Poor Paul!

For more than a thousand years, the Church employed a Greek philosophical paradigm when it interpreted this verse. That Greek model comes directly from Plato and Aristotle who taught that women were defective men. It isn’t too much of an exaggeration to say Greek philosophers despised women, considering them intellectually inferior, emotionally immature and generally incapable of the actions and attitudes of men. The early church fathers were immersed in Greek philosophy so it is not surprising to find their exegesis reflects Plato and the Academy. As a result of this paradigm, the Church and the culture engaged in withholding education, development and leadership from women. Predictably, the result merely confirmed what the paradigm taught: women were inferior.

But Paul is no Platonist. He is a Second Temple rabbi. His approach to the role and status of women is based in Scripture, not philosophy. A thorough analysis of Paul’s full understanding of women would reveal exactly what he shares in Galatians 3:28. In the Body, there is no hierarchy! All the world’s false distinctions – Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female – are overcome and set aside. So, what do we do with this apparent misogyny. Skip Moen

Well said! Poor Paul. He gets blamed for the way women are treated in the church. But his position is worthy of examination. It is not all that it seems.

Vacation

Well, I am back from a wonderful vacation. Among the many things we did and the many people we saw, I was able to spend some time with Dr. Mari Gonlag, professor at Southern Wesleyan University and the Director of the Women in Ministry Center. Had a great time talking with her and thinking about things ministerial!
Had another conversation with a young ordained woman, which again reminded me of the difficulties women face as they attempt to find positions of ministry!
Had some time with my cousins, one of whom was surprised that our denomination takes a stand against alcohol but ordains women. To him, that was an oxymoron. All I could make of it is that he associates the ordination of women with the more "liberal" denominations who started ordaining women during the 60's. It seems that our position against the use of alcohol would be considered a conservative position and the position that we hold of ordaining women would be a liberal one. Interesting, huh?
So, back to work tomorrow and hopefully I will get back to more consistent blogging.

Ministerial Ethics

Ministerial Ehics

Did you know there is a link on the Education and the Ministry site that lists some important ministerial ethics? The link above will take you to an index. Scroll down until you get to "C" and choose "Covenant of Ministerial Ethics." Then scroll down to "E" for "Ethical Examination for Clergy." Some people might think that 'ministerial ethics' is an oxymoron. (Oxymoron is putting two contradictory words together.)
Ministers do not have to be perfect, but they really should attempt to have a code of ethics that puts them above reproach.
Do I sound old fashioned?

Ordained at Last

Well, last night was the big night! I was officially ordained as a minister in The Wesleyan Church. We had a wonderful worship service and the ordination message was brought by our General Superintendent, Dr. JoAnn Lyon. Wonderfully inspiring! I was blessed by the support of the people of our Northwest District!

It is wonderful to have completed all the work and have it behind me. Now I am on an adventure to see where the Lord leads!

The "World"

Also, I have emphasized increasingly the number of writings, by men and especially by women, before 1900 that have defended the full participation of women in ministry. This “answers” to a genuine degree that oft-repeated charge that Egalitarians today are simply an aspect of the modern feminist movement. Rather, I have learned by further study the depth of the biblical and historical roots of the Egalitarian position. David Scholer

The accusation that the affirmation of women in ministry is a result of the influence of the modern feminist movement is certainly an 'oft-repeated' one. Another way of expressing this perspective is to accuse a proponent of the full participation of women in ministry of being influenced by the 'world.' The Wesleyan Church may have been influenced by the first-wave women's rights movement, which followed on the heels of the Church's involvement in the anti-slavery movement. But the implication that The Wesleyan Church was influenced by the modern feminist movement can be refuted if one looks at how mute the church was on the issue during the 60's and 70's. Perhaps the church has been influenced by the "world," but the true influence of the "world" is visible by the church's acceptance of the 'world's" negative attitude toward women in leadership which translated into a reaction against women as church leaders and ordained ministers. The "world" has been struggling with women in the board room, women in the classroom, women as leaders in any field. The glass ceiling was first challenged by the "world" because it existed in the "world." It may have seemed the "world" was ahead of the church in raising the question, however, it actually was catching up with Jesus who always valued women and set the bar high for all of us today with regard to our view of women.

HERMENEUTICS!

...What I have argued is that nothing in the New Testament itself tells us which is the most important or “controlling” text on women in ministry. Rather, this decision becomes a hermeneutical one, attempting to assess the context of each passage and its role in biblical teaching and seeking a balance of all (not simply a selective group of) texts. Further, one needs hermeneutical skills to assess the cultural contexts of passages written in first-century culture, in which, generally speaking, women were considered inferior, subordinate, not worthy of education and suited only to domestic responsibilities. David Scholer

Hermeneutics, Hermeneutics, always Hermenuetics, I say!!

Jesus the Christian Hero

One particular issue to which I have given increasing attention is the oft-repeated Jewish charge that Christian feminism is a new form of anti-Semitism, by making Jesus the Christian hero who liberates women from oppressive Judaism. I have, thus, given attention to the accomplishments and positive roles of women in Second Temple Judaism before I cover the negative views of men toward women. Further, I have argued (in print) that Jesus is a hero to both Jews and Christians. David M. Scholer

This is an accusation of which I had not been aware. It is something to be sensitive to as we approach the discussion of how Jesus treated women. His treatment of women is very positive and is a model that is important in understanding the role of women in the home and in the Church. We do not want to minimize or lose the powerful image of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet learning as men did at the time. Nor do we want to miss the importance of Jesus speaking to the woman at the well and revealing to her who He was! But perhaps we should choose our words carefully so that we minimize any potential offense to our Jewish brothers and sister.

What do you think?