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      1 Corinthians 14:33b-36 in light of women and church leadership in Nigeria

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          Abstract

          1 Corinthians 14:33b-36 contains the injunction by Paul that women should not speak in the church. In Nigeria, many of the mainline denominations exclude women from church leadership, basing the doctrine on this passage. This research examines the text with a view to assessing its relevance for women's participation in church leadership with a focus on contemporary Nigeria. An examination of the history of the Jews reveals that women had a very small role in religious leadership. However, Jesus in his woman-friendly ministry marked a change in the male-dominated social structure. Paul built upon this, having many women as co-preachers; which would contradict a literal interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36. However, the text is best understood from the perspective of the Greek term ekklesia. In its popular context, it refers to the assembly of a Greek city-state in which women were not permitted to speak. In similar Christian assemblies, they were permitted on the basis of the Christian brotherhood. Apparently, in the Corinthian church, women were abusing this privilege by disrupting church services, which warranted Paul's order. This being the case, the crucial issue is the disorderliness being caused by the women, and not their participation. Therefore, in this text it was not the intention of Paul to establish a doctrine disallowing women from participating in church leadership. Hence, for the Nigerian context, the text does not provide a basis for excluding women from church leadership. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research involves the disciplines of New Testament theology and church history. It examines 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36 with a view to assessing its relevance for women participation in church leadership and anticipates a situation in which all the mainline churches in Nigeria would involve women in church leadership.

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          The Jesus movement: A social history of its first century

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            The IVP bible background commentary: New Testament

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              An introduction to the New Testament

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: ND
                Journal
                vee
                Verbum et Ecclesia
                Verbum Eccles. (Online)
                Centre for Ministerial Development of the Dutch Reformed Church (Exelsus) - University of Pretoria (Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa )
                1609-9982
                2074-7705
                2017
                : 38
                : 1
                : 1-8
                Affiliations
                [01] orgnameKogi State University orgdiv1Department of Religious Studies Nigeria
                [02] orgnameUniversity of South Africa orgdiv1Department of Human Resources South Africa
                Article
                S2074-77052017000100037
                10.4102/ve.v38i1.1672
                02939589-0ae8-41c1-adf8-9598d80fbb87

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 06 June 2017
                : 19 July 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 29, Pages: 8
                Product

                SciELO South Africa


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