FR Open Forum excerpt April 18th, 2006

Note: Below Mr. Camping addresses the question: There is Neither Male nor Female – in Christ in relationship to the command in 1 Timothy 2:12 that a woman is not to teach.

Mr. Camping: Let's look at that.

Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Is that the verse?

The other one, this refers to a woman also, is 1 Timothy 2 12.

1 Timothy 2:12 For I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence.

Now, what is your question?

Caller: Well, the first verse says we're neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female indicating that women would be equal. And yet here it seems to, well, it makes a pronouncement that women are somewhat less than men in stature in some way.

Mr. Camping: Well, now you've asked a very good question. You see, the fact that we all stand on the same ground before God as human beings does not mean we all have the same work or the same authority. For example, we have the President of the United States and I am a citizen.

Well, I can't say, well, I'm just as authoritative as the President if I can negate what he says because what right does he have to have a rule over me? No, I have to submit to his authority. But in so far as him being a different kind of a human being than I am, no, he isn't.

We all stand on exactly the same ground and picture this. Here's a child, six years old. Child is told by mom and dad to do this or do that because they're training a child in the way that he should go. And that child says, now, wait a minute, mom, wait a minute, dad. There's neither bond nor free. God is not a respecter of persons. And I stand exactly before God as you do and therefore what right have you to give me direction? Well, that would be total rebellion, would it not?

God has established government. And in the government, he has given certain rules for men and certain rules for women. And that even applies to natural, the natural situation.

Suppose that a man decided, well, I want to bear a child. I want to give birth to a child. And he's going to kick and scream and jump up and down. I want to bear a child. Can he bear a child? The answer is no, no, no, no.

He's a man. God did not design him. Now, does that mean he is less than his wife who is able to bear a child or give birth to a child? No, not a bit. It's just that he has a different role to perform than his wife and a wife, a different role than the husband.

Caller: Well, that's a good way of putting it. I came from a Jewish background originally in the prayer book. It said that women were the molders of character and family and they were created with more of a divine nature than men.

Mr. Camping: Well, that's just not true. That's absolutely not true. Women and men, spiritually speaking, stand on exactly the same ground. And so does that baby, so does that child. We all stand on exactly the same ground. But insofar as our work to do and insofar as government, which God has established for this year, and we find that government even in the animal world you'll find that in a pride of lions there is the head lion and in a wolf pack there will be the leader of the pack. That government goes through all of everything that God has created.

But thank you for calling and sharing and shall we take our next call, please?