The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35).
Paul’s words have been employed as a universal statement that denies any role to women in the ministry of the gospel. While I admit that at first reading they seem rather straightforward, when taken in the context of the narrative of Scripture, they seem out of place. So, I wonder, what if women had been silent?