Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!crdgw1!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Sexism in the church?? Message-ID: Date: 28 Apr 91 23:28:39 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: State University of New York at Binghamton Lines: 59 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article CONS.ELF@AIDA.CSD.UU.SE (Ake Eldberg) writes: >This is why a woman saying "I am called to be a priest" weighs >little with me. I will reply, "It is possible that you are >*called*, but the function in which you will serve the Lord >will be subject to what the Church needs". The Lord has promised >that his Church shall be led by the Holy Spirit, too. It is >not a privilege for the called ones as individuals. Well my brother... the church *needs* women in the pulpits. Partially for a purely practical reason. The number of young men who are answering the call to the Ordained Ministry is dwindling. Without women in the pulpits, more and more pulpits will go empty on Sundays. But moreso, I believe that women are naturally gifted for the role of Ordained Ministry. The caring and compassion exhibited by the women clergy I know I believe is much more "Christlike" than many of their male counterparts. As for biblical scholarship, my current pastor will soon have a higher degree than her husband (who is my District Superintendant [like a mini-bishop]). I know of no intelectual limitation on the part of women to prevent them from being just as good (if not better) a biblical scholar as any man. You can call up quotes from Pauline letters where the author clearly speaks against women in the church, but as OFM points out, the verdict is far from clear on where Paul stood on this issue. I know of no irrefutable reason why women should not be ordained, and I will testify to the calls of a number of them. (Calls to the ordained ministry, so there will be no confusion.) >In Sweden, the secular government forced female ministers on >a church that did not want them. That was in 1957. The split >is still an open bleeding wound in the body of Christ, and >will remain so, I'm afraid, until the Church has a chance to >take a decision without interference from secular powers. It's been 34 years now. Haven't they had a chance *yet*!? I'm sorry, currently the UMC is engaged in a fearsom battle over homosexuals in the church and the pulpit, but at least the church is examining the question, (at denominational, conference and local levels). I would say that at this time it would be unwise to try to assign a female pastor on a congregation who felt that women should not be ordained. But certainly there must be congregations in your denomination who no longer feel so strongly in this way. Why not assign women pastors to those congregations, and then the rest of the denomination can judge by the fruits of those women's labors whether or not their calling is from the spirit. I believe you'll find that a woman pastor can bring new life to a congregation where no man has succeded before. I've seen it happen. Tom Blake SUNY-Binghamton