Female pastors!

It's not as if it is a subject to which I have never before given any thought! However, it is one that can cause severe polarisation, and I have tended to leave any discussion of it to private conversations. Until, that is, a friend posted a 'cartoon' on Facebook - and started a series of comments that is still growing!

The subject in question is that of female pastors. My personal stance is really quite simple and straightforward. The written Word of God makes perfectly clear that no woman should be in a position of spiritual authority over man. That, I would contend, means that no woman has the Biblical authority to be a pastor and teacher of men. Of course, this only became a major issue with the advent of the Women's Liberation Movement in the middle of the last century. Sadly, as still happens, the world was allowed to infiltrate the church, instead of the church going into all the world, and preaching the Gospel!

So, how have I arrived at such a conclusion? Well, my primary "proof texts" are in Paul's Holy Spirit inspired letters to two young pastors - Timothy and Titus. The relevant passages are:

I Tim. 3:1-7  "The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task.  Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil; moreover he must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." 

Titus 1:5-9 "This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you, if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of being profligate or insubordinate. For a bishop , as God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, master of himself, upright, holy, and self-controlled; he must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it."

Notice that, in both letters, Paul states that the person who is to be given spiritual authority (whether he refers to "episkopos" - "bishop"; or to "presbuteros" - "presbyter/elder") is to be "...  the husband of one wife ...". One does not need to be a theologian to understand that a "husband" is male. Some, of course, argue that Paul was a child of his time, and that women were lesser creatures in that society. Sorry! For a start, Christianity gave women a whole now status that they had never enjoyed before - not even within Judaism! Secondly, the Greek language has a perfectly good word for "spouse". If the roles were to be interchangeable, I would argue that God the Holy Spirit would have inspired the apostle to use that word! Thirdly, Paul consistently uses the masculine form of the pronouns - "he" and "his"!

As an aside, may I also point out that Paul was not referring to the idea of "one wife at a time", as some try to have us believe. Polygamy was a total "no-no" in the early church. What Paul was stating was that even a man who has been married; divorced; and remarried while his wife lives; is ineligible to be in a position of spiritual authority in the church! If the church in the west were to exercise discipline in that respect, a lot of "pastors/ministers/etc" would not be in the pulpit, or on the platform, this coming Sunday!

I would also take note of the following: "As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. What! Did the word of God originate with you, or are you the only ones it has reached?" (I Cor 14:33-36). 

If one is obedient to this particular passage, then it is clear that women should not have authority over men. Paul refers to "the law" - which, to him, would be the Torah (the five Books of Moses: Gen. - Deut.) - which records the words of Almighty God to the woman, immediately after the Fall: "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Gen 3:16; emphasis added). Paul had already stated that women were permitted to pray and to prophesy (11:5) provided they were appropriately attired, so the injunction against speaking must apply to something else. It is unlikely that he was, in fact, referring to pastoral leadership and ministry, but (in context) to women seeking to evaluate what was being shared (see v.29).

Of course, there are also those who will quote Gal.3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - and emphasise "neither male nor female"! However, one of the first principles of hermeneutics (the interpretation of the Word of God), is that "a text, taken out of context, is a pretext"! These words to the Galatian churches have nothing to do with spiritual authority or leadership. They refer to our salvation, which is equally available to all.

I could go on, but this is a blog post, not another book! However, I trust that some who read this post will realise that, regardless of modern western society with its political correctness, its women's liberation movements (although I don't see much activity from activists in that area when it comes to female genital mutilation, or to females who have been raped being stoned to death for 'adultery', to give just two examples!), or any other worldly movement, Almighty God has His own economy - and His Word stands. "Let God be true though every man be false, ..." (Rom 3:4).

Blessings, and shalom.