“When we require women to pay over and
over again for Eve’s transgression with their silence and submission,
we negate the full redemptive power of the gospel”
~ Ruth Haley Barton, Phd Div
To begin to address the issue of gender bias we
must first acknowledge its existence in society at large, as well as throughout
Christendom. This is not to suggest that
it is either acceptable or justifiable but merely the recognition that gender
bias is a part of our everyday lives. Gender bias refers to the common practice
of holding the value of men above women such that women are treated as less
important than men. On a very basic level, this applies to unequal treatment in
employment such as promotion, pay and benefits. On a deeper level, gender bias
affects people’s expectations and even their attitudes towards one another.
When we talk about discrimination in
Christianity the discussion revolves around perceptions of the role of women.
In Ministry, women encounter limitations to the extent to which they can
participate in Christendom. These limitations are deeply ingrained and
historically they have prevented women from answering the call to leadership.
So while women represent a majority of the membership in Christian
denominations such as the Roman Catholic Church or Celestial Church of Christ,
no matter how fervently a woman experiences God’s call she may not attain
an ordained role of Priest and she is very limited in what religious vocations she
may achieve.
We have become so focused on the limitations of women
and the discriminations against them, that we forget the women who did not let
this gender bias hold them back. There
are many examples of strong and wise women in the Bible who became great
teachers and leaders. There are seven prophetesses mentioned in the Old
Testament: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail,
Huldah and Esther. In the New Testament we learn of Priscilla in
Acts 18. We also see in Romans 16:7, the woman Junia is listed as an Apostle.
In our contemporary world, Joyce Banda, Malawi’s first female
president is recently quoted to have said that African women should not follow
the “western route” of assertiveness and confrontation as a way to gain a voice
(in politics). She illustrated her statement by stating “if I had done that,
for example while talking to a traditional ruler in Africa, I would have been
rejected immediately”. The insight one can gain from this is that while some
ideologies are universal they have to be applied in a way that fits a specific
context.
Consider, if you will, attending a church which
excludes women from preaching on the pulpit, becoming priests, or entering the
altar. The potential application of society’s reasoning that a
woman is equal to any man and as such should be able to do any of those things
is overridden by the fact that the rules of the church were inspired by the
Holy Spirit, thus from God Himself. In that context, one cannot argue with that
fact without questioning one’s own faith.
In any case, surely it is better to concentrate
on what is really important. The mandate given to us as Christians is to “go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. To truly carry out
this mandate I need to be out there, not inside the church fighting to sit in
the altar with the men, not inside the church arguing that I can preach as well
as, if not better than any of the men. I need to be out there, reaching out to
people, my gender does not preclude me from being able to do that. The young
girl who told Naaman’s wife about Elisha, did not need any special declaration of her
equality for her words to be listened to (2 King 5: 2-3). The Samaritan woman
did not need to be ordained as a priest to run out to say to the men in the
city that Christ was there (John 4: 28-29).
The truth is, the culture of discrimination that
seems to exist now, will always exist, and it is unrealistic to expect
religion, indeed Christianity to move in the same path as the secular world to
give “equal rights”. For every one woman led Christian ministry there will be a
hundred led by a man, even in denominations where there is no restriction
against women leading. We must move our focus away from the limitations or
obstacles put in our path because of our gender. Instead we must shift that
focus onto how to make it work within our own context. Wisdom must be applied. When
Zelophehad’s daughter’s were told that they could only inherit their father’s entitlement if
they married into a specific tribe (Numbers 36:10) they could have refused that
condition but they didn’t. To receive what was
rightfully theirs, they worked within their context. In the same manner we should
work within our context as it is pointless to start demanding for rights that
could be interpreted as an attempt to undermine authority or question the Holy
Spirit. As a member of the Celestial Church of Christ, the truth remains, no
matter how deep my understanding of the Word becomes and no matter how much
obvious my leadership skills become, I will never be a priest or be invited to
preach on the pulpit. This does not, and it cannot, hold me back from my main
duty as a Christian, which is to make disciples for Christ. To make disciples
for Christ, the necessary ingredients have nothing to do with my status or
position in the church but everything to do with my knowledge of Christ and my
boldness to go out there and share that knowledge.
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