Women Speaking in the Church
Hi All,
This is about a something I read in my 18th Century Class, but it deals with women, and if anyone else is thinking of writing their essays on Women speaking in the Church, or just women writing in general, this is a pretty cool lady to look at.
Women's Speaking Justified
Hi everyone!I am going to talk about Margaret Fell Fox’s Women speaking justified today because it is my favourite thing that we have read so far. I really liked this. Particularly because she is able to use so much direct scriptural evidence to prove what she is saying. It is so often that people say they are “quoting” scripture when they are actually paraphrasing something they have heard (not read) somewhere along the line. I think that it is so important to look at the Bible when people debate whether or not women should be able to speak in the church. I am not going to force religion on anyone here, so if you are getting worked up… you can simmer… I am not going to try and convince you to believe in God, I am just going to talk about the Bible and what it says about women.
My first point is not about women speaking, but about the regard in which God holds them. Look at the story of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5 : 1-11). He holds Ananias, the husband, responsible for his actions, and he holds Saphira individually and personally responsible for her behaviour. Ananias was not held responsible for his wife, and Saphira was directly accountable to God. She could not excuse herself with the claim that she was submitted to her husband and so shift responsibility to him. (They Lied about their kindheartedness, if you are not familliar with the story)
Furthermore, on the day of the Pentecost, God made an egalitarian proclamation when He poured out the Holy Spirit without regard for gender. It is also said that Paul’s central egalitarian proclamation was: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave not free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). This part of the Bible is about even more than just gender. In Jesus Christ, God removed the hierarchical distinctiveness that had arisen in regard to race, social class, and gender. However, because of this, women functioned as equals with men.
My second point is regarding the definition of Ministry. People are so worked up about women speaking in the Church, but they fail to look at the Scripture for their reasons for this, and they forget the point of Ministry in the first place. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1Jn. 4: 19). As we respond to His love, He discloses himself through us. Thus, ministry is about knowing Him and making Him known. This is something on which gender has no bearing. Everyone is able to spread God’s word, and no one should be impeded in this.
Paul accepted women with absolutely no problem. They functioned as teachers: Priscilla (Acts 18). They functioned as prophets: Deborah, Miriam, Huldah and Anna and Phillip’s four daughters (Acts 2). Specifically, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy” (Acts 2: 17). Why would a woman function as a prophet if she were not meant to speak the word of the Lord? Women also functioned as Apostles; an example of this is Junia of Rome, (Rom. 16:7).
Another point that we often forget about God is that He made us in His image… we are not meant to make Him in our image. Since God is Spirit, He does not have gender, so the image of God has nothing to do with the masculine or feminine. I know that I am referring to Him as “He” in this argument, but this only proves the inadequacy of language, it does not prove that God is male.
My Favourite part of the reading was when she talks about “those that speak against the woman’s speaking.” When Christ’s children fight against each other, they are actually making the Devil’s work easier by creating the disharmony he so desires. “Let this word of the Lord, which was from the beginning, stop the mouths of all that oppose Women’s speaking in the power of the Lord; for he hath put enmity between the Woman and the Serpent; and if the seed of the Woman speak not, the seed of the Serpent speaks.” When people restrain other people who are trying to spread God’s word, they are actually doing the opposite of what they think they are intending.
I guess this topic is a big one to me because I just see no reason to stop a qualified individual from doing something that God has asked them to do. I do agree that not everyone is qualified to speak in the Church; however, gender should not be one of the deciding factors.
I think this plays into alot of the women writers that we have been reading. They are qualified to be writers, so why should their sex keep them away from it. I am so glad that we do not live in this world today. I would not be too accepting of it.
This is about a something I read in my 18th Century Class, but it deals with women, and if anyone else is thinking of writing their essays on Women speaking in the Church, or just women writing in general, this is a pretty cool lady to look at.
Women's Speaking Justified
Hi everyone!I am going to talk about Margaret Fell Fox’s Women speaking justified today because it is my favourite thing that we have read so far. I really liked this. Particularly because she is able to use so much direct scriptural evidence to prove what she is saying. It is so often that people say they are “quoting” scripture when they are actually paraphrasing something they have heard (not read) somewhere along the line. I think that it is so important to look at the Bible when people debate whether or not women should be able to speak in the church. I am not going to force religion on anyone here, so if you are getting worked up… you can simmer… I am not going to try and convince you to believe in God, I am just going to talk about the Bible and what it says about women.
My first point is not about women speaking, but about the regard in which God holds them. Look at the story of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5 : 1-11). He holds Ananias, the husband, responsible for his actions, and he holds Saphira individually and personally responsible for her behaviour. Ananias was not held responsible for his wife, and Saphira was directly accountable to God. She could not excuse herself with the claim that she was submitted to her husband and so shift responsibility to him. (They Lied about their kindheartedness, if you are not familliar with the story)
Furthermore, on the day of the Pentecost, God made an egalitarian proclamation when He poured out the Holy Spirit without regard for gender. It is also said that Paul’s central egalitarian proclamation was: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave not free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). This part of the Bible is about even more than just gender. In Jesus Christ, God removed the hierarchical distinctiveness that had arisen in regard to race, social class, and gender. However, because of this, women functioned as equals with men.
My second point is regarding the definition of Ministry. People are so worked up about women speaking in the Church, but they fail to look at the Scripture for their reasons for this, and they forget the point of Ministry in the first place. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1Jn. 4: 19). As we respond to His love, He discloses himself through us. Thus, ministry is about knowing Him and making Him known. This is something on which gender has no bearing. Everyone is able to spread God’s word, and no one should be impeded in this.
Paul accepted women with absolutely no problem. They functioned as teachers: Priscilla (Acts 18). They functioned as prophets: Deborah, Miriam, Huldah and Anna and Phillip’s four daughters (Acts 2). Specifically, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy” (Acts 2: 17). Why would a woman function as a prophet if she were not meant to speak the word of the Lord? Women also functioned as Apostles; an example of this is Junia of Rome, (Rom. 16:7).
Another point that we often forget about God is that He made us in His image… we are not meant to make Him in our image. Since God is Spirit, He does not have gender, so the image of God has nothing to do with the masculine or feminine. I know that I am referring to Him as “He” in this argument, but this only proves the inadequacy of language, it does not prove that God is male.
My Favourite part of the reading was when she talks about “those that speak against the woman’s speaking.” When Christ’s children fight against each other, they are actually making the Devil’s work easier by creating the disharmony he so desires. “Let this word of the Lord, which was from the beginning, stop the mouths of all that oppose Women’s speaking in the power of the Lord; for he hath put enmity between the Woman and the Serpent; and if the seed of the Woman speak not, the seed of the Serpent speaks.” When people restrain other people who are trying to spread God’s word, they are actually doing the opposite of what they think they are intending.
I guess this topic is a big one to me because I just see no reason to stop a qualified individual from doing something that God has asked them to do. I do agree that not everyone is qualified to speak in the Church; however, gender should not be one of the deciding factors.
I think this plays into alot of the women writers that we have been reading. They are qualified to be writers, so why should their sex keep them away from it. I am so glad that we do not live in this world today. I would not be too accepting of it.
posted by Abby at 11/03/2005 01:01:00 PM
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