to her brothers in mind and devotion, but was restricted in expressing her gifts due to her gender. This stance toward women, it would appear, has been the received tradition. 

In this kind of context, Scot McKnight argues, 

 I must mention here the new book by Joy Schroeder and Marion Ann Taylor, Voices Long Silenced. A must-read if one wants to know what women actually have been doing in the history of the church and synagogue. We can compellingly and convincingly go back well before the 20th century to the earliest centuries of the church To find plenty of examples of women teaching, preaching, and leading. And doing so in official church offices, like deacons and even bishops. 

On the other hand, I queried ChatGPT for criticisms of Schroeder & Taylor. 

A) While "Voices Long Silenced" by Joy Schroeder and Marion Ann Taylor has been widely praised, there are some critiques from scholars and readers. The top three major criticisms include:

1. Scope and Selection:

   • Criticism: Some scholars have pointed out that while the book covers a wide range of women interpreters across different cultures and time periods, the selection process for which figures and texts to include is not always clear. This has led to questions about why certain women or traditions were highlighted over others and whether this might reflect an implicit bias in the authors' choices.
   • Response: The authors intended to provide a broad overview rather than an exhaustive list, but some feel that more transparency in their selection criteria would have strengthened the book’s academic rigor​ (Vanderbilt EJournals).

2. Depth of Analysis:

   • Criticism: Another critique is that the book, in its effort to cover a vast temporal and cultural range, sometimes sacrifices depth for breadth. Some readers have noted that certain figures and their works are not explored as thoroughly as they could be, with brief summaries rather than detailed analysis. This can leave readers wanting more in-depth engagement with the primary sources and the interpretive methods employed by these women.
   • Response: The authors have aimed to provide an accessible entry point into the study of women's biblical interpretation, which may account for the more cursory treatment of some figures​ (Vanderbilt EJournals).

3. Modern Interpretive Lens:

   • Criticism: A few critics argue that the book occasionally interprets historical figures through a modern lens, potentially imposing contemporary feminist or egalitarian values onto past interpreters. This anachronistic approach, they suggest, might lead to misrepresentations of the original contexts and intentions of these women.
   • Response: The authors have acknowledged the challenge of interpreting historical figures while remaining sensitive to contemporary concerns, and they have aimed to balance these perspectives carefully​ (The Thoughtful Christian).

Overall, while these criticisms highlight areas where the book could have been more rigorous or nuanced, they do not detract significantly from its overall contribution to the field.

So, my guess, is that we will find comparatively little discussion of the influence of the Artemis cult on Paul’s letter to Timothy in the received tradition. The question then becomes, to what extent is the modern discussion of that influence to be disregarded or minimized due to its novelty (being unduly subject to modern sociological trends than to proper biblical exegesis). 

I guess I’m persuaded, with caution, that it’s worth considering because of the following elements Glahn in her book Nobody’s Mother, here summarized by McKnight.

Glahn provides four reasons for the decline of women in public ministries of the church.

(1) The priesthood of all believers shifted into an all-male priesthood of an ordained person.

(2) The shift toward infant baptism eliminated the need for women's “assistance in the baptism of women for reasons of decency.” (3) The worship structures of the church began to resemble the temple and temples which led to the barring of menstruating women from worship leadership. (4) Anthropology. Put simply, Greek views of women as ontologically inferior infected church, it's practices, and its theology. 

So, she proposes eight reasons for looking at the texts about women, and her concern is 1 Timothy 2, all over again – as if for the first time. 

1.    Revelations from archaeology have shed light on numerous social and historical practices of women as well as the early church. For instance, the shaved head of women in 1 Corinthians 11 does not have to do with prostitutes, who supposedly had shaved heads, but with shaming a female adulteress. The evidence from Pompeii makes clear that prostitutes wore stylish haircuts. 

2.    More time for study. The old hours needed for labor for an individual's job have shifted dramatically into the 20th and 21st centuries. We now have more time and this has made more time for women to study these texts as well. 

3.    Longer life expectancy. Although many women are entering into the academic world right out of college and Graduate School, other women, because of longer life expectancies, have been able to develop a post rearing-children life career of research and study. And because people live longer these second careers last longer. 

4.    The Internet. One cannot emphasize enough the accessibility of information today for anyone who wants to find obscure, even arcane, sites and evidence and texts and scholarship. 

5.    Access to education leading to more emphasis on social history. Scholarship of the late 20th century and now the 21st century has included diverse scholars who have investigated questions and evidence previously ignored. There is considerable scholarship on the life of ordinary people, marginalized people, and this scholarship has brought to light much evidence about the life of women in the ancient world. 

6.    Developments in a pigsty and paper allergy (that’s how my dictation feature in MS Word wrote up what I said, and what I said was “epigraphy and papyrology”!). There is more than a half million inscriptions available today, and often in translation, and also often available on the Internet. 

7.    Developments and literary analysis. Research into rhetoric in the ancient world is transforming our perception so that we no longer only study what a text says, but we study what a text does.

[NOTE: Not mentioned here by Glahn, but Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla, professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary, uses this phrasing to describe Mark's treatment of the naked runaway in his Gospel. "In other words, Mark is doing something with what he is saying" (Abraham Kuruvilla, "The Naked Runaway and the Enrobed Reporter of Mark 14 and 16: What is the Author Doing with What he is Saying?" Journal or the Evangelical Theological Society 54:3 (September 2011): 527–45) - RP]

8.    Finally, semiotics. Which is the study of how actions, clothing, jewelry, and other material elements signify meaning, status, and significance. Hence there is considerable opinion today about women wearing jewelry and what that signifies in 1 Timothy 2.

I think the main reason I’m thinking through the influence of Artemis on Paul’s letter to Timothy is that fact that we have so much about Artemis in Ephesus recorded in Acts that it almost begs to be considered. Just what the influence is is a matter of debate. 

 

My openness is also due to a shift in my hermeneutics, adding one dimension to the ‘historical-grammatical’ interpretation I was taught at DTS. The ‘historical’ as viewed by conservatives like myself in the ‘80s was largely restricted to historical events (wars, kings, priests, cities, buildings, etc.), not to historical, cultural and social conditions. Admittedly, cultural and social conditions are less certain than ‘hard’ events, but they nonetheless should be explored, with caution.

Later,

Richard