One In Jesus

Alan Rouse, who frequently comments on my posts re the role of women — generally disagreeing with me — privately sent me some material which has caused me to rethink the interpretation of “head” in Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11. It’s a couple of articles by Wayne Grudem and some material from the Septuagint. As a result, I’ve had to substantially re-write my posts on 1 Cor 11 and Eph 5. (His material will be detailed in the posts.)

And it’s been great fun.

It’s been fun because the new material forced me to dig deeper and find better explanations and arguments. I’ve learned a lot and I think the posts are much better.

You’ll find some original argumentation here and there.  Tell me what you think. It’s always scary coming in with new ideas. Continue reading →

“Disgraceful”

Doesn’t this passage remind you of the abuses of the Lord’s Supper discussed in 1 Corinthians 11? Paul commanded the Corinthians to eat “at home” (1 Cor. 11:34). We readily understand that this is a response to the local situation in Corinth and not a universal rule, and yet it is phrased very similarly to the command to silence in 1 Corinthians 14:34.

Also, Paul’s reliance on arguments using such phrases as “as in all the congregations of the saints” and “it is disgraceful” are very similar to his statements made in 1 Corinthians 11 dealing with veils. Continue reading →

With this cultural background in mind, let’s search out the meaning of a few words and phrases.

“Speak”

The Greek word translated “speak” throughout the chapter, lalein, takes its exact meaning from the context, and can refer to anything from silent meditation (v. 28) to disruptive speech of about any kind. There is nothing in the word itself to indicate what kind of speech is in mind. However, the verb is in present tense, indicating continuous action.

Thus, Paul is saying something like “they are not allowed to continually speak.” Continue reading →

In light of the questions we asked in the last post, we should consider the very real possibility that Paul’s command was caused by temporary cultural circumstances that no longer apply.

There is considerable support from history that First Century Jewish and Grecian women were very uneducated and lived extremely sheltered lives. This was especially so among the Jews, who formed the core of most congregations in the church’s early history. The questioning of a teacher by such women would have been ignorant and a burden on the time of the men. Thus, the women had to be brought to a better understanding by some means other than remedial instruction before the entire congregation. Continue reading →

I’d like to ask the readers to harken back to the beginning of this series several weeks ago. I began with a discussion of hermeneutics, because it’s in hermeneutics where our real disagreements are often found. Let me remind the readers of a few principles and perhaps add a few more.

1. Biases are invisible to the self. Everyone is biased, but no one is aware of his own biases. After all, when we become aware of a bias, we are no longer until its control.

It does no good to tell your opponent that he’s biased. He can’t see it. But he can see yours! It’s a pointless discussion — unless you can put your finger on exactly the bias and show how it’s a mistake. Even then, we often fail. Continue reading →