In the current maelstrom of feminism, the world believes a woman should be empowered to do anything a man can do. How then can we answer the question whether a woman should enter seminary?
Ligonier Ministries recounts a 1992 TIME Magazine cover story which “asked the question ‘Why Are Men and Women Different?’ In much smaller letters, almost as if apologizing, the thesis of the cover story was suggested: ‘It isn’t just upbringing. New studies show they are born that way.’”
According to Shaunti Feldhahn and Robert Lewis, however, “Most of us today would agree that yes, men and women are different, and move on. But without a clear biblical definition of manhood and womanhood, without a clear vision of how they are different and why, both men and women have trouble separating life-giving pursuits from mistakes and mirages. There is nothing specific to aspire to, strive for, or check ourselves against. ‘Am I a good woman?’ ‘Did I behave like a man today?’ If God really has created us male and female for a purpose, those are absolutely essential questions. And the only place the life-giving, encouraging answers can be found is in a biblical understanding of maleness and femaleness.”
Yes, the Bible, God’s Word, tells us men and women are different, and it’s a mandatory starting point for our discussion about whether a woman can go to seminary.
What is a Woman’s Biblical Role in the Church?
Believing women, both single and married, are part of the church and, as such, will have a pivotal role in its health. To handle this as best we can, we should look at a woman’s total role, first in the home and then in the church.
All general commands to the church body apply to both men and women, but church leadership has a specific order according to God’s perfect will and wisdom (1 Timothy 3:1-16; Hebrews 13:17). Not all women will serve as wives, but their role within the church follows the same commands as given to wives.
A woman’s role is first served as a child of God, and then as a wife to her husband. Pastor Paul Washer describes it this way:
“The roles that they [men and women] play in the marriage has nothing to do with a lack of equality. When we will get to the point where it says that the man is the head of his home and a wife is to live in submission to her husband, it does not mean that the wife is less than her husband. It does not mean that. If you think it does, [then] guess what? You’ve just destroyed the trinity. Because, did not the Son submit to His Father? So, did that make the Son less than His Father? If you say “yes”, [then] you have just committed heresy. Within the trinity itself, the Son submitted to His Father and yet the Bible says the Son and Father are one and they are equal.”
Pastor Washer goes on to say he and his wife are equal but with different roles. What Pastor Washer illustrates is also true in the roles men and women are given in their church body. He continues by saying, “Women were created to grow with their husbands, with the help of their husbands, under the tutelage of their husbands. That does not mean he lords it over her or he knows more than her, but she was just made for that reason. You leave her alone, or think that she’s strong and can make it on her own, which is often times my sin, and you’re going to mess up the whole thing of what God is wanting to do. So, my wife and I, we are one and we are equal, we function in different roles.”
God-ordained leadership responsibilities exists both in the home and in the church.
In Genesis 1:27, we read man and woman were created in the image of God. Imago Dei. Both have equivalent status before God. In Ephesians 5:22-27, God tells us, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is Himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
It’s only logical then, that a woman’s role in her home is mirrored by her role in the church.
What is Taught at Seminary?
A seminary is a graduate-level institution for people interested in pursuing a career in ministry. Therefore, the curriculum is mostly focused on those subjects which train a man to be a pastor/teacher. The degrees commonly offered are Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, and Master of Theology. A sample course of study may be found here.
Can Women Teach the Bible to Men?
Many of Jesus’ followers were women, but nowhere in the Gospels or epistles does the Bible depict women in an authoritative position teaching men. Instead, women in a solitary and corporate function (as in groups of women) are shown listening to Jesus (Matthew 15:38), attending/ministering to Jesus (Mark 15:41), praying with others (Acts 1:14), helping the disciples (Philippians 4:3), and doing good works (1 Timothy 2:10).
Titus 2:3-5 further defines their roles, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
Three instances in particular show women who came alongside men in private settings to explain and/or encourage other believers. Acts 18:24-28 relates the account of Priscilla (a woman) and Aquila (a man), who took the man, Apollos, “aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” This was not a case of a woman exercising authority over a man. The Bible does not specify Aquila and Priscilla were husband and wife, but she—in effect—was fulfilling her role as a helper (Genesis 2:18). The original Hebrew word used is ēzer, which means one who helps.
Philippians 4:3 includes an exhortation by the Apostle Paul to the Philippian church to, “…help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
Romans 16:1 introduces us to Phoebe, “a servant of the church at Cenchreae…” The Greek word used here is diakonos (deaconess). This role is not that of a leader within the church, but as a servant under another’s authority.
In none of the three reports is it said a woman (or women) stood before men to teach them. Individually, a woman can offer wisdom privately to a man which may include biblical correction, yet not in an official, authoritative church government role. Any Christian, including women, can refer to and employ Scripture to correct a man’s false teaching or wrong thinking. Men may do this in a corporate setting; women may not, as we see in the following verse references.
As defined by the Scriptures—which are our authority—the roles of pastor and elder belong to men, and those men who are called are the ones who teach the body of believers. The following passages serve as an introduction to the behavior of women within the church setting:
1 Corinthians 14:34, “the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.”
1 Timothy 2:9-10, “…likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.”
1 Timothy 2:11-14 answers the question definitively. Paul commands, “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” Inherent in this passage is something we do not want to miss—a protective factor.
Can Women Go to Seminary?
Women can absolutely go to seminary, but obedience to the Bible (and therefore to God) means women cannot study to be a pastor who would corporately teach men. Seminary provides a logical and ordered structure to theology, so all who attend learn how to handle God’s Word rightly (2 Timothy 2:15).
A woman may attain a degree, and many seminaries have curriculums for women who are called into ministry. As examples, women are blessed to be able to pursue training in missiology (mission work), women’s ministry, children’s ministry, theology, apologetics, and many other avenues of ministry. Even if her knowledge and godly growth is engaged solely in her home and in her area of friends and familial influence, a woman is able to make great contributions to the kingdom of God.
All that being said, women are not “left to do nothing,” as many fear (or accuse). The work for every believer is manifested in their gifts, talents, and calling. It’s not easy for men or for women, especially with the antagonism and persecution of contemporary society against true believers, but the rewards of following and teaching others about Christ are joyful and eternal.
This article is the second in a series giving different perspectives about women attending seminary, teaching in the church, and associated questions about female church administration roles. To read the second perspective, go to:
Can Women Go to Seminary: The Case for Women Teaching and Preaching
To read more perspectives on this topic, go to:
Can Women Be Pastors? The Ordination of Women to Pastoral Ministry
Should Women Be Pastors? What Does the Bible Say?
What Does the Bible Say about Women Pastors?
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