Woman's Ordination and the Authority of Scripture Published by Father Peregrinator.
Do we undermine the infallibility and authority of God's Sacred Scriptures when we remain in communion with bishop's who not only approve of women's ordination, but also ordain women to the Priesthood?
How can we really suppose people to take us seriously about morality and the current debate over homosexuality? We constantly appeal to Scripture concerning the homosexual crisis and yet when it comes to the
several verses that speak to women's ordination, even the so-called "orthodox" Anglicans blush and change the subject. Nobody wants to talk about it, especially as it touches the Anglican Network.
Why can't we be consistent? We either truly follow the Lord or we don't. We can't pick and choose.
Saint Paul teaches that women in formal church settings are to keep silent (1 Cor 14:34-35). How then can a woman preach?
Saint Paul says that women should learn in silence in formal church settings on account of the creation order. (1 Timothy 2:12-15) Note this is not a cultural argument but an argument based on creation.
Saint Paul prohibits women from teaching and holding authority over men in formal church settings. (1 Timothy 2:12-15) All clergy both teach and hold authority.
Saint Paul does not include women in the criteria for Christian ordination. (Titus 1:5-, 1 Timothy 3:1-12,14-15) Note that clergymen are to be a man of one wife not a woman of one husband. If we are going to swip-swap words as if gender doesn't matter, why not also say that a priest should be the man of one husband and let Gene Robinson alone?
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not choose any women to be Apostles. Obviously, St Mary Magdalene would have been a great lady Apostle because she had witnessed the empty tomb first hand. And yet she was not an Apostle. Same goes for the Blessed Mother who witnessed the crucifixion and held a prominent role at Pentecost. Men and men alone were chosen by Christ.
Further, the Apostles did not consider female candidates when choosing a replacement for Judas, or when choosing seven deacons. (Luke 6:13; Acts 1:14-26; Acts 6:3)
And lastly, the Old Testament knows nothing of female clergy, save for those wicked and pagan religions that surrounded them.
It is dishonest for us to fudge Scripture in one area (women's ordination) and then protest so strongly against those who consistently continue to fudge the Scriptures in another way (homosexual marriage and ordination). Either you follow the religion revealed by Christ or you don't. If you want to be biblical, if you want to be consistent: You cannot honestly support (or ignore) the dangers of women's ordination.
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For a note of levity, and in true synchronous fashion, I just received this email:
Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained
10. A man's place is in the army.
9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.
8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work.
7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.
6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.
5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.
4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.
3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.
2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.
1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.
I think the church fathers were right, but for the wrong reason. From your posts they seem to have been misogynists.
The reason is Biblical, not because women are evil. The deeper underlying issue is not relying on Scripture as the rule of faith. Once you start chipping away at infallibility you start winding up with all sorts of heresy.
One day you are ordaining women, then abortion is a choice, and before you know it you have homosexual Bishops.
Just look at the ELCA, UMC, PC(USA) etc. Fortunately, the Southern Baptists were teetering on the edge of apostasy, blinked and backed away.