Are Women Scripturally Prohibited From Uttering A Word in Bible Classes? This could develop into a very serious issue here if not resolved successfully. . . . We have a brother in a congregation planning to write a book advancing the proposition that women are to remain absolutely silent in the worship service. He believes the Scriptures forbid a woman from making comments or answering questions in a Bible class even when under the authority of a man teaching that class. . . . There are some others with a similar stance. These brethren want to see some hard core evidence that they are wrong before they will change. ~ Richmond, VA Presumably the brethren whose proposition is represented above do not prohibit women from singing in the worship assembly. If I understand correctly, the doctrine being advanced is that since women are biblically required to be silent in the worship assembly (except for singing), the same restriction regarding silence applies equally to women in the Bible classes typically conducted in our church buildings. First, as I indicated in the preceding paragraph, the question at hand involves a doctrine (teaching) which brethren desire to enjoin on other Christians. The task at hand is to ascertain whether this is a biblical doctrine. I submit, and propose to demonstrate below, that it is not! Second, the doctrine being advanced in the question above results from a fundamental misunderstanding of the distinction between a worship assembly and studying the Bible outside the worship assembly. Once it is clearly established that the Bible class and the worship assembly are not the same, it can be easily seen that 1 Corinthians 14:34 does not apply to a Bible study. First Corinthians 14:35 gives a sister the authority to speak regarding religious matters outside the worship assembly; it does not address a particular place or location (e.g., church building). The fact that often the church assembled for worship in a home (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Philemon 2) clearly shows the distinction in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 between the event (worship assembly) versus the place. The whole church does not come together ordinarily for Bible study; we have separate classes. There are a number of other circumstances, too, for which the membership of a congregation might come together without it being a worship assembly (e.g., fellowship meal, wedding, funeral, ball game, etc.). Therefore, a Bible study or class is not identical to a worship assembly and the 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 restrictions do not apply to a Bible study. Additional information provided with the question above also indicates a mishandling of relevant passages, including 1 Timothy 2:11-12; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and Acts 18:24-26. Please note some legitimate observations regarding these verses. In 1 Timothy 2:11-12, God by inspiration caused the apostle Paul to write concerning the role of women in the church and in the home. The role of females is distinguished from the males by references to their subjection to males and the prohibition of females teaching over males with the inherent authority with which men teach (verses 8-12). The subordination of males to females in teaching religious matters is prohibited. Circumstances under which women may teach are not addressed in this passage. We must turn elsewhere to learn under what circumstances women may teach. In 1 Corinthians 14:34, women in the assembly of the church are forbidden to speak in tongues (languages), pray aloud, lead the congregation in singing and publicly teach. The same context prohibits more than one male to speak aloud at the same time (vss. 27, 31). If the message of a male was not intelligible to the assembly (because they did not know the language of the speaker), he too was to be silent (vs. 28). Additionally, not every male member is a public speaker (evident from observation). “Silence” is qualified by various passages respecting the circumstances of the occasion. For men, when one speaker ceased, he who was required to be silent before was then permitted to speak (vs. 31). The silence enjoined on women in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 pertains to the worship assemblies, which is what the word for “churches” in that context means. The silence enjoined on women (and men) in Romans 14 pertained to the teaching, etc. by a single male Christian, to whom all other persons in the audience were to be subordinate for the duration of his message. “Singing” is an exception to “silence” in 1 Corinthians 14 as it applies to assemblies that includes not only women but men who otherwise were to be silent. The participation of women in our Bible classes wherein they ask questions, make comments or read Scripture is not governed by Romans 14:34-35 which applies to worship assemblies. The participation of women in our Bible classes is governed by 1 Timothy 2:8-15 and Acts 18:26. Acts 18:26 shows that women can speak in a Bible study in which