Paul talks of celibacy, Jesus did not. Paul taught women not to have sex with their husbands, Jesus did not.
Sorry, if you read Matthew 19, Jesus addresses both the topics of Marriage and Celebacy directly. As for Paul, you are blatantly mischaracterizing what he said about intermarital sex and celibacy. If you read closely in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7, Paul is offering his own personal opinion on the topic, as he is a celibate man. He acknowledges in verses 3-6 that his opinion on sex in marriage was not tantamount to a commandment. He never commanded anyone to do anything. His words were merely suggestions.
With that being said, he was addressing questions being asked him of Corinthian saints who took extreme stances on sex. Also, he was not telling women to stop having sex with their husbands. Aside from the primary marital relationship with God, sex is an essential part of the marriage.
A segment of the Corinthians Paul was addressing held the view that women shouldn't have sex with their husbands. He himself never suggested that women do such a thing.
In verses 7-9 Paul says:
"For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn
with passion."
He acknowledges that passion cannot be totally restrained, thus, it is better to be married and in a healthy sexual relationship with your spouse (of opposite sex) than to be single and burn with lust.
That's strike one
Just because paul taught or spoke on it does not mean it was anything Jesus suggested to his followers or to Paul.
Wrong. In reality, Paul expanded on what Jesus taught in Matthew 19:11-12, in which Jesus said:
"The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry."
11But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.
12"For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."
Compare this to Paul's statements in 1 Corinthians 7, you will find a striking similarity between the two.
That's strike two
Paul did not like women, but Jesus and the early followers not only included women but were often lead by women.
That's not true. Jesus held women in high regard. He was never at any point in time lead by a woman, save his mother. Paul consistently employed women in leadership roles in the church as found in his letters.
"It is generally assumed that Paul is the author of a Christianity of female subordination. But more recent studies have shown that the historical Paul in fact continued most of the assumptions and practices of early charismatic, inclusive Christianity. Indeed, most of the New Testament evidence that women functioned as local leaders, as well as traveling evangelists, is to be found in the Pauline letters. Paul addresses almost an equal number of women along with men (sixteen women and eighteen men) in his greetings to Church leaders in Romans 16. He mentions two women, Euodia and Syntche, as having preached the gospel "with Barnabas and me" in Philippians 4:2-3. He addresses a woman name Junia by the title of "apostle," and constantly refers to the husband and wife team, Priscilla and Aquila, as "Church leaders," usually naming Priscilla first. He also speaks of the prominent woman Phoebe by the title of both "deacon" and
"prostasis" or leader, of her community.
Paul received from the early Church both a practice of thus including women in the ministries of catechesis, prophecy, local Church leadership, and traveling evangelism (the role Paul calls that of "apostle"), and also a baptismal theology of male-female equivalence in Christ as reflected in the Galatians 3:28 reference. This formula was not original with Paul; he cites it from early Christian tradition. The Galatians baptismal text expresses the early Christian vision of the new humanity in Christ. It was consciously moulded to contrast with the traditions of rabbinic piety, adapted from Hellenistic philosophy, in which the Jewish male thanks God for having been born male and not female, free and not slave, and Jew rather than Gentile. By declaring that in Christ these divisions had been overcome and all these groups made "one," the early Christian stated the essence of his or her new identity as one where the equivalence of all humans in the image of God had been restored."
-Rosemary Reuther Feminist Theologian, citing another Feminist theologian Elizabeth Fiorenza, Women in World Religions, Arvind Sharma (ed.), SUNY:1987, pp 212-213
In essence,
"He [Paul] was converted overnight from a legalistic, persecuting, pharisaic rabbi to a preacher of freedom in Christ, equality within the Body, of universal giftedness of the Spirit, to mutual submission after the model of the "meekness and gentleness of Christ.
His actions showed that his understanding of male and female alike was informed by the radical position we have in Christ...His practice and his words alike encourage ALL to accept the 'yoke' of service to the Master Servant of All...He consistently 'stays after women' to learn and grow and use their gifts for His precious Lord... He instructs his disciples to make sure that they are taught and utilized in the Body...He praises them in his letters for their faithfulness and hard work and 'co-laboring' with him...
This man's vision of women was re-created by the grace of God...would that we see what he saw, and live as consistently."
http://christianthinktank.com/fem09.html
That's strike three. Aris.
