This image conveys my thoughts that St Paul's interest is in orderly worship. I think that this is what he is wanting to foster within the church. I do not think this means that our worship should be 'contained'. Exuberance in worship is often lacking in our churches. I think that Paul was referring to the chattering that was going on regarding the teaching. Those new to the faith or lacking education were asking lots of questions, hungry as they were, I assume, to know Jesus' teachings. I think Paul is recommending that questions should be explored later so that distractions do not interrupt people in their worship and prayerful communications with God. This would stand for all time. I suppose in the context of a service today, it would be considered inappropriate to converse with one's neighbour all the way through someone's sermon. Questions are invited in good churches and there are lots of opportunities to ask questions and explore but as with many occasions, we instinctively know, and if we do not, we can bring biblical teachings to guide us into acting towards one another in love and with respect.
Psephizo …it all adds up
How should we read 1 Cor 14.34-35?
There is a conversation about this teaching beginning
here.
3 comments:
I've been frustrated lately at the lack of exuberance in worship,or maybe it is a lack of enthusiasm. Romans 12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Apathy is what we are up against, sometimes justified by age, sometimes by what is perceived as irrelevance.
I like the idea of inviting questions in church, during a sermon. I sometimes pose questions myself, but I would like to find a way of inviting questions as well.
Rachel,
It's a good question. We have question time every Sunday evening following the sermon. Great way for everyone to interact - we normally have 4/5 questions asked.
On those specific verses, I answered a question from our congregation on our website following a recent sermon on gender roles (part of the a larger doctrine series). You can find that sermon and the online question here.
Glenn Miller is interesting on this.
http://christianthinktank.com/fem09.html
Scroll down about half way.
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