men are present. Then, 1 Timothy 2:8-15 would apply, in part, to the same type of study, prohibiting the woman from assuming a role to which other participants were to be subordinate (like a teacher in one of our Bible classes). Aquila and Priscilla both taught Apollos. The further question, however, is in what capacity did they (and especially Priscilla) teach Apollos, and what was the relationship of Apollos during that teaching to Aquila and Priscilla? The teaching restrictions imposed by 1 Corinthians 14:34 on women do not apply in Acts 18:26 because Acts 18:26 is not an assembly. However, 1 Timothy 2:11-12 does apply, but evidently was not violated in Acts 18:26 because neither Aquila nor Apollos were subordinate to Priscilla. Priscilla did not assume a posture of authority over either her husband or the preacher. First Timothy 2:8-15 can be violated by a woman at home, at work, in a restaurant, in a classroom at the church building on Sunday, in a college classroom or anywhere else that a woman teaches religious matters under circumstances where the male participants are subordinate to her. Likewise, a woman teaching at home, at work, in a restaurant, in a classroom at the church building on Sunday, in a college classroom or anywhere else can and does occur often without violation of 1 Timothy 2:8-15 when the male participants ARE NOT subordinate to her. Women in our Bible classes in which men are present teach (under circumstances in which males are not subordinate to them) when they ask questions, make comments or read Scripture. Those women and men who comprise such a class are subordinate to the male teacher of the class. Aside from the presence of a class teacher, the relationship that women in one of our typical Bible classes sustain to other male classmates (and female classmates) is similar to the relationship that Priscilla in Acts 18:26 sustained to her husband and Apollos. In one of our typical Sunday morning or Wednesday evening Bible classes, all class members are subordinate to the class teacher. However, the class members are not subordinate to each other regarding the topic of teaching. Neither the women nor the men are subordinated to the other in that teaching environment, excepting the class teacher to whom both male and female class members are subordinate. It is an overstatement and an assumption of facts not in evidence, as proponents of this doctrine argue, to presume that Apollos was not a Christian. If Apollos submitted to the baptism of John prior to the replacement of that baptism with the baptism of the Great Commission, his spiritual condition differed not at all from that of the apostles in Acts Two, the 120 disciples, the 500 disciples of 1 Corinthians 15 or the church to which the 3,000 in Acts Two were added (Acts 2:47). There is neither textual evidence nor biblical principle whereby it could be successfully argued that the apostles, for instance, were required to be baptized anew in the baptism of the Great Commission in Acts Two. There would have been no more requirement for the disciples baptized under John’s baptism (prior to the cross and Pentecost) to be re-baptized in the Great Commission baptism than for anyone who lived under Patriarchy or Judaism (God-authored religions) to be re-baptized to validate their compliance with the laws of God under which they lived. As surely as the blood of the cross extended backward to the faithful under Patriarchy and Judaism (Hebrews 9:14-15; 10:14), the blood of Jesus covered disciples who submitted to John’s baptism prior to the cross. Occasions When Women Teach There are several different circumstances under which according to the New Testament that a female Christian may and even must teach. (1) Christian women may teach other women (Titus 2:3-4). (2) Christian women may teach children (2 Timothy 1:5). (3) Christian women may teach men under circumstances in which male Christians are not subordinate to them (Acts 18:26; 2 Timothy 2:11-12). (4) Christian women teach men and women through the singing of religious songs in the worship assembly (Colossians 3:16). (5) Women teach when they make their good confession of Christ preceding baptism (Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10). In each of these instances, a Christian woman teaches but is not in conflict with either Romans 14:34 or 1 Timothy 2:8-15. Conclusion Women teach men without violating Scripture when they teach through singing (Col. 3:16) and under circumstances where men are not subordinate to them (outside the worship assembly), such as ‘around the kitchen table’(or any informal setting) or in classes (with or without a class teacher) where men are present and sisters read Scripture, ask questions or make comments. The brother who denies that a sister can teach a Christian presumes too much! Copyright 1999, conditions of use Gospel Gazette Online Louis Rushmore, Editor 4325 Southeast Drive Steubenville, Ohio 43953-3353
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 09:23:19 +0000
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