In this episode we take a look at the historical and cultural context of Paul's first letter to Timothy and specifically, 1 Timothy chapter 2. In giving his reasons for writing this letter to Timothy, Paul instructs him to dispel myths that had arisen in the assembly (1 Timothy 1:3-4). In chapter 2 of his letter we see Paul begin to dismantle some of those myths and those myths centered around the worship of the pagan idol, Artemis. The culture in Ephesus was heavily influenced by the worship of Artemis. Artemis was a female goddess of Greek origin and the worship and culture of Artemis was female centric. While males could participate in the worship of Artemis, women were dominate and men had a lesser role (kind of the opposite of what we see today in most churches). 

Here are some of the myths Paul addresses:

• In the Ephesian culture, Artemis was looked to as the protector of women in childbirth. 
• Women stood a better chance of Artemis hearing and answering their prayers if they wore expensive clothes and jewelry when petitioning Artemis.
• Artemis was born before her twin brother Apollo, meaning woman was created before man.

We also need to keep in mind these important points:

• Timothy was not a pastor. There's no indication of that anywhere in Scripture. That's a church history-driven idea that is incorrect.
• The letters of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are not "pastoral letters" written to pastors. Calling them pastoral letters is another false assumption delivered to us from church history.
• The letters to Timothy and Titus are not across-the-board manuals for doing church. They address specific problems that arose in specific locations involving specific people. Failure to recognize this and instead promote the false assumption that everything in them is applicable to every generation without regard to the historical and cultural context they were written in, has led to the muzzling of half of the body of Christ.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Artemis: Virgin Goddess of the Sun and Moon - https://tinyurl.com/2p9cfykc
• What's With Paul and Women? https://tinyurl.com/yp6n47xn

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Other places you'll find us:

• The UnSunday Show Podcast - https://www.unsunday.com
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/unsundayshow/
• The Grace Cafe YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@GraceCafePodcast
• The UnSunday Show YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@unsundayshow

Welcome to episode 3 of the recently re-launched Grace Cafe Podcast! In this episode we continue the series we started last time concerning women in the church. This week we start to explore the question, did Paul command women to be silent in church? This episode is a much needed overview of what the New Testament says about women in the body of Christ. We look at several of the clear passages of scripture to lay a good foundation for this topic before jumping into the sometimes not-so-clear waters of 1 Timothy chapter 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 next time.

We are breaking this question up into multiple parts because there is so much to work through in getting a clear understanding of this topic and we don't want to rush past anything in sorting it out. So this is part one of Did Paul Command Women to be Silent in Church? Grab your favorite beverage and listen in!

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Other places you'll find us:

• The UnSunday Show Podcast - https://www.unsunday.com
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/unsundayshow/
• The Grace Cafe YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@GraceCafePodcast
• The UnSunday Show YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@unsundayshow

Welcome to episode 2 of The Grace Cafe podcast! In this episode we're launching a multi-part series centered around the topic of women in the church and how church history and tradition have damaged and diminished the way women can function within the body of Christ. We start in this episode by talking about patriarchy and how it has damaged women by taking away their voice and individuality. We share from our personal experiences with patriarchy as we believe so much error has flowed out of this system that it needs addressed first. 

Grab your favorite beverage and listen in as we see where this series takes us. And thank you all for the overwhelming response we've received from this relaunch of The Grace Cafe!

Enjoy!

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Other places you'll find us:

• The UnSunday Show Podcast - https://www.unsunday.com
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/unsundayshow/
• The Grace Cafe YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@GraceCafePodcast
• The UnSunday Show YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@unsundayshow

Welcome to episode one of the relaunched Grace Cafe Podcast! In this first episode of The Grace Cafe, we talk about why it was necessary to stop the original Grace Cafe Podcast back in 2019 and how and why this relaunch came to be a reality. Our conversation takes us to a variety of other topics that are woven together throughout this episode. Grab your favorite beverage and listen in!

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Other places you'll find us:

• The UnSunday Show Podcast - https://www.unsunday.com
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/unsundayshow/
• The Grace Cafe YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@GraceCafePodcast
• The UnSunday Show YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@unsundayshow