Taking the Epistle: the Pastoral Letters

The Pastoral Letters are so-called because in them, Paul offers advice to his protégés Timothy (two letters, known as 1 & 2 Timothy) and Titus (one letter, named after the recipient) on how to lead the churches in their care, and to guide them.

The introductory notes of 1 Timothy presented by the NIV Study Bible note that some scholars have questioned the authenticity of the Pastoral Letters as the work of St Paul; they point to differences of vocabulary and style as the basis of questioning this. The compilers of the NIV seem to have a clear bias towards taking all the canonical books as being genuine, but offer only "evidence is still convincingly supportive" to explain why these doubters should not be heeded. My own feeling is that 2 Timothy and Titus ring true as the work of Paul (but again, that may be an effect of the translation). I have doubts about 1 Timothy, but that may be because I just don't want it to be genuine (for reasons soon to be discussed!)

Timothy was charged with guiding the church in Ephesus (to whom the Ephesians letter was sent a few years earlier than the putative date for 1 Timothy) while Titus was left in charge of the churches in Crete.

Those with good memories (or the presence of mind to follow the link above to my previous post about Ephesians!) will remember that Ephesians was one of the more awkward books of the New Testament for the sex-positive or feminist Christian to deal with. Well, 1 Timothy is even worse! In fact, the language is at times so similar to that of mediaeval (and indeed, some modern) misogynists that the temptation is to say that this is a later fabrication to uphold those views. Of course, it's equally possible that those views came about because of St Paul's views, too - correlation probably does imply causation in this instance, but which caused the other is open for debate!

I shall use "Paul" as the author's identity, even though I obviously want 1 Timothy not to be genuine.

Paul's opening theme is how some people are trying to be teachers of the Law, and teaching that the law (rather than Christ) is the path to salvation. From this, Paul returns to his theme (familiar from, for example, Romans) of how the Spirit sets us free from the Law.

He lists those who are governed (and condemned) by the law thus:

• lawbreakers and rebels
• the ungodly and sinful
• the unholy and irreligious
• those who kill their fathers or mothers
• murderers
• adulterers
• perverts
• slave traders
• liars
• perjurers

With a catch—all term at the end that seems basically to cover "anyone who disagrees with me"! - "and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me." (1 Timothy 1:10-11)

The interesting thing is that this is the first condemnation by Paul of slavery; in other letters he is cautious and careful to advise slaves to be respectful towards their masters, and likewise he makes no command to slave owners to release their slaves and set them free. But here, the principle is condemned, because without slave traders, how could there be slavery? If Paul really is the author of 1 Timothy, then here is proof that Paul's failure to deal with slavery elsewhere is pragmatic, and not dogmatic in nature.

The label "perverts" is open to interpretation here. From Paul's other writings, we may imagine that Paul would include homosexuality as a perversion but the wording doesn't require us to do so; there is also the possibility that this usage harks back to the earliest usage of "pervert", which was to describe those who followed wrong doctrine. Since Paul is talking principally here about heretics in the Ephesian church whom Timothy is to oppose, this is not too far to stretch.

The next passage introduces the theme of Timothy as being given pastoral duties in Ephesus, and Paul describes his own conversion and the basic doctrine of Christ as Saviour to build up to laying on Timothy the duty of furthering Paul's work.

The awkward part comes with 2:8-15 and with this passage it is like listening to modern USAian rightwing Christian nutjobs in full flow. Observe:

1 Timothy 2:8-15

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 braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing— if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

If Ephesians 5:22-33 was problematic, then this strident reaffirmation of the utter sexism and misogyny is inescapable. In my previous post on Ephesians I weaselled out by talking about the analogy that Paul made with the relationship of God to the Church, but here there are no such words to negotiate with - no wriggle room to avoid the awfulness of Paul's advice concerning women.

We see in short order the true root of modern US Christian opposition to abortion (if "women will be saved through childbearing" then for a woman to reject a(n unborn) child makes her an unrepentant sinner) and we see the modern (and mediaeval) church's justification for regarding women as inferior - that Eve supposedly was created later, and that she it was who was first tempted by the serpent (and heck, using women to take the blame for a man's choices has been a male stratagem ever since...!) Incidentally, the footnotes state that the Greek could also be rendered "...she will be restored by childbearing..." - it's no better, but interesting to note because of the symbolic reference back to Eve even though talking about a future event.

