1 Cor 11 does say that man is the "head" of woman, but, like suzie I would point out that kephale (kefalh) does not necessarily mean "head" as in "lord, ruler, authority" but rather as in "source." This accords to Genesis and the creation of woman from man. It also avoids the problem of subordinationism if we say God the Father rules over God the Son, that they are not equal - which is not orthodox Trinitarian belief but subordinationism.
"What I suspect Paul means [in the above passage] is that in the Lord there are no distinctions, but that in the present world there are, and it is in the present world that Christian obedience is to be practised. The established order must be upheld so long as it lasts, but Christians know it is only provisional and that in the New Age its distinctions will disappear."
(A. ZIESLER Pauline Christianity Revised Edition (Oxford University Press 1990) p125)
"We cannot see a hierarchy here as the Son will be as far removed from the Father as we are from Him. Nay and the woman will be as far removed from us as we are from the Word of God. And what the Son is to the Father, this both we are to the Son and the woman again to the man. And who will endure this?"
(John Crysostom Homilies on the Epistle to the Corinthiansfrom "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church" ed. Philip Schott vol. XII, New York: The Christian Literary Company 1889. Trans. Rev. Talbot W. Chambers) p150-1)
I would also point out that both Paul and Jesus would have prayed to God with their heads covered - was this shameful? If we are not to say that Jesus shamed himself and God when he prayed in the synagogues, then we must admit that 1 Cor 11 is based on submitting to the customs of Corinth, so as not to shame God by appearing immoral in that city.
As for women holding offices in churches, I think to look at Phoebe of Romans 16:1 is instructive. She was described as a diakonon (diakonon), which is the same word elsewhere translated deacon (the male form, not deaconess). She was also described as a prostasis (prostatiV) of many, and of Paul in v2. This word can be taken one of two ways - that she was a helper, or a community leader/president.
Its also interesting to note Paul's statement, again in Romans 16: 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsment and my fellow prisoners; they are of note among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.. The name of Junia has been debated for centuries - Junia is generally a female name, Junias would be male, and a variant form names her as Julia. If either Julia or Junia are the names of this apostle, then there was a female apostle. If the name was Junias, Paul was here talking about a male apostle. Interesting, eh?
And the objections against often come from a small number of verses, such as this:
I permit no woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man (1 Tim 2:12).
Which brings up questions - is Paul (or whoever wrote this letter) here saying that Prisca was wrong to teach Apollos? This also brings up application problems - if we take this as meaning that in no instance may a woman be in authority over a man, whether inside the church or outside it, then we must say that, for example, it is not possible to have female moderators on a board such as this. We would also have to seriously curtail the activities of female posters who are Christians. While many seem quite happy to say from these verses that women may not be priests/pastors/ministers, they generally avoid applying it to other situations.
It is noticeable here that Paul did not use the normal word for "authority" (exousia) here, but authentein (auqentein) which generally gives a sense of being domineering - women are not to domineer over men. The same idea is expressed in the KJV when it says women should not usurp authority over a man - notice it says 'usurp' not just have authority.
1 Tim 3:8-13: Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for gain; they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then if they prove themselves blameless then let them serve as deacons. The women likewise must be serious, no slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things.This means either the deacon's wife must be all these things, or that the women deacons must be. No wives are mentioned in connection with other ministries, women appear in the rules about ministers and the texts speak of women rather than wives. Heine then suggests that the office of deacon for women has survived until then, but is not important to the author.
"Their [women's] influence extended from Caesarea to Rome. Mothers, wives, sisters (in this case physical and not just Christian sisters) and young girls worked at spreading the new faith and building up the communities. Their functions ranged from the highest to the lowest. They worked as apostles, deacons, community leaders, teachers and prophets. They travelled as missionaries and did charitable work; they preached, taught, gathered the believers together and sewed clothes for women. There were well-to-do women among them who shared what they had and kept open house, and there were poor women and slaves. They worked hard, had their differences of opinion, and could be bewitched by heretical teachers. In all this they were no different from men and fellow Christians."
(Susanne HEINE Women and Early Christianity: Are the Feminist Scholars Right? ("Frauen de fruhen Christen heit") trans. John BOWDEN (Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht 1986) p90)
This is extracted from an essay I once wrote, so please forgive me if any part seems patchy!
-Divinus
