"Women Shall be Silent" Another question that was asked during the Q&a was "why are there no survivors or victims speaking?"
The man who answered it kind of scoffed and said well that's easy " the bible says "di Frau musz stille si"
Translation: the woman must be silent.
One Bible verse he was referring too: 1 Corinthians 14: 34
This is from my Amish Neues Testament: “eure weiben lasset sich schweigen unter der gemeine: denn es soll ihnen nicht zugelassen werden, dasz sie reden, sondern unterthan seien, wie auch das gesetz sagt.”
“Your wives be silent under the common one: for they should not be allowed to speak, but to be subject, as the law also says.”
What about Galations 3: 28-29? Isn't this saying we are not man or woman, we are all of God?
I have some questions about these verses:
Were those the actual words of Jesus or was it a man speaking it?
What about the context of giving guidance around services being orderly in the rest of the chapter?
What about the women who helped Paul?
Did Paul actually meet Jesus?
In regards to the “law also says”, what law in America says this?
In addition I'd like to talk about the women who were by themselves addressing congregations like Phoebe per Paul?
What about the 90+ women who spoke throughout the Bible?
I'd love to see these women's chapters of the Bible, until those chapters are included, the Bible is incomplete.
(Example: The book of Lilith)
Going back to the first question I had I'd like to also chat about this as well: Romans 13:1-2 says: "Obey the government, for God is the One who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow."
The laws of the land do not forbid women from teaching nor do they forbid women from preaching and speaking.
So are you really following Jesus or are you following Paul?
I'd suggest reading Proverbs 31:10-31 an excerpt from that that stands out is "She speaks with wisdom,and faithful instruction is on her tongue"
I’d also like to talk about the fact that in that context saying that, this statement implies there are no male victims or survivors of sexual assault. We know this is not true. (See link to Rainn) There is a percentage of perpetrators that choose male victims.
With that in mind, what did this statement say to "male victims and survivors"?
I'm not a male so I can't say for sure but I would ask the following questions:
Did that statement make you feel heard?
Invisible?
Alone?
Invalid?
Does the voice of male victims and survivors matter?
In the earlier statement given that "all perpetrators were abused" obviously male survivors exist.
Just because the percentage is relatively small does not mean that your church and your leadership in your community gets to completely silence them and not even consider them as valid speakers.
Education is not church and women teach in your schools so either way, I don't buy your excuse.
This is simply an excuse to justify silencing victims of any gender and make it ok in your mind.
I'd highly suggest you stop using the "Bible" to justify this atrocious silencing and invalidation as it does NOTHING to keep your children safe and in fact promotes more abuse being conducted in your community. (See blog post on Recidivism and blog post on Do Amish Sexually Abuse Children?)
In closing I'd like you to consider
Matthew 18:6 "but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."
Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?
This is Part 6 of a series on the Amish Abuse Awareness conference in Loganton, PA, on the 22nd of May, 2021.
Look for Part 7 soon.
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