.
● 1Cor 14:34 . . Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not
permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also
says.
It could be argued, with some merit, that this rule applies only to tongues
and prophecy; but Paul expanded its scope in a letter to his friend Timothy.
"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman
to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam
was first formed, then Eve." (1Tim 2:11-13)
It's important to note that this is neither a gender issue, nor a competence
issue, an intelligence, nor a maturity issue when it's so obviously a
primogeniture issue. For that reason it's an act of contempt for one's betters
when Christian women step up to govern Christian men in a Christian
congregation.
FAQ: What about women like Anne Graham Lotz and/or Tara-Leigh Cobble?
Aren't they out of order?
REPLY: The instructions are limited to congregational meetings. They don't
include public venue's, e.g. forums, town squares, street corners, coliseums,
stadiums, convention centers, radio, television, or social media like YouTube
and Facebook.
FAQ: What about Deborah in the old testament book of Judges? Exactly how
was she an exception to the rule, if indeed she was?
REPLY: Things are quite a bit different now with Christ at the helm, i.e.
Christ's association with his church trumps Deborah's association with the
Jews. I do not recommend using her, or any other woman in the Bible, as an
excuse to circumvent Christ's instructions in matters pertaining to the
management of Christian congregations.
NOTE: Debbie was neither a priest nor a member of the Sanhedrin; her
involvement in the Jews' affairs was limited to her position as a judge, viz:
the Temple's sacred business was none of her business; that was strictly a
man's world.
* Paul appealed to "the law" as the basis for 1Cor 14:34. Normally when
Paul speaks of the law he's referring to the covenant that Moses' people
agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Exactly where in the covenant that women are forbidden to speak in an
assembly I don't know. However, it's quite obvious that the covenant is very
sexist, i.e. women were not installed in either the priesthood or the
Sanhedrin.
Moses' law doesn't always specifically address certain things. Sometimes the
law's rules and procedures imply principles that we might call "the spirit of
the law". For example Jesus' critics were educated experts in the black and
white letter of the law relative to the weekly routine sabbath but they were
as illiterate as mannequins in regard to applying the spirit of the sabbath.
(e.g. Matt 12:1-13 & Mark 3:1-5)
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