Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1836-04-07

in support of their views, Cor xiv: 81
35.
Z" lie, your women keep silence in the church.
es-; for il is not permitted unto them to speak
'ut to ! e under beditnce, ss also saith the law
And if they will Learn any thing, let them ask
their hus anes at Iom' for it is shame for wo.
men to speak in the church.
This passage goes nearer than any 9th.
er in the Bible, to supporting their views;
but this does not say that women shall not
speak in public; at most it only probib-
its their speaking "in the c1urches."-
Let those who cite the passage have care,
lest they make it prove 100 much. Read
it again: Letyour women KEEP SILENCE
IN the churches Detach this command
of the Apostle from its connex:on, and
from all otheC sell ptures, then give it the
broadest meaning, and it disalIoved the
Corinthian women to open their mouths
in the churches. They might not an
swer question concerning their feelings
or their taith-they might not even ask
for prayer, for themselves or others
They must keep silence in the churches
and if they would learn any thing, ask
their husbands at home
Now do those who take it upon them
selves to forbid the public speaking Of f.
males, abide the injunction, according to
their own rule of Interpretation applied to
this passage-for they must separate the
clause from it's connexion, set it against
numerous other scri ptures, as we shall
soon show, and withal put the strongest
construction upon it, before it will answer
their purpose! We have never seen one
of them who, in his practice, was consist
ent with his own preaching on this SUBJ
ject. They all, not only allow, but re-
quire women to say more or less in the
churches
Although it were granted that silence
is enjoined on women IN the churches the
passage says nothing about social meet
ings for prayer and exhortation, or any
assembly that is not the church. But our
teachers who make a yoke and lay it up
on the necHs Of females, exactly reverse
the order ofthe matter While they re-
quire the women to speak more or less in
the churches, they command them to be
silent in other meetings, Thus they for,
lid what the scriptures do not forbid and
allow hat, according to their own rule
Of Interpretation, the scriptures do not al
low
Let US now inquire after the meaning
of the passage, comparing scripture with
scripture:
L. What it does not mean. l. does
not mean that women should never speak
in public assemblies: because the proph-
ct Joel, ii: %, looking forward to the
New Dspensation says, "your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy THE fo2
hlment Of which is recorded in the 2lst
chapter Of Acts, where we are told that
Philip the evangelist had four dauch-
ters, virgins, which did prophesy." Fur
thermore, the Apostle Cor. XII: 5, gives
rules regulating the dress Of women while
prophesying. Again, the Apostle, Rom
xvi: -, sent salutation to " Trvphena
and TrvPhosa, who laboced in the Lord
and to the " beloved Persis, which labor
ed much in the Lord To prophesy
and to labor in the Lord, was TO preach,
to teach, to pray and exhort-all which
1t was no uncommon thing for women TO
do in the apostolic times AMI fit was al
lowed in those days of darkness to wo-
men, why should it be disaIIowed in these
days oftheir illumination! The passage
under consideration certainIy does not
grant them what it prohibits u.s. for the pro-
hibtion whatever it was, was to your
[Corinthian] womon.' BY how much
the passage is mo lifted by the word your,
BY SO much is its force diminished, as ap-
pIicable to US, Of other times
2. What the passage does mean. 1t
being clearly established, that it does not
prohibit the speaking Of women in pub
lie, it must follow that, if it mean any
thing, it must mean something else &c.
whether we can find out what that some
thing is or not, our object is gaine1-the
yoke falls from female necks. We think,
however, with Adm Clarke. that It IS