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You Have Questions. The Bible Has Answers. |
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| How to Start and Run a Local Church |
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| Role of Women in Services |
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For some congregations, this is a non-issue—both men and women are content with whatever functions they have. Other congregations argue and split over this issue. This author's caution is that church groups should deal with this issue only as it is a real problem for them. One local congregation in Texas spent months debating whether or not the Bible permits women to teach in services. They could not agree, so they split. After the dust settled, it turned out that there were no women in either group that wanted to teach in their services—some just disagreed about whether it was Biblical. The split was needless.
The advice to "leave the subject alone" if possible does not come from a fear of knowing the mind of Christ on the matter, but from an understanding of the difficulty in determining what the original Bible manuscripts said. Indeed, some manuscripts differ in important areas. The Bible was copied and translated for hundreds of years by men who lived in societies where women were not educated and were not perceived as being capable of doing anything more than housework, farm work and raising children. With this thinking rampant, it is easy to understand how some men might have attempted to "clarify" the manuscripts—making them more restrictive of women.
An example of the difficulty can be found in the book of 1 Corinthians where the NIV reads: "women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says" (1Corinthians 14:34), yet only three chapters earlier he said: "And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved" (1Corinthians 11:5). This verse is obviously referring to praying and prophesying in a service, as 1 Corinthians 11:1 starts by encouraging the brethren to keep the traditions that Paul gave to them—these traditions continue all the way through chapter 14. Referring to praying and prophesying, "If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God" (1Corinthians 11:16). How could anyone be contentious about the head coverings used by people who were praying or prophesying in their own home? They could contend with others only if it was being done in their presence.
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This is the nature of the study involved with determining exactly what the Bible says about the role of women in services. How can women be told to pray and prophesy in services in one chapter, then be told to be "silent" only three chapters later? There are additional scriptures that seem to support both views. It requires much digging into original manuscripts and trying to understand the precise context in which the scriptures were written. Many books and articles are available on both sides of the issue. One book is What Paul Really Said About Women by John Temple Bristow. If this is a major question of some people in the fellowship, then encourage everyone to study it. But if it is not a question, it might be better left alone. |
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THE Bible Study Web Site at BibleStudy.org |
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