Paul and women (1)

Some people perceive Paul as sexist. He said in the letter to the Colossians (3:18) and in Ephesians (5:22) that wives should be submissive to their husbands. (The same directive appears in 1 Peter 3:1). Out of context, Paul’s words could be interpreted as an affirmation of male superiority. In context, however, those words reflect the obligation of all Christians to “be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21). In Galatians 3:28 Paul included a hymn which specifies that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free person—there is not male and female. This theology does not exonerate Paul of sexist attitudes. He was a man of his times, and his times and culture expected women to be silent in church and to wear a veil (cf. 1 Cor 15:34; 11:5). Perhaps Paul had decided to choose his battles, and this was one he chose not to fight.