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Is it sexist that the Bible tells women to be quiet?


A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 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. 1 Timothy 2:11-15
            Paul addressed the role of women in 1 Timothy 2, in what has become controversial for women.  When some read this, they hear, “Women, shut up and listen to the man.”  That’s not the case.
            Women have certain defaults in their design that are excellent qualities.  They are verbal communicators and relationship oriented.  These bring balance to a relationship with men who tend to be more intuitive communicators and independent.
            However, those qualities in women, when out of balance, have perpetuated stereotypes that are indeed more likely true in most women than in men—they love to gossip with other fellow communicators and assert their authority verbally over men (aka “nagging”).
            Paul saw this in the church and commented.  Men, he stated in Ephesians 5, need respect and they respond to the respect of other men.  When women move into authority over men, men don’t respond well.  Women and men both respond well to male leadership, which Paul encouraged in the church.
            “Quietness and full submission” does not mean sit down and shut up.  They mean don’t overstate or over communicate and allow a man to work out and act out his need for respect and leadership skills.
            Paul pulls the “Eve” card and plays it.  He looks at creation and states that man was created first and it was woman who encouraged the first sin.  The judgment on them by God (found in Genesis 3:16-19) changed the hierarchy of the relationship.  Women have been fighting to reverse that, but it’s best if they concentrate on what incredible value they bring to humanity, beginning with childbirth and raising a family in faith, love and holiness.