Diligentia: Journal of Theology and Christian Education E-ISSN: 2686-3707 ojs.uph.edu/index.php/DIL Women in Ministry: Re-Reading 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 in the 21 st Century Context Emmanuel Olujide Adetunji 1 and Adebayo Ola Afolaranmi 2 1,2) Department of Religious and Intercultural Studies, Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria Correspondence email: afolaranmi.adebayo@lcu.edu.ng Received: 16/07/2024 Accepted: 09/09/2024 Published: 30/09/2024 Abstract First Corinthians 14:33-35 reveals one of the many controversies about the roles of women in ministry in the church today. Many scholars have given diverse interpretations of the verses. The verses have led many people including many Christian denominations to have some positions on women in ministry. The trust of this article is to explore the correct interpretation of the verses based on some historical and biblical perspectives. The work adopted the historical and biblical exegesis method. Feminism theory was also considered in the work. The work concluded that 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 should not be interpreted literally. It must be interpreted within its context. It also concluded that women have their roles to play in the world and the propagation of the gospel of Christ regardless of attempts by men to relegate them to the background. Keywords: Black womanism, women in 1 Corinthians 14: 33-35, women speaking in churches, controversies in the church Introduction First Corinthians 14:33-35 has raised more controversy in the church today. What did Paul mean when he wrote these to the Corinthians? Are they binding on today’s Christians? How should these verses be interpreted? These are the thrust of this paper. The article went into the historical and biblical perspectives of women and the implications of this. It also viewed the controversy from many points of view, and then came out with conclusions on the issue. Some would explain this away as a special command to the unruly women at Corinth to straighten up, rather than a general command to all women everywhere. But if we treat one scripture this way, what is to stop us from treating every scripture this way? Surely the New Testament is written for the whole church. The subject of the passage is: 'The women in the churches (plural)'. This means-'all women.' Moreover, the command is based on 'the law' which means it applies to all, rather than just to those in a particular culture or time. Let us consider what this passage is saying. The word for 'silent' does not mean 'quiet'. Thus, it is not saying that women should have a quiet (meek) spirit. The word translated 'silent' means no word can be spoken! It is saying women must be (completely) silent in church. This does not just disqualify them from teaching but from testifying, praying, prophesying, and moving in the gifts of the Spirit-the latter being the context of these verses (1 Corinthians 12:1).