Interim

Trying to discuss the meanings and applications of these coming verses in context, as they have been understood across the ages and current understandings makes me want to be an ostrich. What do they mean for women? Should they decide for themselves or just say that it means what a husband- or pastor or culture or government - says it means?

I don't expect Paul meant to cause so much trouble for women. He was not telling women that because God created women first, their acceptance in heaven hinged on the husband's or guardian's will. If the man was cut off, so were they. I'm with Thistelton (p.799). In chapters eleven through fourteen Paul was teaching the Corinthians about order in a worship service. He was presenting practical applications of everything covered in chapters eight to ten.

It also makes sense that Christians living with non-believers had to avoid being offensive. Paul taught them to circumvent and prevent as many inpenetrable barriers to non-believers accepting the gospel as possible. In the church itself, how much the attitudes towards women were cultural and how much they stemmed from Christ is another unknown factor. (The higher teaching is that before God men and women are equally accepted and personally responsible for their individual actions.) Interestingly Augustus and Claudius unknowingly headed that way for they modified Roman law regarding guardianship of freedwomen and freeborn women (Thiselton, p.802). Certainly laws granting equal treatment of men and women evolve slowly.

If "headship" has the restricted meaning of "boss" and Paul delineates a chain of command, then many of Christ's (and Paul's) other teachings are belied. "Thy kingdom come on earth" will never happen. The principles of "There is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female" has meaning only in heaven. All distinctions of the law are still in effect. None of what Paul says about being submissive to one another is useful except to men who happen to be on the same cultural plane. That's the bottom line of the trouble: Are women free to be followers of Christ or are they an extension of the headship of particular men? That's why I'd rather be an ostrich running fifty miles per hour in the other direction.

Extra source: The First Epistle to the Corinthians: a commentary on the Greek text by Anthony C. Thiselton (Authentic Media, c2000) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=IHG_DNLpmroC&dq=1st+Corinthian+commentaries&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=W9fQSpC1GILplAfHiumoCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CB8Q6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=&f=false