The Virtue of Silence

"the ability to remain silent out of respect for what you don't understand is often an intellectual achievement and political virtue as well as a practical necessity"

philosopher Sara Ruddick, in Knowledge, Difference, & Power (1996)

Interestingly enough, the quote above from book about feminist epistemology offers a possible answer to a Biblical text that is troubling and very controversial in the 21 century. The author above is making the case that sometimes having the right to a voice means having the sense not to use it! That in certain contexts, cultures, and situations, the better action is to be still. As a rather verbose person who loves to talk and can pretty much say anything {not necessarily anything useful/good!} about anything, this is a useful virtue to extol.

As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.1 Corinthians 14:33-35

These verses are almost impossible to read without raising one's eyebrows! But within their historical and cultural context they in fact are indicative of the emancipatory work that Jesus' coming had done in the lives of women. Previously not much more than chattel, women were able to come as equal partners to faith in Jesus. They were given a voice. However, they had not been afforded the opportunities for study and teaching that men had been given. Thus, women were disrupting services with comments and questions and sometimes verbal attacks on men, exercising their new found freedom of expression. Paul consequently suggests that they receive instruction at home (educating women at all was a revolutionary idea for the time) and that the divisive attacks not be allowed.
To say things have changed a lot for women is an understatement, but it is interesting to think what these verses might mean for me/us:

• just because I can argue a point doesn't necessarily mean I should; the greater good may come from delayed gratification on the having-the-last-word front
• sometimes if I listen long enough I might actually learn something from others
• if I have questions, I need to thoughtfully find the right forum to have them answered
• sometimes the world is a better place for what I have to say; sometimes it will be just fine without my "pearls of wisdom" ;-)
• sometimes I need to submit my "rights" to the greater good of others, not because I am unworthy, but because I know how much I am valued by God and He honors what I relinquish for the sake of others

{yvette}