I have a friend who is a woman who constantly tells me that the Catholic church should not allow women to participate in any form during the church service. She then quotes 1 Corinthians 14: 34-35 “women should keep silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. But if they want to learn anything, they should ask their husbands at home. For it is improper for a woman to speak in the church.”
Could I have some help explaining to her what the Catholic Church believes on this? Thanks.
Well, the first thing we believe is that Paul was a very important figure in the early Church, but not Jesus. So while Paul’s insights can be important, not every utterance is the literal word of God.
Second, we believe that it is dangerous to take sections of Holy Scripture out of context. Remember, the passages were written millenia ago in the context of cultures we would barely understand. This is why we consider our Magesterium, the teaching authority of the Church, to be so important. It lets us seperate historical baggage from Christ’s message.
1 Corinthians, which you can find with footnotes from the USCCB here:
usccb.org/nab/bible/1corinthians/1corinthians1.htm
Is actually a good example of these principles. First, as noted above, Paul was writing to Christians who were fractioning and were having not just problems of immodest attire by women (at least by Greek norms at the time), but also engaging in behaviors that Paul notes even pagans would not tolerate. So Paul is essentially picking sides in a local matter.
Second, Paul is defending his legitimacy as an apostle. As the footnotes above mention, there were aparently some charges of not ‘living as he preached’, in numerous ways, including his sexual conduct.
Sexual conduct, BTW, is one area where Paul was at seeming odds with most of the other early Christian leaders. As he notes in 1 Cor., Paul seemed to believe that the new world was imminent. So solo abstinance was the preferred lifestyle for a Christian. Marriage was only for the weak and lustful. This is reiterated in 1 Cor. in chapter 9. Any entanglement, including marriage, is an “obstacle to the Gospel of Christ”.
Had we followed Paul in this regard, we would presumably be extinct today.
Last, you might want to look at the footnotes to chapter 11. Paul viewed his legitimacy as an apostle of extreme importance because he also invisioned a strong heirarchal Church. Paul was likely using the roles of the sexes at the time at least in part to teach proper submission to a Church structure and to God.
You could, of course, ask your friend why so many in her faith abandon Paul and choose the lower, lustful state of marriage. I also always consider asking fundementalists why they defy the Bible and wear mixed blend clothing. But such confrontation is seldom fruitful, and often ends up being very un-neighborly, at least in the spirit of Christ’s teachings.
What you appear to be doing here, a personal challenge to dig deeper into your own faith, is probably the most constructive resposne.
Peace.
Remind her that Paul was writing specifically to address a particular problem in the church at Corinth. The Greeks were known for, let’s just say, some unusual practices from their pagan days. Some of that societal influence apparently crept into the early church there, necessitating an Apostolic tune up.