I found this Top Ten list the other day while reading the blog of a woman named Maggie Dawn. Her blog is subtitled, "Anglican priest thinking out loud about theology, life and faith." She gave credit for the list to a woman named Serena.
I found this list to be both funny and strangely familiar...
Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not 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, 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.
I especially like #2, but that's just me.
Sometimes my own logic is not all that logical. It helps to poke my head out of my bubble and hang out with some people who may look at things a little differently than I do; to actually
listen to a different opinion than my own. Sometimes when I do that
(gasp) I'm even forced to
(dare I say it?) grow and
(here it comes) change.
It helps to have a sense of humor, confidence and a lower than average IQ.
Most people who know me would say I possess at least one of those (the last). My guess is Maggie Dawn possesses the first two, and I'd probably enjoy hanging out with her.
