My Career Path Research Paper

Women in church leadership; I believe women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3–5). I also believe that the Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children or teens. The only role women are restricted from is teaching or having spiritual authority are over men. (1 Timothy

Professor of religious studies Karen Armstrong finds in the early Christian Church examples of hostility toward women and fear of their sexual power, which she contends led to the eventual exclusion of women from full participation in a male-dominated church.

As early as the beginning of the Christian Church women had some important but very defined roles within the church. There were roles women could not play, of course, but that does not mean they did not have value to the Christian movement. Unfortunately, there have also been a lot of things overlooked that have been done by women, especially in the New Testament. There have also been arguments that the Christian Church is a "man's church" because men wrote the books of the bible and women did not have much say, apparently, in what happened during that time and how it was recorded. Even though not everyone was certain of the way women were treated in Christianity and whether they were accepted and applauded the way they should have and could have been, there were still many mentions of women doing great things. Scholars have begun to look into what women did during Old Testament and New Testament times, in an effort to have a better understanding of Christianity and the role women played in it in the past.

Not only were women writing religious books, but Post-war America saw women entering the ministry. Women had made up the majority of members in church congregations for centuries, but few denominations had recognized them as leaders before the 50's. Conservative churches limited leadership to Bible studies and social programs, but many major denominations joined the Quakers and Pentecostals in ordaining them as ministers.

What is the importance of goals? Do goals help you plan out your future? Or possibly give you something to work for? To me goals provide a map of what I want to do, how I’m going to do it, and why I want to do it. Goals also provide a sense of accomplishment when you finally get to finish whatever you’ve been working towards. The need for goals in life is clear, because without goals, we wouldn’t get much done. Simply because of the fact that there wouldn’t be anything to work towards, and no structure to our future. One of my most important goals is to graduate college, to get a career in psychology. This goal is extremely important to me because of the fact that not many people in my family have even finished high school.

But I think that’s also, in some ways, been the hardest part. Because it moves so slowly. ...If there ever would have been anything that would have made me not be a Christian, or give up my faith, it would have been [gender issues] because so many people made it seem like you couldn’t be a strong woman or a woman that believed that you had equal voice, equal whatever if you were a Christian. They would pull these ugly verses out of the Bible and tell you them. It took me a long time to kind of figure out why - or maybe to justify my position, I’m not sure which - why I think what I think. Again, I think it’s related to racial issues for me - and gender issues. I really believe with all my heart, from everything that Jesus says in the Bible, that Jesus thinks we’re all alike. He says over and over again things about caring for the widows and the poor and the lepers and the downtrodden and the outcasts. I just think that message of respect and equality and inclusiveness and love for all is there. To me, it’s one of the central things about what it means to be a Christian. That love and acceptance for everybody....It’s also why, at this point, I feel the same way about homosexuality. Because, to me, that’s part of that. Yep, Jesus would accept us all. (Huffman)

The scripture that surrounds the controversial topic of female preachers not being worthy enough to carry the mantle to preach or teach is 1 Timothy 2:12, “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” Schreiner professes his agreement with John Piper who feels as though women are

Second, a woman’s position in the church is not to be a preacher in the pulpit. The first reason a woman cannot be a pastor is because women are not have authority over men. Bacchoicchi states, “God wasn’t prejudices against the women, but he didn’t make women equal with the men but He still added them to part of the worship.” God did not make men and women to be equal in authority. The men are the have the authority and preach to the women. Women do not have the power over men to be ministers

“Even today, though much improved from the time of these women, non-ordained women need to have more significant roles in the church,” host Janet Ruffing answered a student’s inquiry yesterday on women’s present role in the church.

In A. L. Cook’s 2010 study,36 The Denied Calling: A Look at the Role of Women in the Southern Baptist Church (SBC), she discusses the uneven history of the church in regard to its female members. In earlier years of the SBC, women were ordained to preach and ordained as deacons. Beginning in 1984, this act was rescinded with the caveat that women leaders ordained earlier than 1984 can retain their ordination. This has resulted in women leaders leaving the church.36 After the1984 resolution, opposition began to build both within and outside the Southern Baptist Convention. Scriptures opposing the views presented by the Convention were cited, and women’s organizations began to research the issue.36 The SBC claims that I Tim 2: 11-15 is their authority to deny female leadership in the Convention. The SBC also passed a resolution

The bases of keeping women out of the ministry in most religions are more or less tradition. A Bible scripture such as (Mat. 10:2) as Jesus was searching for His disciples he only chose men. Even when he had to replace them, He only chose men. In most of the passages in the bible, Jesus never chose a woman nor did He address the public by speaking to the woman specifically. Some would believe that Jesus was a sexist, but during the times it was only tradition for a man to be the head of everything and the role of a woman during the biblical times were to listen to the man, nurture her family and husband. During the biblical times when Jesus walked this earth, Christianity was a very warous event. People were not accepting of the Christ therefore it leads to wars and battles. (Mat. 24: 6). During those days women did not do battle. As of today the tradition still holds and it plays a significant part in our everyday lives as well as our religious worship. We

The second paper, written by David Norris, focuses mainly on the history of Pentecostal women in ministry. He gave a brief mention to the emergence of Holiness women preachers, and then fast-forwards to the Pentecostal movement. Because many of the people involved in the Pentecostal movement had once been a part of the Holiness movement, women were generally accepted as ministers. However, even here women were relegated to the margins. They took the broken, burnt out, run down churches that no one else wanted. Many times these women would revitalized a run down church only to step down, or be shunted aside, so a man could take over as pastor. According to Norris, at the founding of the UPCI nearly 22% of the licensed ministers were women. This number has steadily declined over the past 50 years until only 3% of the licensed ministers are women. Norris gives four possible reasons for this: 1. Because women did not learn how to theologically defend their position at the beginning of the movement, they do not know how now that the climate has changed to where they must defend their calling. 2. There were many more denominations involved in the Pentecostal movement than just the Holiness groups who were not willing to license women. 3. There are little or no role models who promote women in

Another protestant denomination that considers the current cultural setting when debating female ordination is the United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church has a rich history of female leadership, and allowed females full clergy rights in 1956 according to the United Methodist Church’s website on Higher Education and Ministry. The United Methodist Church’s official statement in the “Book of Resolutions,” Every Barrier Down: Towards Full Embrace of All Women in Church and Society, explains that God calls females to participate in all church roles: “preachers, teachers, administrators, mission workers, treasurers, lay leaders, trustees, peace-with-justice advocates, voting rights' workers, Christian educators, and evangelists.” The official statement begs the questions of why the United Methodist Church permits female ordination. One commentary on female ordination explains, “One reference from Paul may appear to rule out the ordination of women, but United Methodists also take into account other scriptural references

1 Timothy 2:11–15 states: “11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 for Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” 1 Corinthians 14:33–35 states: “33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their

Even though we statistically see women as being considered more “spiritual”, up until recently, the normal perspective held was that women were not allowed to participate as leaders in church teachings or higher ranking members. They only make up about 10-12% of senior or sole ordained leaders in the church. A study done by the National Congregation shows the numbers are highest, yet still drastically lower than the statistics of men, in Unitarian Universalist Association at 30% and the United Church of Christ being at 25%. The lowest numbers seen are within the Southern Baptist Convention with 4% and the Free