Paul's reputation in some circles as a misogynistic New Testament author simply do not match what he so plainly says in a variety of instances. One way to tell he is quite gender egalitarian is to look at passages where he promotes strict gender equality in matters of morality and salvation (as throughout 1 Corinthians 7 and in Galatians 3:26-29). Another is how he affirmatively or tenderly mentions individual women by name. He mentions Sarah and Hagar from Genesis (Galatians 4), but they are not women from his own lifetime, so they are not the ones I mean.
Paul regularly mentions specific women in his epistles. I do not mean that he only mentions the same handful of women over and over. He acknowledges many women by name as evangelistic assistants, equals with him before God, and superb examples of committed Christians. Romans 16 alone abounds with examples, some unnamed, but many of them acknowledged by name. Even in the total absence of reference to Junia (seemingly mistranslated as a man's name instead in some versions), which I am ommitting because the verse speaking of her is not necessary to demonstrate Paul's expression of gender egalitarianism in Romans 16, there are numerous women Paul uplifts in this chapter of the New Testament:
Romans 16:1-4, 6, 12-13, —"I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many, including me.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them . . .
Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you . . .
Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too . . .
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord's people who are with them."
Without Junia (16:7), who is naturally controversial among complementarians because Paul calls her an apostle, which they assume in their metaphysical and epistemological errors must be a position exclusive to men as the ultimate human authority figures, there are still nine paricular women Paul mentions. Seven are named. Priscilla and Aquila from the book of Acts receive mention, a wife and husband who work together with each other and with Paul on God's behalf. Paul also does not shy away from the capacity for deep friendship between men and women, just as between people of the same gender. That friendship, like any, would be all the more weighty and intimate if based on mutual commitment to philosophical truths, such as the fact that it is very likely that Christianity is true.
In other letters, Paul also speaks of Priscilla or other named women.
1 Corinthians 16:19—"The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house."
Colossians 4:15—"Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house."
2 Timothy 1:5—"I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."
2 Timothy 4:19, 21—"Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus . . . Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters."
Philemon 1:1-3—"Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker—also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Importantly, Paul does not push for unity itself in Philippians 4, but unity "in the Lord", which would fall under the both broader and even more foundational category of unity in the truth (the only valid kind!). He also admits the difference between God and Jesus in the opening remarks of Philemon. But one thing every single one of these excerpts has in common is that they include mention of individual women Paul seems to have personally interacted with as fellow humans equally capable of sinning, coming to truth, and serving God. Biblical feminism is the same as mere feminism, which is logically true: men and women are both equally human and accordingly can have no rights that are not shared by both genders and no obligations that are not shared by both, except potentially for some things strictly related to anatomy, with gender necessitating nothing about someone's personality, competencies, and moral character. Any deviation from this true feminism, which elevates women over men or stereotypes men and women in any way, is false as reason requires whether you like it or not.
Did Paul not mention particular women as equals, allies, and friends, it would not mean that he is misogynistic or that anything in the philosophy he puts forth does not equally apply to women and men, save for things connected with genuine gender-specific anatomy, like what he holds to about literal circumcision of the male foreskin. But it is not possible for someone who praises and celebrates women in the manner of Paul, if sincere, to regard them as lesser than men or as beings who, though "equal", should for some invalid reason stay separate. Paul welcomes women as fellow humans and sisters in God's family, working alongside them with respect and gratitude.
Paul says repeatedly in other writings that the Law is universally binding (Romans 3:9-31, 7:7-12, 1 Corinthians 9:7-14, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, etc.), wherever its tenets are not logically excluded from this (i.e., Leviticus 19:23-25), because it perfectly reflects objective morality stemming from Yahweh's nature. This also affirms his gender egalitarianism. I have written far more extensively on the true gender egalitarianism of Yahweh's Torah laws, the most direct, complete moral revelation in the entirety of the Bible, which by nature are largely relevant to all people and times because morality cannot possibly be culturally relative, if it exists (and the Law itself agrees (see places like Leviticus 20 or Deuteronomy 18, chapters that in various ways likewise affirm gender equality). I have also written extensively on what Paul actually says and does not say about how men and women are to act, showing how in reality his moral philosophy is consistent with what logic requires and with the egalitarianism of the Torah, as he does not promote a non-mutual moral framework based on gender stereotypes or double standards [1].
The portions of the New Testament quoted above are not what someone would say if they were trying to effectively communicate that women are secondary to men or not capable of embracing the same philosophical concepts and living for them alongside men who have done the same. On the contrary, they are expressions of a religious philosophy according to which, in turn in accordance with logical necessity, men and women are equals—one which men and women are to both hold to, celebrate with each other, and labor on behalf of so that still other men and women might also come to the truth.
[1]. For instance, see here, what will be a recent post at the time this very post will be uploaded:
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