I was reading
1 Corinthians 14:34 (As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission as the Law says.) and Galatians 3:28 (There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.) are the two verses used by the main-line Protestant churches to justify whichever side of the debate they land on. The reactionary me gets a flash of anger at the words "remain silent," "not allowed," and the most evil of words "submission," and a wave of peace comes over me with the entire verse in Galatians. I never really thought about this until I moved to NYC. I went to conservative churches my whole life. I kinda liked the fact that I would never be made to lead a prayer, or do a sermon, or lead singing. I never really thought about the fact that I, on my own, with no spouse, would never be allowed to speak to a mixed group of people over the age of 10. In college, I was part of a less conservative group where ways were found for women to speak. If I wasn't quoting scripture, I wasn't teaching. I was just telling a story or voicing my opinion. This church (in Austin) is now facing great internal conflict because some prominent members are not okay with their congregation becoming one of gender equity. But now that I've been going to a church where gender equality is practiced for about 4 years, I cannot imagine going back.
This seems to be the way churches are going these days, and it just makes logical sense. The women's liberation movement was not a bad thing. It gave us greater opportunity to be independent and contribute to society. Why would this be true only in "earthly realms"? You can't send me to college and teach me how to respect my own intellect, and then expect me to be able to turn this off in what is supposed to be the most important aspect of my life. The God portrayed in the New Testatment does not seem to be one who would tolerate creating divisions among His people. And historically women were leaders in many of the early house churches set up by Paul, as it is much more difficult for a man to convert to Judaism (as I am not a Bible scholar, I am going by what I was taught in The Rise of Christianity at UT. But the guy who taught it was Church of Christ, if that makes this any more valid). So why would it be different now? Was their leadership merely a question of supply and demand?
someone else's blog today where a battle is being waged in the comments section about the role of women in the church, and not just the Church of Christ. It got me to thinking. I haven't so much studied these things, but have simply trusted that the people who made the decisions to make my church in Manhattan a gender equity congregation read up and wouldn't have led us astray. I just cannot reconcile within myself the prospect of God declaring me unfit to lead, unfit to speak my mind, unfit to serve.1 Corinthians 14:34 (As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission as the Law says.) and Galatians 3:28 (There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.) are the two verses used by the main-line Protestant churches to justify whichever side of the debate they land on. The reactionary me gets a flash of anger at the words "remain silent," "not allowed," and the most evil of words "submission," and a wave of peace comes over me with the entire verse in Galatians. I never really thought about this until I moved to NYC. I went to conservative churches my whole life. I kinda liked the fact that I would never be made to lead a prayer, or do a sermon, or lead singing. I never really thought about the fact that I, on my own, with no spouse, would never be allowed to speak to a mixed group of people over the age of 10. In college, I was part of a less conservative group where ways were found for women to speak. If I wasn't quoting scripture, I wasn't teaching. I was just telling a story or voicing my opinion. This church (in Austin) is now facing great internal conflict because some prominent members are not okay with their congregation becoming one of gender equity. But now that I've been going to a church where gender equality is practiced for about 4 years, I cannot imagine going back.
This seems to be the way churches are going these days, and it just makes logical sense. The women's liberation movement was not a bad thing. It gave us greater opportunity to be independent and contribute to society. Why would this be true only in "earthly realms"? You can't send me to college and teach me how to respect my own intellect, and then expect me to be able to turn this off in what is supposed to be the most important aspect of my life. The God portrayed in the New Testatment does not seem to be one who would tolerate creating divisions among His people. And historically women were leaders in many of the early house churches set up by Paul, as it is much more difficult for a man to convert to Judaism (as I am not a Bible scholar, I am going by what I was taught in The Rise of Christianity at UT. But the guy who taught it was Church of Christ, if that makes this any more valid). So why would it be different now? Was their leadership merely a question of supply and demand?
1 comment:
"You can't send me to college and teach me how to respect my own intellect, and then expect me to be able to turn this off in what is supposed to be the most important aspect of my life."
AMEN! Preach it!
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