Did Paul Say Women Should Remain Silent in Churches?

Joseph Dutko
June 26, 2025

5 Possible Explanations or Meanings of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35

Our church has been working through 1 Corinthians together and it's brought up a lot of interesting topics to say the least. It's been "fun" (if that's the right word!) to wrestle with some tough texts about spiritual gifts, hairdos in worship, money, sex, worship preferences, bad theology, bad leaders, resurrection bodies -- you get it all in 1 Corinthians!


But of course the passage everyone wanted to know about was 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.


In case you're unfamiliar:


34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

Below is the message on that text which has been well received and engaged, even by those who have spent time studying the passage before.


One congregant wrote on our social media in response to the message:


"I felt validated [in church] for the first time in my life as an educated woman. Thank you."


What do I think is the most likely meaning or explanation of the passage? Take a listen!


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RELATED POSTS:


"Women in 1 Corinthians 11:2-6"


"Q&A on Headship and Submission"



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ABOUT JOSEPH

Pastor, Author, and sometimes pretends to be a scholar


Joseph (PhD, University of Birmingham) is the author of The Pentecostal Gender Paradox: Eschatology and the Search for Equality.


Since 2015, he and his wife have together pastored Oceanside Community Church on Vancouver Island, where they live with their four children.

 

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