A white-and-gray, short-haired cat sits atop a small cardboard box, its eyes wide, its tongue touching its nose.

Women, prophecy and the church

"A woman with the gift of prophecy has to be very careful," the preacher said. "What she hears from God, she is not to speak but to take to her prayer closet.”

Under a gray sky with a hint of sunrise at its edge, a hand holds a dandelion puffball, with parts of it scattered by the force of the person's breath.

The silencing of women and the snorts of God

“Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak.” The meaning of that quote from 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is obvious, right? God silences women, and the inspired apostle Paul affirmed it. Or maybe, just maybe: The Lord and Paul both snort at the idea – and we have not known it.

Praying hands? Serving hands? True leader's hands? Closeup of clasped hands, dirty from tending the garden.

Submit to such as these women

The greetings in Paul’s New Testament letters – the ones translators have altered and we often bypass – affirm women, as well as men, who minister as true servant leaders.

Lovely translucent butterfly on green leaf. Present, even when unseen.

Where have all the women gone?

What has, for centuries, hidden the presence of women alongside men in the New Testament, and especially in Paul’s letters? Where have all the women gone?