There is only one mitigating point here, and it does nothing to help out Paul (if that's who wrote this) - Paul says "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man". It is neither the Law, nor is it the Spirit, nor is it God that forbids this. It is, apparently, Paul himself who is imposing his misogyny on the Church. Christ Jesus accepted the rebuke of a woman, and upheld women as potential teachers sometimes, so this is not from God, but from whoever wrote the words. All that said, it makes it clear just how big a problem misogyny is within Christian orthodoxy to be aware that this text exists.

In both 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul talks about the advice and roles to be given to various groups. For men, just a few words are deemed necessary: "Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance" (Titus 2:2) and "Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled." (Titus 2:6).

Women, however, need more detailed instruction, according to Paul. It seems that older women were considered likely to turn to drink, to be slanderers and gossips, or even to be hedonists - and this, Paul thinks they should not do. Instead, older women should teach younger women, "to love their husbands and children, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands" (Titus 2:4-5)

The usual advice (see other parts of the "Taking the Epistle" series) is given to slaves (knuckle down, do your duty willingly, show that Christian faith is not rebellious, etc)

Both letters to Timothy talk briefly about how, in the End Times, people will turn away from the faith, and warn against them (in fact, the language in 1 Timothy could, by unscrupulous people, be described as referring to Islam; this is not in my view a valid reading but we should be aware of that possibility). Paul offers the advice to warn followers against the deceptive teachings that may come their way (in 2 Timothy, this advice also goes to Timothy himself). I read this as being not "reject everything that comes from outside", but rather, "subject all teachings to scrutiny and make a wise judgement", which seems to make more sense in the context of Paul's general tenor.

Titus and 1 Timothy talk about the upstanding and moral nature of the men (always men, in Paul's writing!) who should be chosen to lead - elders and overseers. suffice to say, the qualities that Paul advises for all Christians should be exemplified by these leaders.

1 Timothy has a passage that strikes me as being possibly the basis for some conservative attitudes towards the welfare state. Paul is talking about how to handle the question of how the church should support widows.

The first instruction is that a widow with now living family must be cared for by the church, but a widow with living children should be supported by those children first. Paul extends this rule universally: "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:8) In my view, this ruling should be extended to include the entire nation as one's family, but conservative Christians view it as justifying cutting support for those who are in need, because only their relatives should support them. A similar meaning can be ascribed to 5:16: "If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need."

The push to exclude the "immoral" from welfare schemes is also seen in Paul's advice concerning widows:

No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

While it can be argued that a state (or church) should not be burdened by those who have not contributed, or who rebel against it, in secular society it has to be said that this amounts to punishment for dissent - and dissent is an essential part of democratic debate, and something on which freedom is based.

In Christian terms, it should be noted that Paul's advice also goes against Christ Jesus' Gospel teachings about whom we should help, and what reward we should expect.

1 Timothy 5:11-12 As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgement on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.

The footnotes speculate that "her first pledge" was some ritual that went with going on the list of widows, perhaps to be abstinent and to be devoted to Christ (e.g. like a nun). My reading is that it is her first pledge to her original husband, and that she may be tempted (as the women in Corinth) to have extramarital affairs. My speculation is that being on a list of widows effectively meant you were off the market for good.

Paul's next remarks are typically misogynist, implying that a woman needs a husband to prevent her from being a tattletale:

Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.

Paul concludes that, to avoid becoming a slut and a tattletale, a younger widow should find herself a new husband: 1 Timothy 5:14 - "So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander."

The last point I want to mention about the Pastoral letters is about the tone of 2 Timothy. The introductory notes by the compilers of the study bible explain that it was written towards the very end of Paul's life; he is locked in a Roman prison and now awaiting execution by Rome. Paul writes of being abandoned by his friends (indeed, the notes suggest that loneliness was one of the reasons Paul wrote this letter to Timothy), and he talks of how he has suffered and continues to suffer, for the cause he believes in - and how he expects to be rewarded in Heaven. His advice is concerned with protecting in a spiritual sense the faithful, and the belief in the gospel of Christ Jesus. In a sense, it feels like he is passing on the baton:

2 Timothy 4:1-5

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage— with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

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