Library Award for Undergraduate Research
2008 Winning Essay
As
I was poring over the Bible in search of passages that mentioned children
for a course in “Children, Childhood, and Faith Formation,”
I was particularly puzzled by 1 Timothy 2:15, which reads “yet she
will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and
love and holiness, with modesty.” Upon contemplation, I found myself
asking: “Are women really saved through childbearing? Why would
the author of 1Timothy suggest childbearing as means to salvation? Who
is required to continue in faith and love etc.? Does this verse have modern
applications for children and women?” While I initially tried to
push these questions aside, they provoked me to write my final research
paper on this verse.
Nestled in the second set of stacks behind the reference desk of the Christopher
Center lies the first resource I turned to, the Anchor Bible. Knowing
this set of commentaries would serve as a launching pad for my research
by providing me with short essays on my topic, I obtained the First Timothy
volume and flipped through the pages until my eyes rested on a few explanations
of the verse I wanted.
Pleased my preliminary search was fruitful, I took a seat in front of
a computer and pulled up the Christopher Center’s webpage. Navigating
my way to the Galileo Catalog, I typed in “first timothy 2:15”
and proceeded to conduct a keyword search. Instantly, titles of several
books pertaining to my topic were suggested such as I Suffer Not a Woman:
Rethinking 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in Light of Ancient Evidence. Happy the books
were in the library, I checked some of them out. Later I discovered that
they detailed much of the background information and cultural history
necessary to get at the heart of my questions.
My quest at the library, however, would not be complete without utilizing
the databases, which often supply current articles directly addressing
specific aspects of a topic. Because my research was biblical, I clicked
on the ATLA Religion Database. One of my favorites, ATLA is particularly
useful because of its “scriptures” button, a feature which
allows specific searches for any verse in the Bible, by retrieving articles
that discuss that verse and surrounding ones. Expectantly, I typed “1
Timothy 2:15” into the box. Galatians 1 sprung to the top of the
page. I blinked. Clearly, something was amiss. Diligently, I tried “First
Timothy 2:15,” attempting to be more exact. Acts 1. Sighing, I flipped
the order to “timothy first 2:15.” Finally, I had solved the
mystery and was relieved that the database recognized Timothy as a valid
book of the Bible. After being reminded that databases sometimes demand
particularities and also of the usefulness of the “indexes”
button when the search term may vary, my faith was restored as ATLA brought
up valuable articles such as “Reading 1 Timothy 2:9-15 in Its Literary
Context.”
While I successfully had found several resources at the Christopher Center
and through the databases, I turned my attention to WorldCat, in hopes
of finding additional materials. Once again my search proved rewarding
as I ordered books like Women in the church: a fresh analysis of I Timothy
2:9-15 from Interlibrary Loan.
A few days later, I received emails announcing my ILL books were in and
I went to pick them up. As I gazed at the books in my hands, my heart
dropped as I realized one of the books I ordered was a dissertation, a
reminder to always check exactly what type of material I was requesting.
While a dissertation can be an excellent source, I was suspicious that
the first page read “grade: B.” Luckily, I had plenty of other
resources.
Having read through the materials I had gathered, it became clear that
my understanding of the verse and scholars’ opinion of the verse
hinged on how the Greek was used. After looking in a Greek lexicon in
the reference section, I sought the help of Dr. Kumpf, my Greek professor.
Discussing the Greek with him, he affirmed the ambiguity of the verse,
and he offered alternative ways of translating certain words.
By using Galileo, reference materials, ATLA, WorldCat, and by talking
with knowledgeable professors, I crafted an essay that describes and argues
for the superiority of certain scholarly viewpoints on 1 Timothy 2:15.
While my research allowed me to understand the difficulties of the text,
it also fueled my desire for greater knowledge as doors to more questions
were opened on the views of women and children in the Bible.
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