Theyfan wrote:
I think it's the teaching of St Paul that men are the head of a marriage and women are equal but have separate roles. Some secular thinking is that men and women are entirely equal, but my church disagrees along the lines that women cannot father children and men cannot bear children, so men and women are equal BUT complementary to each other's roles. Parents are equally in charge over children, but husbands are the heads of marriages. In terms of preaching I think St Paul spoke out against women being in authority over men. Also, the created order comes into it - God made man first and then woman. So if a woman is in charge over a man it goes against God's created order. I realise that I sound a bit vague about this, it's because I don't see it as a particularly key part of my church's doctrine, and I am ecumenical so would have no problem attending a church where women are priests. I attend my church not because of its ideas about women preachers but because it's a very good church that teaches the Bible faithfully. The women preacher thing is jsut something I put up with because I'm not particularly keen to preach myself. My husband doesn't like my church's teaching and it has made him want to leave the church. He's more of a feminist than I am.
Thanks for your post.
Thank you. This has been a good debate. I Have some more food for thought though....
If it is the teachings of St. Paul that are adhered to in that line of reasoning, then how would, along the same line of thought, it be explained that there were women that spread the word of Christ. Specifically his mother, and Mary Magdalene? (interestingly enough, there is not one passage that says that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. The early catholic church created that image to prevent the popular Gnostic ideas that she was the favored disciple and that women should be allowed to teach to take hold) But one has to look at other texts that were written at the time the other books of the Bible were written as well. Many books were not selected for the "official" Bible of the early church for many reasons. Although some theorize it was to further one agenda or another. Others think it was to keep the Bible at a reasonable size, and so on.
Another thought on it is that have you ever though who was the first disciple of Christ? It was his mother.
Again we have to consider the era in which all of these things were written, and remember that though we say that we follow this rule or that, interpretation is still in play, and the church has always picked and chosen one rule or another to suit the agendas or needs to be addressed at that time. God may have physically created the male first, but it was the female that had to be made in order to propagate the human race. As disturbing as it may sound, Modern science could make it possible to reproduce with out a man if enough, "reproductive cells" were obtained and stored. But to my knowledge a baby can not be made with out a woman to carry it. I’m
not advocating that, by the way, I’m simply making the point that though men and women
are physically different
and mutually dependant on one another for the species to exist, One is no less important than the other. Therefore in my humble opinion, one should not be treated any better or any worse than the other. Nor should one be barred from any portion of society.
Im not trying to be a ultra feminist or anything. I just feel that equality should be across the board. Even if I dont WANT to be a fighter pilot, or preacher, or what ever, that choice should be mine to make. As shoud it be the choice of any daughters I may have.
24 Nov 2005, 7:51 pm
