Priestesses in the Church? ... from Jack's God in the Dock

[rusmeister]

[Tuke]

[Tuke]

In the interest of full disclosure, my church ( www.Foursquare.org ) licenses and ordains women, though few serve as senior pastors. More commonly, Foursquare women serve as elders, councilwomen ushers, and lay ministers. Indeed, the Bible says we are all called to be royal priests without regard to race, sex, or bondage.

[rusmeister]

[Stanley Anderson]

[Tuke]

[rusmeister]

[Tuke]

[rusmeister]

[Tuke]

[Zattara08]

Well I am coming at this discussion a year late but man, I've been up reading everything you guys have been saying and have been quite fascinated with the discussion.

One thing I might add, if I dare lol, is that Protestants (at least of my Pentecostal persuasion) would take exception at the idea of no presence being at Communion. While we would not argue that it is the literal blood/body for reasons already examined, there is a sort of "dynamic presence" of the Holy Spirit at communion that many in the Pentecostal circle is a fulfillment of Christ's promise of the Holy Spirit. While I regretfully admit that Orthodox/Catholic church have the upper hand on beauty and reverence in the partaking of the sacraments, many of us who live in these protestant churches are trying to change that. Especially when it comes to focusing on the way communion was originally taken with fellowship in mind.

While my denomination ordains women (Assemblies of God) I do respect Lewis' point. I know Pastor's in my denomination who have no problem with women in senior leadership positions while I know others who do not allow it. A very hard issue but I am interested in Lewis' perspective. I guess it all comes down to what the word "authority" means.

[hammurabi2000]

[rusmeister]

What we really want is to find the Church of Christ and to conform our will to God's will, instead of trying to conform His will to ours.
Not a faith that makes me feel comfortable, or good about myself, but one that reveals the Truth, even the parts that I don't like.

[hammurabi2000]

[rusmeister]

No one said that talents should not be used. That is the false understanding of modernity that makes over 1900 years of faith to be blundering by the Holy Spirit, Who couldn't get across to His followers that anyone ought to be a priest because the Church is really about fairness and equality - it takes those ideas and makes them into blind little Oyarsas, the ruling principles of faith.

Equal rights is something foreign to Christianity on a spiritual level. Christ's story about the workmen who worked different hours and received the same wage was all about God's unfairness. Or as Lewis put it in "The Great Divorce", we don't want our rights. We want the Bleeding Mercy.
The Church (if you should find it) is not a secular, worldly organization where we should seek "our rights" but a heavenly organization where we should abandon all thoughts of our "rights" and ask what God would have us do, rather than what we would have ourselves do.

Again, you gain true spirituality by finding the Church and conforming your will to God's will, instead of trying to conform His will to yours.
Not a faith that makes you feel comfortable, or good about yourself, but one that reveals the Truth, even the parts that you don't like.

A great article by former uber-feminist, now Orthodox 'matushka' Frederica Mathewes-Green on the topic:
http://www.frederica.com/writings/women ... ation.html