Reply from Shirley Taylor of “bWe Baptist Women for Equality’s Blog”
Shirley Taylor lives and blogs within the Southern Baptist tradition. Her stories of how women are theologically minimised and abused are an eye-opener.
Isn’t it intriguing how the different “Bible-based” traditions are concerned about different things? How astounding that the Church of Christ (USA) tells women that they shouldn’t turn their heads when singing in church for fear of preaching to men nearby. Such practice and theology has its own internal coherence but they have lost touch with their women and the broader world. What’s the ever-present message to women when they have to avert their eyes when singing their faith? The practice sounds like one of the building blocks of domestic violence – if women can’t sing to men, they certainly can’t have their own voice at home.
Meanwhile the LCA’s version of repressing women’s ordination includes that:
- women’s ordination will threaten our unity with the Catholic Church. There is a certain irony in this.
- women’s ordination is inspired by the second century Gnostic sect (Pr Greg Lockwood)
- we ask what the angels think about women’s ordination.. (Pr Frazer Pearce) (Current edition of Together)
It would be interesting to compare and contrast the issues that different fundamentalist denominations have with women’s ordination. So much for them being Bible-based.
Shirley’s blog is found here: http://bwebaptistwomenforequality.wordpress.com/
Katie and Martin's Blog on the Lutheran Church in Australia 
Dorothea Preis
November 8, 2012 at 12:17 pm
I come from the German Lutheran Church, where women’s ordination had been introduced in the late 50s and there is no longer any discussion about this issue. I now go to a church in the LCA. Though I like my congregation (which mostly supports women’s ordination), I find the official line in the LCA rather confronting. The German congregation in Sydney has a female pastor, as has the Swedish and the Indonesian. They celebrated Reformation Day in a combined service with the three female pastors and one male (from the Hungarian congregation), you can find more about it here: http://www.kirche-sydney.org.au/2012/10/30/gemeinden-der-martin-luther-kirche-feiern-gemeinsam-das-reformationsfest/
How can the LCA worry about their “unity with the Catholic Church”, shouldn’t they rather start thinking about unity with Lutheran Churches from all over the world?
Katie and Martin
November 8, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Incisive point! Isn’t is ironic that we claim to have the correct interpretation of Scripture and the Confessions, while the bulk of world Lutheranism thinks otherwise. It’s time that we learned from each others learning.
Meanwhile, the LCA seems to be focused on a limited reading of Scripture to bolster it’s current position. It’s the same fundamentalst thinking, albeit under the Confessions, that drives Southern Baptists, Churches of Christ (at least in the US) and Pentecostalism.
Morven R. Baker
November 9, 2012 at 2:55 am
Oh my, I almost spilled my coffee reading this: “Women can’t turn around when they sing for fear of preaching to men nearby.” Shaking my head, just imagining how this – yet another – binding that is not found anywhere in Scripture – must break the Father’s heart. The LORD came to set the captives free, and those who have been released from slavery dance, sing, rejoice TOGETHER, faces radiant, tears streaming down their cheeks. Praying …
Christoph Donges
November 20, 2012 at 11:28 am
England Anglicans reject female bishops:
http://skepticink.com/tippling/2012/11/20/church-of-england-general-synod-votes-against-women-bishops/
😦