A lot of different churches say that women can’t be pastors or have any authority at all in the church. Is that Scriptural?

There are a few Scriptures many Christians misunderstand to be saying that only men are to be in roles of leadership in the church. For instance, 1Corinthians 14:33-36. “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.  As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 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. Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?”

Some take “women should remain silent in the churches” as a condemnation of women proclaiming the word of God. Most scholars, however, view this as set instruction given to a set church about a situation very different than women preachers.

The reason this text doesn’t condemn women proclaiming God’s word is because, within the same book, Paul gives instructions for how a woman ought to dress when proclaiming the word of God. Paul describes how in the church in Corinth women are to dress respectfully when they proclaim the word of God, which in his day was wearing veils or head coverings (1 Corinthians 11:5-6). To wear a head-covering was a sign of modesty and not wearing one was viewed as an invitation for sexual relations. Paul here tells women who proclaim the word of God to do so in a modest way, not dressing in a way that is associated with prostitution and idolatry.

The first verse in this section gives a clue to the true meaning. “God is a God not of disorder but of peace”. This shows us the sort of speech Paul is talking about is not a normal occasion of preaching or prophesying but disorderly speaking.

Before this, we see Paul telling the church to not all speak at once, but to take turns (14:27, 29-32). He talks before that about the need for people speaking in types of speech not everyone can understand having an interpreter so people are not confused by what sounds like babble (14:26-28). So the context is people speaking all at once, in ways not everyone can understand, and generally being chaotic. Paul is asking a particular group of mainly women to not speak all at once, not interrupt the message and worship, but to learn quietly and only speak when given a turn and if they have questions or comments about the situation, discuss it outside of the service instead of interrupting.

Let’s move on to1 Timothy 2:11-14. “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.”

Many opposed to women's equality say this verse is a declaration against women having a role in leadership and teaching the Word of God. Most scholars agree Paul is giving advice to a similar situation as in Corinth here - one where people are being disruptive and are in need of humility in the presence of those God has called to preach the Word. In chapter 1:3-4 it says that in the church Paul is writing to, certain men had arrived claiming to speak for God, teaching false things that were hurtful to the people. These people were not teachers, but set themselves up as such and were creating controversies. In verses 18-20 , Paul names individuals who he said have “shipwrecked their faith” by embracing teachings like the ones being brought up in those churches, teachings contrary to the Good News of Jesus.

In chapter 2, Paul talks about the Gospel being the basis of all we do in worship – the message that Jesus is the mediator who paves the way for all to come to God based on God's loving acceptance of us. Then he tells the men to avoid fighting. “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing” (1:8). This is the context for Paul's words to women. He has been talking to a pastor or overseer over a church where everyone is fighting, where folks are not listening to the pastor's good teaching. Folks, both men and women, are not learning humbly, but publicly making a spectacle of disagreement with the teacher in the church service.

This is why Paul says for a woman to learn in quietness and full submission and for men to pray without anger and disputing – he wants both women and men to stop bickering and listen to Timothy, the appointed leader, as he teaches them the Gospel. Unfortunately, many English translations, as above in the NIV, get the next verses wrong by translating Paul's words as “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent”. As we've seen, Paul did allow women to proclaim the Word of God. The Greek words usually translated “teach” and “have authority” are not what Paul uses, but words more normally translated “domineer over.”

The context, based on most studies of the historical evidence, is that women, who often served as temple priestesses and prostitutes in Ephesus, when they came into the church in Ephesus were automatically seen as having a spiritual authority above men whether or not they had been trained as teachers of the Gospel or truly understood the Bible. The issue, then, is not women who have been trained and equipped to do ministry, but that women who were unlearned in Scripture and had not been trained as pastors were setting themselves up as such and trying to seize power for themselves.

So, the context shows this to be a time-bound command based on the situation of a local church. It does show a universal principle – that of respecting the leadership of the church, submitting yourself to training and evaluation of others, and making sure you have learned to rightly divide the Scriptures before assuming you are a teacher. But that is equally true for both women and men.