Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: hudson@athena.cs.uga.edu (Paul Hudson Jr) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: ambitious women may approach the altar now ... Message-ID: Date: 22 May 91 04:44:32 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Georgia, Athens Lines: 30 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu You have helped me to answer a personaly question I have been dealing with recently, but I would like to point something out about your last message. The translation you used used the phrase "proclaim God's message in public" for "prophecy." These two are not synonymous. (What does TEV stand for by the way.) The gift of prophecy is a specific gift to the church. It is listed with the gifts in I Corinthians 12. I will have to get back to you on what the Greek word is, but it means to foretell. By substituting this phrase, the translators have obscured the meaning and context. Women are permitted to prophecy, and pray publically (I Corinthians 11, Acts 2:17 "your daughters shall prophecy.) But they are not allowed to yell questions to their husbands in the front row (I Corinthians 14, I would assume this was the problem. As in Jewish synagogues, men and women probably sat separately..) Women are not allowed to hold the position of teacher or similar authoritative position in the church. (I Timothy 2.) What do you think? [Depends upon what you think "prophecy" means. TEV is the Today's English Version, also known as Good News Bible. They tend to replace words with phrases when the word alone would be misleading to the normal English-speaking reader. In modern English, prophecy tends to mean prediction. In fact OT prophets proclaimed a message that God had revealed to them, which sometimes involved predictions, but prediction was by no means their sole or even major function. According to my usual reference source (the abridged Kittel), the Greek word used in the NT has a range from proclamation to prediction. The exact meaning is typically decided by context. It normally implies having received some sort of revelation from God and proclaiming it. The translation "proclaim God's message in public" seems consistent with this. --clh]