Kristen

Jeremy, you said:
“I just think that’s a weak argument that in a letter that mentions Phoebe, not addressed to her, Paul would tell her the guidelines to exercising her influence. Women were permitted to be deacons, and that was influential, but they were not allowed to teach men. Phoebe would have known this; Paul didn’t need to mention it in a letter to the Romans.”
Rom 16 talks about a lot more women than Phoebe. Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Julia, and the “sister” of Nereus are all mentioned. Your assumption that these women knew they were not allowed to teach men is without basis. Churches were far apart, and letters were passed around by carriers. The letter to Timothy was a personal letter to one person, not to a church, and it was the letters to whole churches which were circulated. There is simply no textual evidence that all women in all churches were receiving a teaching that they were not to teach men.
It’s interesting that you mention Phoebe. One of the words Paul uses to describe her is “proestasis.” This is the noun form of the word “proestemi” (Cheryl can correct me if I’m spelling these wrong), which means literally “to stand before,” and is used to convey leadership in Rom. 12:8, “Let the one who leads (proestimi) govern diligently.” It is also used in 1 Tim. 5:17, “The elders who rule (proestimi) well are worthy of double honor.” It certainly looks as though Paul is describing Phoebe as a “leader” or “elder.”
See this essay for more information:
http://www.pbpayne.com/?p=501

In short, the interpretation of these passages in such a way as to forbid church authority to women, is by no means the only possible, or even the most likely, interpretation. Given the nature of humans in power to interpret the scriptures in ways that support their power, (such as using Noah’s curse over Ham to justify black slavery, or the scriptures on honoring the king to support “divine right of kings,” I would say that these traditional interpretations are all worthy of a second look. The passages used to support male domination are not exempt.