Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Top 10 Reasons Why Men Shouldn't Be Ordained

My partner in ministry, Tara Healy posted this on her Facebook. As we have been considering planting a church together it is funny, to the point of frustration, how many are against women in ministry. I hope you enjoy the list as much as I did.



I receive this in an email and thought "How darkly funny!" Although this list we may consider absurd, we however do not apply that same absurdity to the list of restrictions to the ordination of women, when often reasons such as this exist as reasons to exclude women from ordination. Perhaps someday the list that is given about the exclusion of women will be just as "darkly funny" as this list. Enjoy and discuss!


Top 10 Reasons Why Men Shouldn't Be Ordained:

10. A man's place is in the army.

9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.

8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work.

7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.

5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.

4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, change the oil in the church vans, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.

1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Kings



I am sure I have mentioned this numerous times but I love TV! Really! I love sitcoms, dramas, reality shows, games shows and even info-commercials. I cannot get enough TV! I thank God for allowing us the ability to create the DVR; my DVR can record four shows at any one time.

A new show was introduced to me last night: Kings. I was unsure what the show was about and really didn’t want to be sucked into another show, I watch too much TV already. I am thinking about seeking medical attention for this disorder. I saw the commercials for the show but didn’t pay much attention, who wants to watch a show about a modern king of a country similar to the USA? Not me!

But then I heard it was based on the Biblical narrative of King David. Really?

King Silas (Saul), whose last name is Benjamin is the current leader of the unified country of Gilboa. King Saul, a Benjamite, was the first king of the unified Israel, before Israel and Judah split.

The capital city of Gilboa is Shiloh. Gilboa is the mountain where Saul and his sons were killed, rather Saul committed suicide and fell on his own sword there.

Shiloh is mentioned throughout Joshua as the meeting and worshiping place of the Israelites. It was at this place where Samuel the prophet was raised.

The religious leader of Gilboa is a Reverend Samuels, think Samuel the prophet.

David Shepherd is the hero of the story, think King David, who was a shepherd. His father’s name is Jesse but he died in the unification war.

Reverend Samuels stopped by David’s family home with car problem. David fixed the problem and Rev. Samuels anointed David’s forehead.

King Silas’ son is Jack Benjamin. I am waiting to see the parallels to Jonathan. David saved Jack Benjamin, who was captured by the army of Gath, by destroying Goliath, a military tank. He used a rocket launcher rather than using a sling.

David didn’t wear his military uniform with the country’s insignia (a butterfly) because he couldn’t run it. This is very similar to David refusing to wear Saul’s armor into battle.

David falls in love with Michelle Benjamin, King Silas’ daughter. King Saul’s daughter’s name was Michal.

The butterfly is the national image of Gilboa. We are told that a group of butterflies encircled King Silas’ head and made a crown, signifying that he was to be king. At the end of last night’s show butterflies encircle David’s head and make a crown as King Silas watches.

Ok I am sucked into another show, I hope I have enough room on my DVR. If you don’t want to know what happens next, don’t read your Bible. But if you want to understand the story better I would suggest you read your Bible.