1 Corinthians has these interesting points about women:
but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonors her head it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil. (1 Cor 11:5-6)
the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. (1 Cor 14:34-35)
What do you think the typical Bible-only Christian's reaction is to these? Well, I assure you, the reaction is not far off for Catholics too, especially me. The reaction in question is basically a slack jawed "What the.... ???" or "How is that even relevant?"
Seriously now though, these two sections form an infamous doublet concerning the roles of women in church. The most jarring part though for most people I think is the head coverings part. It just sticks out as unique.
The Catholic Church's stance seems to be that this falls into the matters of discipline and resides as a non-crucial issue. Which is a nice way of saying, women you don't have to wear head coverings in church, but we won't stop you from doing it either if you so choose. More than being concerned with head coverings, shouldn't we be more concerned with those who show up at Mass, the banquet, without proper clothes, for fear that they might be tossed out to wail and grind their teeth?
If we continue on though, chapter 14 seems to be saying here that women should keep silent in church. Quite frankly that just sounds harsh. Initially too, it could seem contradictory to verse 1 Cor 11:5 where women are apparently allowed to pray and prophesy. Or is it? What would the reasons be for silence in the church? The context for this is becoming necessary.
Chapter 14 on a whole is about prophesying and if you keep in mind the thematic discourse on interpretation and proper order, the location in question is within the church, likely even during the liturgy. Also, on the same vein of information, it goes without saying that this is a physical location because the place is contrasted to the home where women are advised to speak.
Therefore, following from verse 33 For God is not a God of confusion, I must assume there is a logic behind St. Paul's words and no relevant contradiction. Switching therefore to a broader context of St. Paul's letters we find this:
I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. (1 Tim 2:12)
Now, within the context of my Catholic faith and the general themes of Timothy, it all begins to come together. For Catholics, the people who speak in church in the faculties of teaching/authority are Priests, specifically men who are Priests. Women, because of the contradiction of having a woman ordained to be "in Persona Christi," cannot supply that role.
Women instead have their own unique role to play that men cannot. I'm no expert on the role of women from a biblical perspective by any means though so I don't know exactly what that role is. So, before this turns into a gender war, I'll stop while I'm ahead. Or it will come up later when I am more knowledgeable on the subject.
Go and Set the World Ablaze
2 comments:
Protestants are pretty nastily divided over the women's roll issue - my personal views are pretty much in keeping with yours. That the context of these verses is the church service and that women are permitted to speak, but that their duties probably don't include teaching. But there are plenty of protestants who disagree with me. As far as I'm concerned, whether a woman chooses to wear a head covering is her own business, but in most churches that "believe in headcoverings" there is a policy against participating in worship services without one. Churches that don't "believe in headcoverings" are indifferent like me. I consider women's rolls to be lower-case traditions, but there are many protestants who feel very strongly that women should or should not wear headcoverings, whether those headcoverings should be worn both inside and outside the church, how much women are permitted to speak, how far "being under authority" extends - etc. It's a quagmire. :P
Yeesh. Yeah, we had talked about this once, and I felt the need to research it further so that I could dispel my own lack of knowledge.
I think C.S. Lewis said something that applies to this but I can't find the quote right now. It's something like, Keep first things first and second things second. I wish others would catch that the issue these chapters generate are second things.
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