One must not lose sight of the fact that the Bible, whether fact or fable, was written in a much different time and style of society. Having read and reread and reread the book, I have found that it is quite difficult in many ways to relate to something so archaic in nature. I also have found that no matter how much I read, my questions remain unanswered. I digress! My opinion would be this: No. So many women have worked so hard to take an equal stance in our society and they should not be held back in anything, let alone religion (though it seems that religion is still the most commonly used means to evil ends)...

Long ago, a man named Constantine, and numerous others, staged somewhat of a smear camaign against women saying that they were the devil, evil, and temptation, etc. By turning men and society against women, they turned from a matricarcal (sp?) to a patriarcal (once again, sp?) society. Women went from being nurturing and good and equal to evil, cruel, and below men.

Remember, Paul wrote that in a time in which women were silent. I don't think he was sexist. I think he wrote that because in that time each sex had a role. In our time, each sex doesn't have a role, so i think that no longer applies. I believe that this world is very sexist, and i have been judged by many (not all) of my male peers for being a male who looks at females equally.

It is important for women to pay attention to what these troubling verses of the Bible really mean. Some may prefer to ignore these verses and simply accept the teaching of their church on these issues. For others, these teaching just add more fuel to the fire and give them further reason to want to dismiss the teachings of the Bible and do away with the church all together. Over the years, I have personally experienced both kinds of reactions. My experience has been that the church mostly ignores speaking a great deal about these verses, but when they do they are most often interpreted literally. Just as troubling is the way in which these verses continue to be practiced, even if they are not openly taught. Today, it is so easy to check out the views and teaching of many churches on the web. One indication of how a church may feel about women’s role in the church is to look at the church staff. How many women are in leadership positions in that church? Are those who are in leadership limited to the women’s and children’s ministries?

Whenever women are confused about a biblical or church teaching, I would suggest that they do the research themselves. Read several Bible translations and a variety of biblical commentary. Go back to original scripture and discover what the original word of scripture was and what it really means and how it is translated elsewhere in scripture. There have been many times that I have struggled with church teachings and what I read in the bible. But most of the time when I do an in depth study of scripture myself, I am able to gain greater insight and reconcile my understanding. This understanding may be different from what the church teaches, but through it all my faith in God remains.

Here is just some of what I have discovered about 1 Corinthians 14:34. The Life Application Study Bible NIV commentary on the verse says this:

"It is clear from 11:5 that women prayed and prophesied in public worship. It is also clear in chapters 12-14 that women are given spiritual gifts and are encouraged to exercise them in the body of Christ. Women have much to contribute and can participate in worship services."

"In the Corinthian culture, women were not allowed to confront men in public. Apparently some of the women who had become Christians thought that their Christian freedom gave them the right to question the men in public worship. This was causing division in the church…Paul was asking the women not to flaunt their Christian freedom during worship. The purpose of Paul’s words was to promote unity, not to teach about women’s role in the church."

Understanding the context in which this verse was written helps us to understand that Paul was addressing a particular problem at the Corinthian church. This is not a teaching that is to be applied to all women through all time. Also, according to the The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible commentary on what the word translated “speak” really means:

"The word “speak” as we explained is lalein which should be taken to mean “uttering sounds that are incoherent and which are not understood by others.” Paul says that instead of having anything like that, it is better to have silence. Paul uses the same word “keep silent” in v. 28 when a man speaks in v. 30, “but if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent.” Actually that phrase, “let the first keep silent,” is the same word meaning, “let him keep silent.” That is a man, not a women.”

Translations can be confusing to us sometimes. That is why when we struggle with a verse or a church teaching we should first dig deeper to make sure that we understand its true meaning-at least as true as we can understand. I have attempted here to share these commentaries as accurately as I can, but I would encourage others to read for themselves and draw their own conclusions.

Sometimes when people are confronted with information that is different from what they have come to believe it is easier just to close their minds to receiving new information. It has been my experience that most people would rather defend what they already believe than be open to a revelation. My only hope in writing this is that others might be willing to seek the truth of such a teaching rather than defend a long time belief or just to ignore the issue all together.

A similar and even more problematic verse is 1Timothy 2:12. The implications of this verse have had an even greater effect on the church and on women’s roles within the church. Paul’s writes to Timothy, “I do not permit a women to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (NIV translation). An interesting thing to note here, according to the Hebrew–Greek Key Word Study Bible commentary is that although the translation reads “a women” that it should be translated “a wife”. In addition, the commentary states:

"It is because of the mistranslations of these passages that the Christian world has had so much difficulty in understanding the proper position of a woman in the Christian Church."

Again, if someone is willing to dig deeper as to the meaning of the scripture from 1 Timothy 2:12, they will find there is good news for women. The bottom line is that Christianity is based on faith in Christ. Christ never excluded women from his ministry; rather he included them in ways that were radical for the time. Paul makes it clear to us in Galatians 3:26 that we are all children of God though our faith in Jesus and in verse 3:28 he says, “…there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (NAS)

Is there a possibility that we have been doing things wrong all along? It's possible that women ARE supposed to be silent in the church, but perhaps Paul was a sexist and he didn't want women to take control.

But now look - women are pastors, lawyers, judges, worship leaders, and everything that was apparently unintentional. Did we just disregard this verse because it was against women? Or is it because it is untrue?

Consider this - why would god allow women to prophesy in the church if they weren't allowed to speak? Did Jesus impune anybody because they were women? not that I recall. I don't remember Jesus ever saying anything about silence of the female sex in church. It's pretty wierd to think that an apostle would write down something that seems to be made-up.

From what I hear, all of the books of the bible were inspired by the holy spirit, and the holy spirit doesn't lie, so this verse must be true.

Should we be ignorant of it? I don't think so. I need some more opinions before I can make sense of this...