I’d read tidbits here and there about whether a seminary is like a church, but I hadn’t been paying close enough attention to understand why this question was being asked. So I read Michael Spencer’s blog post and it all makes sense.
Certain portions of the internet are abuzz with discussions regarding the termination of Dr. Sheri Klouda from her position as assistant professor of Old Testament languages at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She was terminated, ostensibly, because she is female, and according to seminary president Paige Patterson’s interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:12, not qualified to teach men the Hebrew language. — http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/10-questions-for-complementarians-by-bill-mackinnon
I’m thankful my experience has brought me associations with Christian traditions which are at least open to women being called to minister and teach. The Church of God, Anderson, Indiana, which I was raised in had women serve as pastors from the earliest of its days. My later affiliations with the Vineyard and the Assemblies of God also brought me into contact with those who at least were open to women being called and serving as pastors.
Of course, I can hear many of those who would cheer Patterson’s decision say I don’t care about what the Bible says. I do care deeply, and I believe we MUST look at the culture in our interpretive endeavors of the Scriptures. To those who think that’s ludicrous, I would just ask the same ten questions Michael Spencer posed (via Bill Mackinnon, I believe):
10 Questions for Complementarians by Bill Mackinnon: “1. Do you believe that Christian women should only work in the lowest of entry level positions, lest they inadvertently find themselves in authority over a Christian man? Or perhaps Christian women should only work in ‘women only’ organizations? Or perhaps you think that women should not work outside the home at all?
2. Should Christian men avoid working in organizations where somewhere in the organizational hierarchy over them, there might be a Christian woman?
3. If you are pulled over by a female police officer whom you know to be a Christian, how do you make her understand that she has no authority over you (assuming you are male)?
4. Are secular places of higher education off limits for Christian men (or even seminaries with less rigid gender rules) considering the fact that at such places Christian men might find themselves being taught by Christian women?
5. Are high school teaching jobs off limits for Christian women, since at the higher grades they might be teaching Christian males old enough (by our culture) to be considered men?
6. If a Christian woman becomes President of the United States, how do you reconcile the conflict of 1 Timothy 2:12 and Titus 3:1? Or do you simply conclude that no Christian woman would ever consider such a position?
7. Should Christian women refrain from writing books, or papers, or internet articles, lest a Christian man should read them and accidentally learn from them? Or should such books and articles come with a warning label -For Women Only!-?
8. Must all music and worship leaders in the Church be men, since to lead implies being in authority? If you are in a church with a female song leader and she tells everyone to stand to sing, what do you do? Stay seated? Walk out?
9. At what age does a Christian son go from being under his mother’s authority to being an authority over her (and his sisters, whether younger or older)? One assumes that this is the same age where the mother must stop teaching her son.
10. Does the ‘all women under the authority of all men’ concept remind you of another well known monotheistic religion that is in the news a lot lately?”
(Via internetmonk.com.)
Great stuff Alan.
Too bad it has to be written in the first place.
On the bright side for the SBA, women should stay silent, so if they speak, these men in ‘authority’ don’t have to listen. And if men stand up for them, they’ll be considered heretics, and even worse, liberals!
It makes my skin crawl to think that it took hundreds of years for women to even vote and in one fell swoop we can push society back to the Victorian age.
Ugh.
David
January 24th, 2007
Three cheers for Taylor University (Upland, IN) who has hired Dr. Klouda as the first female to teach in their Biblical Literature department!
nate
January 25th, 2007
I understand where you are coming from on this. It seems like the line of reasoning used by the seminary would prevent women from doing anything in a leadership role. However, I do have some questions here.
- I have a hard time looking through the Bible and finding verses that would encourage women having authority over men. Paul doesn’t seem to ground his arguments in the context of his culture, but in the context of the created order. So that, according to natural law, women are not to have authority over men.
- I would be curious to see what reading of scripture allows for us to disregard passages that don’t jive with the culture. Isn’t Christianity fundamentally counter-cultural?
-Believe me, I know how sexist this sounds. But, I think that if men understood their roles and didn’t abuse their roles, this wouldn’t come across as sexist to us. Men have indeed abused their authority, but that does not mean that we should scratch the whole law and rewrite it according to the culture.
I want you to know that this is a very difficult issue for me and a very personal one. Your thoughts and rebuttals would be greatly appreciated as I struggle to find some direction with this issue. Thanks, great site by the way! It is very thought provoking!
Bob
January 29th, 2007
Bob -
Thanks for taking the time to post. I think you should seriously answer the complementarian questions if you are struggling with this issue. At a minimum, your own views will be refined, but it can open up the true difficulty of this question. At the end, you may ask yourself, if my position is valid, should I be even more strict? Does that truly seem right in my heart? I realize you can’t base your theology on your feelings, but that doesn’t mean the Spirit does not convict us when we are in the wrong. The Bible is certainly not easy to fully understand, or we’d only have one Christian Church and no denominations.
There’s a fine line between letting culture dictate your policies and finding what’s cultural in the Bible. It’s not a stretch to point out that slavery was not condemned in the Bible but is considered an abomination today.
Of course Paul also said there is neither male nor female for we are all one in Christ Jesus. When Paul wrote of women, it seemed to be for a purpose of order in the Church for how it would be perceived at that time.
I will look into the created order argument again. It’s been awhile, and I know I’ve read some good (and solid) stuff from both sides on that issue. But to be honest, I don’t remember much of it.
There is a pattern of redemption displayed in the Bible and in the history of the Church which opens the door, I believe, for women in authority. And one thing I can remember of the created order argument is that the reasoning Paul gave was that the woman was the one deceived… are we to believe that in Christ women are kept down for a sin committed by Eve for all eternity?
Alan
January 30th, 2007