"Remember, Bauckham, it's not a lie if you believe it."
Posted on 07/05/2002 7:21:05 PM PDT by aculeus
EVIDENCE that one of the Apostles of Jesus was a woman is being examined by leaders of the Church of England, who are debating whether women should be ordained bishops.
Joanna, who was close to Jesus during His ministry, changed her name to Junia and was recognised by St Paul as an Apostle, research to be published later this year found. Her role was ignored for centuries because medieval scholars altered the name to Junias to make it masculine.
Joanna, who was with Mary Magdalen when the empty tomb was discovered and taken as proof of the Resurrection, changed her Hebrew name to a Latin name to fit in with the Romanised culture of Tiberias, where she lived, Richard Bauckham, Professor of New Testament Studies at St Andrews University, says.
As Junia, she was described by St Paul in a letter to the Romans as “prominent among the Apostles”. She was a wealthy woman from King Herod’s court who turned to Jesus after seeing Him heal a friend’s wife, he says.
The defection of the powerful courtier to the new Christian movement was seen as even more scandalous because she was married to Chuza, one of Herod’s most influential stewards. Joanna converted her husband, changed the way she dressed and used her own money to support the mission.
Although it has been previously suggested in theological circles that the Apostle Junia was a female, she has never previously been linked to Joanna and the Herodian upper class of Tiberias.
The discovery suggests that not only was society far less patriarchal than previous research has shown, but that women such as Joanna may have used their wealth and standing in society to convert others to their cause. Joanna and Chuza were among the large numbers of disciples who gathered when Jesus appeared to rise from the dead. She witnessed the Crucifixion and Chuza later changed his name to Andronicus, Professor Bauckham says.
Professor Bauckham’s paper, Junia the Apostle, will be discussed during the meeting of the General Synod. Its presentation to a bishops’ working party on the theology of women in the episcopate will challenge the perception of the apostles that has dominated the Church since AD400.
Although Jerome, regarded as the most important religious scholar of that time, considered Junia to be a woman, subsequent translations in the Middle Ages and the King James Bible changed her name to the male Junias.
Robert Bartlett, Professor of Medieval History at St Andrews University, said: “If a name like Junia was a little ambiguous, the medieval scribes were quite likely to make mistakes. Certainly the medieval Church was male-dominated and wanted it to stay that way, but whether someone was cooking the books to make it appear that the Apostles were all men is not yet certain.” Medieval scribes were known for their inaccuracies, he said.
The assumption that the leading Apostles were all men has been one of the most unassailable arguments against the ordination of women bishops.
If the claim that Joanna and Junia were the same person, and that Junia was a woman and an Apostle is accepted, the argument for women bishops will have been all but won.
The “greatest surprise”, Professor Bauckham said, was that St Paul knew one of them “and considered her an outstanding Apostle”. Her high status would have conferred social legitimacy on the new religious movement.
After witnessing the Resurrection she left for Rome with her husband. Both were imprisoned for their beliefs and never heard of again.
There are many scholars outside the Anglican tradition (i.e. Protestant Arminians among others) who also regard Junia as a female Apostle. As far as this whole Junia is Joana thing, I'm not privy to evidence to speak authoratively on.
In another Scripture, Paul mentions two laborers with him in the gospel, "Priscilla and Aquilla" (a husband and wife team). It is notable that Paul mentions Priscilla first, possibly hinting that she is in a more visible role in ministry than her husband.
Furthermore, history is replete with examples of women that have been used mightily by God in ministry; among them, Catherine Booth and Amy Carmichael.
When I try to speak to some Reformed brethren concerning Scripture that describes God's relational nature to His creation, the answer that is always thrown back at me "God is Sovereign" and "you can't limit His Sovereignty", usually without making a meaningful attempt to deal with the text of Scripture. Well, why can't I say here on the issue of women in ministry, "God is Sovereign." "Who are you to tell God who he can choose or not choose?" If they direct me to 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 or 1 Timothy 2:11-15, I can just reply, "You can't understand what God is saying there. That's a mystery. God is sovereign." Of course, I would never give an answer that didn't take into account Scripture, but if it's good for the goose, why not for the gander?
[1] Is Iounian a female or male?;
[2] the meaning of the prepositional phrase "en tois apostolois";
[3] and whether "apostolois" in this context means "sent ones" as opposed to the office of apostle.
Whatever the conclusions, I hardly think this opens the office of bishop to women -- hard to meet the "husband of one wife" requirement [1 Tim. 3:2].
My take at this point is that if Junian/Junia is a female she was a woman of note as was Prisca/Priscilla [2 Timothy 4:19] who with her husband Aquuila helped Apollos to understand the Scriptures.
Thanks for the ping!
What justification? There's no Sriptural justification for the former, or possibly the latter.
ya think..LOL
thought you all would like to weigh on on this ..a little publicty for the NEW PC NIV??
You got a problem with popes who fancy themselves gods.
"Remember, Bauckham, it's not a lie if you believe it."
Wasn't he the one who used to fly around the pyramids?
LOL -- great point!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.