If you cannot be bothered to read the arguments, I doubt anything will dissuade you.
I read it, …and, it is as I said, subjective opinion only. Put up against actual reason and/or evidence it falls like a house of cards. I don’t follow Ehrman but if this is a representation of his character it suggests cowardice on his part for he implies Paul is a misogynist without ever accusing him of being one himself. Instead, he asserts others accuse him of being one and he adds, Oh, let me tell you why THEY call him a misogynist. Ehrman is a coward to hide behind others for the purpose of impugning Paul, or in this case, the alleged forger of Paul.
It is why I said I don’t want to read Ehrman’s blog because I would then be debating Ehrman (as I have just done) rather than discussing the topic with you.
With regards to contradictions, do you think Paul believed women were equal to men or inferior? I will see if I can find verses that indicate otherwise.
Absolutely, Paul saw all humans as equal in Christ. His letter to the Galatians makes that clear. (Gal. 3:28)
Since you seem to think (based on Ehrman’s blog) that Paul’s statement in Ephesians about women makes him a misogynist then let me briefly state the obvious point that refutes Ehrman.
Paul could be an egalitarian in the absolute sense of Christ being the center of the universe holding all things together which was the basis of writing what he did in his letters to the Galatians about everyone being equal.
On the other hand, Paul could also be a pragmatist knowing that in the real world social structure serves a practical benefit to decide difficult issues among humans. Right? Even among liberal social democracies where humans are considered equal we still SUBMIT to authorities in order to avoid paralyzation due to disagreement among equals. IOW, at the end of the day somebody has to make the decision when humans disagree. Somebody gets to be the authority that the majority agree to submit to. It keeps things moving.
In the same way, the family is the smallest social unit of any society and probably the most important one. So even in the marriage among equals, husband and wife, someone must make the final call on difficult decisions. If the husband agrees it should be the wife then so be it. Maybe the wife is the wiser, smarter one of the two. But for the sake of unity and moving forward one person must assume that role. In Paul’s cultural context lacking government social services and no birth control resulting in most woman being the primary caregiver at home then men usually took the role as executive decision maker. Therefore, Paul says, “wives”, for the sake of unity and moving forward, “submit to your husband” as the executive decision maker. This is better for the family, for the church, and the nation.
No where in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians is this an absolute rule, as in every situation, for all time, but generally, in the culture and times of the audience Paul was writing too. Paul had no crystal ball showing him about you and I reading his letter and possibly concluding he must be a misogynist because of all the single moms, broken families, and absentee fathers our social government takes care of, —those individuals doing just “fine” without a wife submitting to her husband. (a bit of sarcasm there was intended).
Likewise, do you think Paul believed the resurrection for him and fellow Christians was still to come or had already happened?
Briefly, there are TWO resurrections.
First, the rising “Spirit of Jesus”, aka, moral consciousness, in all humans to varying degrees, in which Christ Jesus never leaves us and is always among us.
Second, the bodily resurrection of Christ Jesus when his “body”, the structure of the cosmos, is remade to be a body of light, ordered, perfect, and eternal.
Therefore, it depends on which resurrection Paul has in mind when he is writing. In the first, the presence or coming (Greek: parousa) is always happening, always here, especially given that souls are continuously turning to the spirit of Jesus, growing that moral consciousness arising within them, surrendering to good, truth, justice, and love in their daily choices. These are those through whom Christ Jesus is among us forever and always.
The second resurrection happens at the end of time when all the heavenly host are gathered in. At that time all the virtuous souls that have ever lived will arise BODILY (made of light) to receive their eternal inheritance.
