Re: "Women keep silent in the churches": Has that ceased or is it still for today?
Wow. That got ugly.
I just have a couple of points. I apologize if they were addressed earlier and I missed them.
1. The epistles are letters in response to a specific situation, in a specific church, in a specific point in history. Yes, they have a lot of truth and potential application for today. But be wary of forming strict doctrines from them because it is like hearing only one side of a telephone conversation: you hear a lot of ideas but lack a lot of context.
2. Grace should always be exercised. Always. I promise your phallus won't cease functioning because a woman tells you something. And we women need to be mindful to boldly wield the truth without cutting off any heads.
3. If you apply the aforementioned scripture universally, where does it end? Does this mean that women cannot share Biblical truth where a man can hear it, even outside the church? Is it sinful for a Christian man to read a theological book or article written by a woman or sing a song whose tune or lyrics were written by a woman?
4. Women can be doctors, CEOs, managers, law enforcement, politicians, teachers--all which may require her to exercise authority over males. And we encourage women to excel in these roles. Why does that stop at the church? Are we allowed to use our intellect only for secular purposes? Is there something inherently more holy about the male brain?
5. If women are not allowed to share spiritual insight and truth, why does God even bother with giving it to us? Why not just make us happy little Stepford wives with just enough intelligence to keep from drooling in a cup?
6. Much of our Bible, including the gospels, exists because women told men what the Lord did for them: Hannah's song and the angel appearing to Mary, for example. If Jesus though that the truth spoken to men by women was wrong, then he would not have his resurrection witnessed first by women.