1 Timothy 2:11-14

11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

In 1 Timothy 2, this passage points out with absolute clarity exactly how the Apostle Paul viewed women. Not only does this support the claim that women should learn in silence, but specifically states that they should never teach or have any authority over a man and that they should just keep their inferior mouths shut. The reasoning behind this is just plain silly.

Paul says that since Eve came second, she is inferior. In at least one depiction of the creation, God creates man after the animals of the world. Does that make man inferior to the animals? Paul also says that since Eve was deceived, she was to blame. I guess Adam just went along because he was being an idiot, which we all know is a virtue.

Was this written by a just and moral god who loves us all equally, or was it written by a sexist man who didn’t want women to have any power over him? Thankfully, many of us live in a society where men and women are considered equal. However, this archaic thinking still pervades our society amongst fundamentalist groups. It is often used to prevent women from teaching in church and religious institutions. In some particularly strict religious groups, it keeps them from teaching or even speaking entirely.

There is no other way to interpret this passage. Paul’s intent is clear. Even if he intended it to mean something different, the fact remains that this verse is used to subjugate women all over the world for centuries. Any reasonable and moral human being could see that this is vile and sexist, yet the King James Bible is supposed to be good for teaching in righteousness. Is this really how the righteous should act? It seems the King James Bible is less about teaching righteousness and more about teaching male self-righteousness.

Genesis 2:16-17

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 3:2-7

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

In Genesis 2, God clearly states that Adam and Eve will surely die after they eat the fruit, but they actually continue to live after doing so. Satan, in serpent form, informs them that they will know the difference between good and evil, which they do. It’s not as if they were immortal before and then had their immortality taken away. In Genesis 3, God kicks out Adam and Eve from the garden so that they cannot eat from the tree of life and live forever.

Some have suggested that they experienced a spiritual death. If that is true, then why doesn’t God say so? Instead of doing that, he rattles off various punishments that they will endure. The snake eats dust while women hate him, Eve gets painful childbirth and submission to men, and Adam must work the cursed land to get his food. God doesn’t say anything about any death, spiritual or otherwise. Theists may deny this and make rationalizations all they want, but the textual evidence shows that God lied and Satan told the truth.

The story itself is unfair. Adam and Eve didn’t understand the difference good and evil before eating the fruit. They didn’t know that it was bad to go against God before they did this, so he is essentially punishing them for something that they didn’t have the capacity to fully comprehend. God shouldn’t have placed the tree there to begin with, because they would have had free will without it.

If no one was supposed to eat from it, why not root it up? Why leave it there to tempt the first two humans? In addition, why does God want to prevent Adam and Eve from gaining knowledge? Faith, belief without evidence, is what he places the most value on. If he exists and is omniscient, then he placed the tree there because he knew that the first two humans would eat from it. He wanted them to blindly follow him rather than to learn anything. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree out of ignorance, he cursed them and their descendants for all eternity. That is evil and deceitful, and his punishments are extreme and cruel. This is not a good god. In the beginning, the only logical conclusion to come to is that God and Satan are both imaginary.