Deborah P. Brunt

With all that discernment, understanding, power and authority, Peter might have assumed he knew everything he needed to know. But shortly after Peter performed the most amazing miracle of his life, he went to a rooftop to pray - and God waylaid him.

Like Peter, the early church understood this astounding truth and acted on it. But before long, men of influence who came into the kingdom began to tilt their teaching toward their own cultural understandings. Being Gentiles themselves, they agreed that we "should not call any man impure or unclean."

But, in their view, women are a different story.

Brace yourself. Tertullian (A.D. 155-220), early church leader and prolific author, told women: "Do you not know that you are [each] an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age; the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of that [forbidden] tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. On account of your desert - that is, death - even the Son of God had to die."

Origen (A.D. 185-254), "one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church," said, "Men should not sit and listen to a woman . . . even if she says admirable things, or even saintly things, that is of little consequence, since they came from the mouth of a woman."

Augustine (A.D. 354-430), "one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity," wrote, "By herself woman is not of the image of God. The man, on the other hand, alone, is the image of God."

Another early church father, Jerome (A.D. 342-419) said, "Woman is a temple built over a sewer. It is contrary to the order of nature and of the law for women to speak in a gathering."

A temple built over a sewer? Jerome's thinking regarding women's immutable impurity was particularly influential, for his Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, was the official translation used by the church for 1,000 years. It was the translation read by Martin Luther and other fathers of the reformation, who in turn still influence us today.

Martin Luther taught, "Women are ashamed to admit this, but Scripture and life reveal that only one woman in thousands has been endowed with the God-given aptitude to live in chastity and virginity. A woman is not fully the master of herself."

King James (who commissioned the King James Version) said, "To make women learned and to make a fox tame work out to the same end. Educating a woman or a fox simply makes them more cunning."

Has this gender bias, grafted into the church so long ago, even made it into the pages of our English Scripture translations?

Look again at what Peter taught at Cornelius' house. Did he say: "God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean" (Acts 10:28 NIV, italics mine).

"I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (Acts 10:34-35 NIV, italics mine).

Not exactly. In the Greek language, there are two primary words translated "man." Aner denotes a man, as distinguished from a woman.  Anthropos denotes a human being. Aner (a male) is used eight times in Acts 10, but it is not used in the two quotes with italicized words above.

What Peter announced in verse 28, but what many English translations - including New International Version, New American Standard, King James and New King James - fail to clearly communicate is this: "God has shown me that I should not call any person [anthropos] impure or unclean."

In verse 35, neither of the Greek words for "man" appears. As the New Living Translation correctly indicates, Peter announced: "In every nation he [God] accepts those who fear him and do what is right" (italics mine).

What do you do when you're seeking the Lord - going where He says to go, doing what He says to do, saying what He says to say - and He waylays you? He reveals what you weren't seeking. He answers what you weren't asking.

Peter realized that his lack of understanding of the new covenant's impact was cutting off whole nations from what God intended for them.

Could our similar lack of understanding be cutting off a whole gender from what God intended? Many of us have thought we knew God's mind on the matter of women - and can quote the Scriptures to prove it. But men whose teachings have heavily influenced Bible translation and the beliefs of the Western church did exactly what God told Peter not to do, labeling all women both "unclean" and "unable to be cleansed" even by Jesus Christ, the Lord of all.

Today, our Lord continues to declare, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

Like Peter, the early church understood this astounding truth and acted on it. But before long, men of influence who came into the kingdom began to tilt their teaching toward their own cultural understandings. Being Gentiles themselves, they agreed that we "should not call any man impure or unclean."

But, in their view, women are a different story.

Brace yourselves. Tertullian (A.D. 155-220), early church leader and prolific author, told women: "Do you not know that you are [each] an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age; the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of that [forbidden] tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. On account of your desert-that is, death-even the Son of God had to die."[i]

Origen (A.D. 185-254), "one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church,"[ii] said, "Men should not sit and listen to a woman . . . even if she says admirable things, or even saintly things, that is of little consequence, since they came from the mouth of a woman."[iii]

Augustine (A.D. 354-430), "one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity,"[iv]  wrote, "By herself woman is not of the image of God. The man, on the other hand, alone, is the image of God."[v]

Another early church father, Jerome (A.D. 342-419) said, "Woman is a temple built over a sewer. It is contrary to the order of nature and of the law for women to speak in a gathering."[vi]

A temple built over a sewer? Jerome's thinking regarding women's immutable impurity was particularly influential, for his Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, was the official translation used by the church for 1,000 years. It was the translation read by Martin Luther and other fathers of the reformation, who in turn still influence us today.

Martin Luther taught, "Women are ashamed to admit this, but Scripture and life reveal that only one woman in thousands has been endowed with the God-given aptitude to live in chastity and virginity. A woman is not fully the master of herself."[vii]

King James (who commissioned the King James Version) said, "To make women learned and to make a fox tame work out to the same end. Educating a woman or a fox simply makes them more cunning."[viii]

Has this gender bias, grafted into the church so long ago, even made it into the pages of our English Scripture translations?

What did Peter teach at Cornelius' house? Did he say: "God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean" (Acts 10:28 NIV, italics mine).

 "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (Acts 10:34-35 NIV, italics mine).

Not exactly. In the Greek language, there are two primary words translated "men." Aner denotes a man, as distinguished from a woman.  Anthropos denotes a human being. Aner (a male) is used eight times in Acts 10, but it is not used in the two quotes with italicized words above.

What Peter announced in verse 28, but what many English translations - including New International Version, New American Standard, King James and New King James - fail to clearly communicate is this: "God has shown me that I should not call any person [anthropos] impure or unclean."

In verse 35, neither of the Greek words for "man" appears. As the New Living Translation correctly indicates, Peter announced: "In every nation he [God] accepts those who fear him and do what is right" (italics mine).