Understanding Paul's Teachings on Women in the Church

Lesson Transcript

And we can look at this and we can emphatically say that this is absolutely talking about women's behavior in the church because it says in the churches women are not permitted to speak. He goes even further to say it's shameful for a woman to speak in church. What are we to make of this? Did Paul just go bipolar schizophrenic on us, telling us one thing and then following up with the exact opposite?

Didn't he just tell us in those previously previous passages that the women are free to pray and prophesy in the church so long as their head is covered? Doesn't even make sense. Let's go back and read that again. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head. Think about it. There are some very clear things being said in this passage as well.

That is, so long as the woman has a cover on her head, she is free to pray and prophesy. But then he goes on right after that and says, once that woman walks into the church, it becomes shameful for her to speak.