MUST WOMEN BE SILENT DURING WORSHIP: A STUDY OF 1 CORINTHIANS 14:34

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1st Corinthians 14:34, 35 reads; 34 ÒLet your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.Ó
There is little doubt that the role of women in the church is one of the major issues of the 21st century. Some conservative groups have been resistant to any change. But the cultural and social pressures are growing. The pressures are not only external, but internal.
Internally, Paul seemed to be facing the same difficulties with the churches he planted, in particular the Corinthian church. His letter to them is a critical text in the discussion of the role of women in the New Testament Church. 1 Corinthians 14: 34, 35 is a major restrictive text in the New Testament regarding the public leadership of women and was part of a letter of correspondence written approximately in A.D. 55 by the apostle Paul to the members of the church he founded in the city of Corinth. Ben Witherington III suggests that the date is more likely to be around Òearly in 53 or 54."
The entire letter was a reply to the situations attested to by the leaders of the Corinthian church. It seems that the church members were in a quandary as to what was considered Òright living and proper social interaction both within the Christian community and with the larger wo...

MUST WOMEN BE SILENT DURING WORSHIP: A STUDY OF 1 CORINTHIANS 14:34

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