Yes—Christianity, as Les Feldick teaches, gave women their greatest liberty, lifting them from being downtrodden and uneducated to a place of respect and near equality with men.
Les says the greatest liberty for women came through Christianity. He points out that before Christianity women in pagan cultures were burdened with all the work and denied education, but Christianity brought them up to a place of respect and 'almost an equal level' with men. He also insists Paul was not anti-woman, noting Romans 16 commends women who helped him in ministry. Paul's instructions about silence and submission in the Corinthian church were tied to that city's rampant immorality, not a denial of women's freedom.
Romans 16:1-3 — Paul's personal commendation of women who served in ministry shows that Christianity affirmed women's value and freedom.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 — This passage appears to restrict women, but Les explains it as a culturally specific response to the pagan conditions in Corinth.
Galatians 5:1 — Christian liberty is the framework for understanding how Paul expected believers, including women, to live without being forced.
In Romans 16, Paul personally names and commends women who served in the Lord's work: I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea. He also greets Priscilla and Aquila his helpers in Christ Jesus. Scripture plainly gives a place of honor to women who labored in ministry. At the same time, in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Paul instructs: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. In the same passage Paul calls for order: Let all things be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). In Galatians 5:1, Paul writes of the liberty believers have in Christ: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Scripture thus shows both the dignity of women and the order Paul established for the gathering of believers.
Les Feldick makes clear that Christianity, not any modern movement, gave women their greatest freedom. He says Christianity brought women out of being downtrodden, uneducated, and socially burdened, and lifted them to a place of respect and near equality with men [Clip 1, Clip 3, Clip 4]. He insists Paul himself was not anti-woman: in Romans 16 Paul commends women who helped him in ministry and recognized their role in the Church [Clip 0]. Paul's seemingly harsh instructions about women being silent and subdued were written to the church in Corinth, a wicked, pagan city marked by gross immorality, where women of the street behaved brazenly [Clip 2, Clip 5]. Les says Paul's purpose was to set church women apart from that culture, not to deny women their dignity. He also notes that under the Old Testament Law women had almost no rights, and that male headship was part of the order Paul dealt with in Corinth [Clip 5, Clip 7]. At the same time, Les emphasizes Christian liberty: believers are not forced by Paul as if under a whip. The Christian life, including for women, is a matter of liberty rather than compulsion [Clip 6].
Les explains that the instruction was not a dismissal of women but a response to Corinth's culture. Corinth was a wicked, immoral city, and Paul had to address the brazen behavior of pagan women. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul contrasts the church's women with prostitutes and women of the street: they were not to be talkative or take authority in the assembly, but to be subdued and ask their husbands at home. Under the Old Testament Law women had almost no rights, and this cultural backdrop influenced Paul's language. Women were still to recognize the man as head in the family and church order. Les says Paul used these cultural realities to set the early church apart from a corrupt society, not to diminish women.
Les says that in ancient pagan cultures women did the heavy work—planting, harvesting, grinding grain, washing, and childrearing—while men often sat idle. Women were not permitted to be educated or to read. Christianity changed that, bringing the woman up to a place of respect and almost an equal level with men. He calls Christianity the greatest liberty for the feminine portion of the human race and even the beginning of true feminism, because it put women on the same level in God's eyes as man.
Les uses Paul's relationship with the Corinthians to show that Christian liberty is not forced. Paul was not standing over believers with a heavy whip; rather, he was telling carnal Corinthians that their behavior should flow from liberty, not compulsion. This applies to how Christians, including women, live out their faith. Even the instructions about women in the assembly were part of Paul's pastoral concern that everything be done decently and in order.
Paul's Positive View of Women
Les shows Paul was not anti-woman; in Romans 16 Paul commends women who helped in ministry and recognizes a role for women in the church; his Corinthian instructions must be read in light of pagan Corinthian culture.
Christianity's Gift of Liberty to Women
Les declares that Christianity gave women their greatest liberty, lifting them from being downtrodden and uneducated to near equality with men, but notes this freedom has been abused; Paul's instruction for women to be subdued reflects his cultural moment.
Corinth's Immorality as the Backdrop
Les answers critics who call Paul an anti-feminist by explaining that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul's words because Corinth was a wicked city of gross immorality, not because Paul devalued women.
Pagan Burden vs Christian Elevation
Les contrasts pagan societies, where women did almost all the work while men were idle, with Christianity, which brought women to respect and a level playing field with men.
Christianity as True Feminism
Les says Christianity is what set women free and was the beginning of true feminism, because it put women on the same level as men in God's eyes.
Why Paul Contrasted Church Women with Prostitutes
Les explains that Paul did not want church women to copy the brazen dress and talkativeness of Corinth's prostitutes, so he told them to be subdued and subservient; Les also notes that under the Law women had almost no rights.
Christian Liberty Is Not Coercion
Les emphasizes that Paul never forced believers into submission; the Christian life, including for women, is a matter of liberty, not of a whip.
Order and Headship in the Church
Les explains that Paul's instructions assume the man is head of the household and that women were to be subdued in church services, while also affirming that Paul's letters to the Corinthians were the Lord's commandments.
Romans 16:1: I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
Paul publicly honors a woman who served the church, showing Christianity's affirmation of women.
Romans 16:3: Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
Paul names a woman alongside her husband as his fellow worker, evidence of women's valued ministry.
1 Corinthians 14:34: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
This is the passage Les explains in light of Corinth's pagan culture and the behavior of prostitutes.
1 Corinthians 14:35: And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
Paul's instruction was part of local church order, which Les says reflects the customs of the day.
1 Corinthians 14:40: Let all things be done decently and in order.
This verse shows Paul's overarching concern for orderly worship in the church.
Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Paul bases Christian living on liberty, not coercion, which Les connects to how believers should live.
Yes. Les Feldick teaches that Christianity gave women the greatest liberty they have ever had. Before Christianity, women in pagan cultures were downtrodden, uneducated, and burdened with all the work, but Christianity brought them up to a place of respect and near equality with men.
No. Les points out that Paul commended women who helped him in ministry in Romans 16 and recognized that women had a role in the Church. Paul's instructions about women in Corinth were a response to the wicked, pagan culture of that city, not a rejection of women.
Les explains that Paul was writing to a church in Corinth, a city known for gross immorality. He wanted the women of the Church to be the complete opposite of the brazen prostitutes on the streets, so he told them to be subdued, not talkative, and to ask their husbands at home.
Les says Christianity was the beginning of true feminism, because it put women on the same level in God's eyes as men. Before Christianity, women had no such standing in pagan cultures.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Said Women Should Cover Their Heads — 1 Corinthians 11