What is the Most Ridiculous Case Made in All of Christianity


Someday, I'd like to run a national competition to decide the most ridiculous argument in Christianity. Yes, there are many, the existence of heaven and hell, the gods and spirits floating about and what is sin and what is not sin. But there is one that is a used as a powerful club to beat down the role of a class of humans. This one rises to the top for me. It is that in some sections of the faith only men can be clergy.

I have a little side hobby of collecting the mythological excuses for the put-down of women. The put-down is skillfully done millions of women think it is a sound idea. I've heard several reasons for this discrimination. Here is the most recent.

The post refers to some verse in Revelations that says communion is a wedding where Jesus is the groom and the church is his bride. I didn't read the silly article carefully but apparently since Jesus was male the priest serving the blood must also be a male. Explaining this takes some pages using fancy words from theology. 

Another explanation I've heard as to why clergy must be male is that Jesus' pals, the disciples, were all male. We don't really know who, if anyone, hung out with a Jesus. Another explanation I heard recently was that Adam was created before Eve. Therefore men always come before women. These, along with the link which is based on an obscure bit of scripture are all a joke repeated by men for the benefit of men. Several main-line denominations allow women to be preachers. None has been struck by lightning as a punishment from God. At least not yet.

To illustrate how bonkers religion is, consider the denomination I grew up in. This is the Evangelical Covenant Church. Twenty years or so ago its members nations-wide voted to allow women pastors. The seminary filled with women and some converted from other denominations. Local churches, however, have most often not chosen women to be their preacher. There are many unemployed women.

In the end it is not just one argument against women preachers that is bonkers, it is all of them. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make...
Read more

Who Suffers from a "Hardened Heart"

Image
Some years ago on this blog there was a discussion about what the Bible calls "The hardened heart." The "hardened heart" was the explanation given for why people like me cannot accept the tenets of Christianity. We are unable to believe there are floating spirits and gods or imaginary places people go when the die. Now, a prominent Christian preacher and author has given us a way to diagnose the "hardened heart." It contained some surprises.  Rev. John Piper, who spoke about the hardened heart, said we can see this in a person who lacks "ordinary tenderness and compassion." He went on to describe the characteristics of a person without the affliction of the hardened heart. A healthy person displays empathy and sympathy. Those with the hardened heart are like stone. Jesus wanted compassion for the poor. The hardened heart discussion referred to atheists only if they are sinners and then it was indirectly. Sin, Piper said, hardens one's heart a...
Read more

Young Women can see Bull$hit a Mile Away

Image
Republicans including their Forced Birth subgroup is bother by recent election results and polling. All show young women going to the left. A poll shows young women are 30% more likely to be very liberal than young men. The link advises the Forced Birth community to give young pregnant women an uplifting message. The message suggested is, "Buck up. You've got this. You can give birth and have a happy life." Another way of saying this is, "It will be OK if you miss work and/or are fired because of the birth. If you cannot make your rent payment, it's OK. Somewhere out there is another place to live. We don't know where but be optimistic."   This is an add on to the new version of the Forced Birth message, "We're for both the baby and the mother." They are not and never have been for the mother. Their message has always been to condemn women who have abortions. Now, the "thoughts and prayers" message, which costs no money, it the me...
Read more