I am counting the seconds until Kendall-Ball picks this one up…
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, 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.
[...] Thanks to Justin for pointing us towards this very important and timely list (Ha! I beat Greg). I, for one, was convicted by reading it and have vowed to never join the ministry. Now, I must go find my local military recruiter. Top Ten Reasons Why Men Shouldn’t Be Ordained 10. A man’s place is in the army. [...]
Great list Justin. For some reason it reminds me of a similar list in one of Dr. Butterfield’s classes at Harding. It was for top ten reasons why it should be okay for fried chicken and coke to be served as the Lord’s supper.
His point at the end was basically that the ‘communion in the context of a meal’ argument was rubbish, and that his top ten reasons were obviously meant to be over the top and tongue-in-cheek.
It had the inverse effect on me, however…and I was angry when he flipped the tables and made his point at the end, because I was already convinced.
This list illustrates perfectly the type of gender hypocrisy that forever seems to endure in the cOc and others.
oh well
brilliant mate!
The divine choice of male leadership in the church is, of course, a divine choice and has nothing to do with gender hypocrisy. The Apostle Paul, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, provided only two reasons for male headship: the creation primacy and the sin motivation. As the top ten list sarcasticly points out, that which is made first is often the prototype, with the full-featured model coming out later. Such is not the case inn the creation of Adam and Eve. Paul points out the creation order because man was made from dust, woman was fashioned from man. In regard to the sin motivation, Paul informs us that Eve was deceived, while Adam knew that what Eve was doing was wrong. Adam, it appears to have done nothing to stop her. Here, Adam failed to act as head of the first family and warn, persuade or stop Eve from eating the fruit. Notice also, that while the creation order is mentioned by Paul, the sin order is not for it was Adam who sinned first by not restraining Eve. Adam is consistently portrayed as the one through whom sin entered the world (e.g. Romans 5:12). Perhaps then there is an eleventh reason to add to the list–man already goofed things up once, it’s time to give woman a go at it.
It has long been debated whether male leadership in the church was cultural or commanded. The arguments for a cultural basis (and therefore an archaic basis in need of change) fail to adequately address the reasoning given by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2.
Frankly, Dad, if Paul’s argument in 1 Timothy 2 is all we have to go on, that’s a pretty weak case. He says in the final verse that women will be saved through childbearing…good luck interpreting that one.
I laughed so hard I cried.
But then I realized it wasn’t really that funny.
I wonder if part of the reason I stopped going to church for so long is that the modern church has no use for an unmarried woman of 25?
Lesley-
Wasn’t there a children’s bible class you could have taught?
Why is that always the only option?
What year did Adam and Eve exist again? Was this before or after the monolith?
Good stuff. I laughed aloud as I read these.
Check out gal328.org - a website promoting gender equality in the churches of Christ. Aaron B put me on to this one, and I was quite surprised and mildly excited to see something like it out there.
Justin,
It just so happens that I’m writing a research paper for one of my classes. When it’s done, I’ll send it to you. Even the part about women being saved through childrearing (not just childbearing).
I don’t think men should be ordained. Women neither. Ordination is a rotten institution. Without it, the whole argument would not exist.
What is more. Even if I believed in ordination, I think woman would probably do a better job.
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