The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1892-04-30
woMAN--HrR CHURCH PRIVILEGES.
tFor The Gagette.l

Under the pressure of the onward
march of mind, woman il coming
forward as a great public factor ia
religion, and the domain of fogy
ism fears both the church and good
morals will be wrecked BY her pub
lie appearance as teacher and
prayer, though the same men seem
to be under no fears whatever III
regard to the prominence of sin III
the churches and even among their
male memberships.
The text found in | Corinthians.
l4-3l, "For We may all prophtsy,
one by one, that ali may learn and
be comforted," seem to imply that
all church members (wompn tool
may prophesy, j. e. teach, though
one AZ time, Int the great text
| Corinthians, l4-3l is always
brought up as a standing argu-
ment for the silence in churches.
"Aet your women keep silence in
the churches, for II is mot permitted
unto them to speak.
The above IS the great text that
troubles many people, although
these same much troubled ones are
quite willing for women to sing III
church, and also TO vote thereto,
and in these two particulars f1gy-
ism has yielded IN unwilling as ,ent
to the violation of the text, be-
cause modern demands and church
requirements actually compel such
a concession.
By the term "chnrch" as used
IL the Scriptures whore the word
is used G6 times, it always applies
IL an organized body OF believers
and not 70 amere house. Churches
were often held in private houses,
as IN Romans. lG-5, "Greet the
church III their house, meaning the
house Of Priscilla aid Aqnila, and
notice here the name OF Priscilla
the woman i placed first in the sen
teuce, to donate her as the more
important person Of the two.
Again similar mention is made,
Corinthians, 16 10, Of tile house
OF Aquila and Priscilla, who had
a church in their house or that an
organized body Of believers met
there for worship.
Again. in Colossians, LII, We
read "Salute the brethren which
are IL Laodcea, and Nymphas, and
the church which il il his house."
Thus, the three quotations given
above show that churches existed
in private houses, and the entire
meaning Of the word as used iu
Scriptures applies to a body Of be-
Levers ana not to a mere house.
If then, under the street inter
pretation of the text eujoning
silence upon women in the churches
a house is not meant, but only 4
body OF believers, then woman il
left free to break silence there il
the house when no organized body
Of believers is there a. senbled
aud if the house IL meant by th'
term mchnrch" then Our irirnd
are permitting striptural violation
whenever they permit Il woman 4
sing or vote ia i church, or reat
Sunday school essays or missiol
report.
1t is interesting at least to in
Qulrr into this admonitiOn Of 81
Paul, ami compare it ~ a fair WI,
with his declaration in | COrinthl
ans, KID, every woman thd
prayelh or prophesietli with he
head uncovered, dishonoreth he
head" Now, here is an admissio
that she can pray or praphcsy pro
vided she does not uncover he
head, and this removes al o'jet
non from her prophesying am
places 1t only upon her mode I
dress.
The entire volume of ScriptnI
/. should be regarded as a Who'll,
nd when we come TO any remark
, Bile passage like that which seem
ingly disqualifies womtr from All
public or active reiig Gus servic,
: We should examine what here
behinl the text that causes it
diite ehtiate SO widely from IL
:, whole tenor Of other Scripture
We should bear in mind that vel
many things contained IN all II
: EpistieS were testimonies again
local things and rrproofs upd
: affiIiAtion with idol worship or
participation in heir f.asts.
/ We read IN the sNoles on Ne
4 Testament found in The OxfoI
: Bibles, page 36, that members
: this "Corinthian church, joins
freely IN heathen saciiiicial feast
= degraded the Holy Commnni,
r into festive banquet, wom'
q threw aside the molest veil, viii
/ the Greek love Of intellectu
! speculation aad dis ussion, r,
riot on sacred subj cts, I'LL appea
> on Christian disputes were brOug
n before heather tIibnnsls, and ey
ie heaihpn morality was scaudaliz
70 by incestuous intercourse"
"a These were the people W
lt troubled the church of Corini
,n and such were the women to wht
be his verse, | Corinthians, IA