Just like the tongues, Paul's teaching is to be understood in context.......
If we say women must be Completely Silent during Church Meetings..... then Paul is inconsistent
At first glance,
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 seems clear: women are not permitted to talk in congregational meetings and must be silent. This is the stance that many have taken throughout much of the Church’s history.
From Tertullian[3] to Thomas Aquinas[4], commentators concluded that women could not even sing or pray audibly among men. Although the Reformers relaxed some of these restrictions, as late as the 1890s certain Presbyterians still forbade women’s singing in the context of church worship.
(Grenz 1995:121)
Silence is called for three times in 1 Corinthians 14: in verses 28, 30 and 34.[5] In
1 Corinthians 14:28 and
30, silence is called for in specific situations to regulate congregational contributions to the meetings. (The “silence” in verses 28 and 30 is not gender specific.) It is very likely that the silence called for in verse 34 is also addressing a specific situation and is not meant to be a blanket statement to silence all women for all time in church meetings. In fact, Paul’s intention could not have been to silence women at all the times during church meetings. In
1 Corinthians 11:5 Paul acknowledges, without disapproval, that women prophesied and prayed aloud in church.Paul not only approved of praying and prophesying by women in the assembly but he encouraged it! Reading
1 Corinthians 11:10 with the literal, active voice (“has authority”) instead of the presumed, passive voice (“sign of authority”), Paul states that a woman has authority[6] (has the right!) to pray and prophesy . . .
(Hicks 1990)
If Paul condones verbal ministry from women in chapter 11 it is very unlikely that he censures it in chapter 14. Paul was probably prohibiting a certain form of speech from the women in 14:34-35. Several theologians have tried to identify the type of speech that Paul appears to be disallowing.
Continue reading here....
Women must not Engage in Idle Chatter in Church Meetings
Women must not Disrupt Church Meetings with Rudimentary Questions
Women must not Evaluate Prophecy Audibly
Women must not ask Personal Questions of the Prophets
Conclusion
The summaries presented in this article are just a sample of some of the better-known interpretations of 14:34-35. Still more interpretations have been proposed by respected scholars. Because of this vast variety of interpretations, it is difficult to know precisely how to apply these verses, especially in the context of the contemporary church.
One thing is certain.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 cannot be used to completely silence women from speaking in church meetings, as Paul condones the verbal ministries of prayer and prophecy from women. Taking into account that Paul condones women who prophecy, it is difficult to see how 14:34-35 can be used to exclude women from other equally influential and authoritative speaking ministries in the church. [29]
The meaning, intent, and even the authorship, of 14:34-35 is uncertain. Because of this uncertainty, 14:34-35 should not be used definitively in the continuing debate about women’s roles in ministry.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 cannot be used legitimately to prohibit women who are called, gifted, and qualified from exercising a ministry which includes public speaking.
Interpretations and Applications of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35