Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained

Kathleen Pearce, on her blog, Salvokat, recently published a humorous list that’s been doing the rounds in the blogosphere, and, no doubt, in print as well.

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.

As I read through the top ten list here I would add another. “Jesus didn’t ordain anyone, men or women”. I must admit I’m a little torn on this issue. I was recognised as a Uniting Church minister a couple of weeks ago, after years of secondment from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. I take seriously the commitment I have made to be available as a servant to the wider Christian community, in a relationship of accountability to the wider Christian community. And yet I have reservations about what Tony Jones calls a culture of “ontological superiority”. The life of the church too easily becomes an extension of the clergy, whether or not they’re called Rev.

Despite the humour, and despite my reservations about the church’s addiction to clergy-focus, the issue remains serious. Why should people be chosen for leadership roles based on their gender?

Apparently the top ten list was presented by David M. Scholer on February 20, 1998, at the Fuller Follies at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. David’s version was taken, with small modifications, from a November 24, 1997 internet communication from W. Ward and Laurel Gasque, who have long been champions of Biblical equality.

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