This message has been approved by my husband, Brett. If you don't understand why I'm telling you this, read on.
I have been involved in various ministries over the years. The one dearest to my heart is our local crisis pregnancy center because God, who makes lemonade (my previous post about answered prayer) out of lemons, used a dark chapter in my past to bring life and light to other women facing a crisis pregnancy. During the process of starting this ministry, I spoke in a number of churches, sharing my testimony and my vision, and I have continued to do this periodically as I have been given opportunity.
So imagine my chagrin when, after our hypothetical pastor had expressed an interest in having me share some exciting ministry opportunities with our congregation, Brett said he didn't feel comfortable with me speaking because, and I quote, "it is shameful for a woman to speak in church" (1 Cor. 14:35b).
We had always understood this passage to be cultural: descriptive of practices in churches 2,000 years ago. But now Brett saw it in a new light, and he felt strongly that we needed to stop ignoring it. Let's look at this passage more closely:
As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church (1 Cor. 14:33–35, ESV).We read this together with 1 Timothy 2:11–14 (ESV):
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.This passage seems to indicate that the reason women are not to speak in church is that they, like Eve, are prone to be easily deceived, and therefore should not be relied upon or even allowed the opportunity to make public declarations of doctrinal consequence when men are in the audience, whether through an original statement or the vocal evaluation of someone else's statement (I Cor. 14:29). It would be shameful to do so.
Since we can blame Eve for this gag order, let's look at the train wreck she caused.
Once upon a time, God created everything, including a man and a woman. Everything was "very good" (Gen. 1:31). He gave those people one choice: to either obey Him or disobey Him. They could do anything they set their minds to do. Not sprout wings and fly. Possible things, ok? Like dive into the crystal-clear water and swim with the dolphins, or ride a lion through the orchard. There was absolute liberty, pure joy, unfathomable peace. There was only one rule: Don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Simple.
But Eve was intrigued. The forbidden became mysterious, and she was curious to know more about this singular mandate. A talking serpent was happy to accommodate her.
Once upon a time, God created everything, including a man and a woman. Everything was "very good" (Gen. 1:31). He gave those people one choice: to either obey Him or disobey Him. They could do anything they set their minds to do. Not sprout wings and fly. Possible things, ok? Like dive into the crystal-clear water and swim with the dolphins, or ride a lion through the orchard. There was absolute liberty, pure joy, unfathomable peace. There was only one rule: Don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Simple.
But Eve was intrigued. The forbidden became mysterious, and she was curious to know more about this singular mandate. A talking serpent was happy to accommodate her.
"Did God really say...?" the serpent asked (Gen. 3:1b, NIV). Uh-huh. "You will not certainly die" (Gen. 3:4, NIV), he countered. And the fruit was so pretty, and the serpent said it would even make one wise! So, Eve believed the serpent instead of God, and she probably made a seductive, Superbowl-esque commercial to market her new product to Adam. Or something to that effect.
Now Adam knew exactly what he was doing when he ate the fruit. He probably had no idea how grave the consequences would be, but he deliberately disobeyed. He should have gently refused the fruit and corrected Eve's misunderstanding of the situation. Alas, he did not. He failed to guard the truth that God had given him. He allowed Eve to remain in her deception, and he allowed himself to be enticed by something that he knew was dead wrong. Deep, heavy, multi-millennium-long sigh.
Now Adam knew exactly what he was doing when he ate the fruit. He probably had no idea how grave the consequences would be, but he deliberately disobeyed. He should have gently refused the fruit and corrected Eve's misunderstanding of the situation. Alas, he did not. He failed to guard the truth that God had given him. He allowed Eve to remain in her deception, and he allowed himself to be enticed by something that he knew was dead wrong. Deep, heavy, multi-millennium-long sigh.
God had prepared a beautiful vegetarian feast for the couple He had created, but because of their sin He kicked them out of the garden - the banquet hall, so to speak - and they had to struggle to find food. This was Adam's punishment:
Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:17–19, ESV).
Did you get that? Adam's sin was listening to his wife! Now translate all of this to the year 60 AD...or 2020, for that matter. How can men guard against deception in the church? By not listening to the women. Is this some kind of chauvinist plot to degrade the value of women? Au contraire! If women were not so persuasive to men in particular, none of this would be an issue! But since we have the potential to be so influential, we just need to hush. Not just in the lands of the Bible and not just 2,000 years ago. In Paul's admonition, Eve is not being used as an example of life in Corinth in the first century; she is the quintessential woman whose most basic qualities are shared by all women throughout all ages. Maybe we should be flattered that we have so much influence over men. We should certainly be careful. Even silent.
Think of it as power under control, ladies.
By the way, women can talk about many things in non-church settings (blogs, right?), and they can talk about doctrine to children and other women, outside of the assembly where men are gathered. And they can talk about doctrine to men ("their husbands at home" [I Cor. 14:35]) if they're trying to understand things. They can certainly learn from men; they just can't teach doctrine to men. Because Eve believed the serpent, and we might, too. So shhhh.
And no, I don't care how crazy any of this sounds, because it's a lot easier to believe this story than it is to believe that a tiny dot of nothing exploded. And I can talk about that another time. But not in church.
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