Can women be pastors?

Christians disagree on this, and both sides base their view on real texts, not just tradition or culture.

One view, often called complementarian, points to Paul's instruction that he doesn't permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man in the gathered church. It also appeals to the created order of Adam and Eve. This view generally holds that men and women are equally valuable but assigned different roles, with the pastoral teaching role reserved for men.

Another view, often called egalitarian, points to women clearly leading, teaching, and prophesying elsewhere in Scripture: Deborah judging Israel, Phoebe serving as a deacon, women recognized as prophets in the New Testament. This view argues Paul's instruction addressed a specific local problem, not a universal rule for every church.

Both readings take the biblical text seriously. This is an internal Christian disagreement about interpretation, not a case where one side is plainly biblical and the other isn't.