The Priesthood Research Paper

For centuries, women have brought their gifts, talents and service to church. Their presence and service goes further than getting things done. For instance, Elizabeth Hernandez who serves at my home parish. She is a leader of the Hispanic Ministries and she oversees all liturgical ministries. Elizabeth works together with Antonio, her husband, but her female qualities make the difference in her performance with the people. Being the bridge between the pastor and all of the lay ministers, she is able to lead with complete authority, yet in such a gentle way. Most importantly, she is not a micromanager, but a woman of faith, which has made it easy for all ministries to relate to.

Using Material from ItemA and elsewhere, assess the view that women are no longer oppressed by religion. Compared to men, women are more likely to express a greater interest in religion, to have stronger personal faith and belief in live after death, and have a stronger personal religious commitment. Also to

Until recently, women were not allowed to preach or even speak in the Christian Church, but in modern times women are beginning to play a more significant. While sects of Christianity still hold the traditional teachings about women, others have given them equal status within the church, an increasingly accepted interpretation.

Women were not held to such a high standard as men. Men had a more prominent active duty in the church and in order to gain their membership they needed to show their commitment to a congregation of people, while women could just make their consult in private. Although men and women still had to have a testimony from a Brethren before they were fully admitted, it was clear that men and women were separated in the church as they were at home.

Amy J. Helgeson Beth Baxley Advanced English 9, Period 5 20 April 2015 To Preach or Not to Preach The King James version bible states in ‘Genesis 1:26-27’ that “Gods image is shared equally by women and men”. ‘Exodus 36:1’ says, “use your skills to honor God”. Despite what the bible seems to be saying, women do not have the same opportunities as men in Christian religious settings. Imagine a woman in the Christian faith who has the qualifications to preach the word of God and the eagerness to serve the Lord. Logically, she should be awarded the job position. However, she is not even considered for that opportunity. In multiple recurring instances, the church congregation has discriminated against women, not allowing them to have the same opportunities as the men in the community. These women are not only discriminated against, but are scoffed at, even penalized for wanting these positions. Women should not be penalized for having faith in the Lord and wanting to share it with others. The bible states how both women and men are equal and are to use the skills they have to honor God. The congregation should not limit these human resources to only men, when highly qualified and respected women are willing and able to serve. Gender discrimination is a problem in Christian Churches because women who are qualified are unable to access jobs, are experiencing emotional stress, and are being penalized for wanting changes within the church.

Despite the stereotype of Mormon women not having any rights living in a patriarchal lifestyle because of their polygamist beliefs, they ironically had more rights than most American women at the time. In the 1800’s, Mormon women and men were both given rights and they both dealt with child rearing (Kane 580). However, in typical American households, it was common for only women to handle child care in family life. Mormon women were involved in many different aspects of life including actions in politics, the economy and social gatherings (580). In an interview with Brigham Young, he said he loved, cherished and supported his wives. He even looked at some of them as mother figures (Greely). Women mattered in their husbands’ lives and were able to make a difference in the community.

In today’s society the controversial subject of what positions in the church a woman can hold; has become incredibly debatable among the nation. Some people believe that women have equal rights with men and can uphold any position that a man can. Today’s society also believes that because a woman

For many Latter Day Saint (LDS) women, the overwhelming pressure to be ‘Molly Mormon' is unbearable. LDS women are likely to develop depression due to the demanding and stressful role of being a Mormon mother in the twenty-first century. The standard answer for LDS women's high depression rate is that they are

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

As there is much debate about the role of women in the church, I believe that we should, as in all circumstances, rely on the Word of God to instruct us as to God 's will. In many religious circles, this is a hot-button subject and everyone will not easily accept this teaching. Nevertheless, because it has become a church dividing issue, it demands an appropriate review.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been the center of much attention throughout modern history, whether it be about the polygamists, the Book of Mormon, or Joseph Smith seeing God, or the restored priesthood. Though the church is known to have these forms of controversies, we see through history that no organization or group is free from mistakes and criticism. Throughout history in general, there has always been some sort of religious contention around the globe. A large point of contention then and even now is the factor of race in religion and the certain rules and restrictions implemented into the religion regarding race.

The Role of Women in the Third Century By the 230s women, in the orthodox house church, were being excluded from holding the office of a bishop or presbyter, although, in some house churches, they were allowed to be deacons. According to the anonymous, evidence of women deacons can be dated

Skylar Cagen WS311 fall 2016 Exam 3 1b. The Roman Catholic Women Priests movement began in 2002 in Germany when seven women were ordained as priests by a male bishop. This was done as an act of defiance against the Vatican. The ordinations are held in non- Catholic churches, without the recognition of

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

Final Essay: Rough Draft Gender roles, and the mere existence of a gender binary, has been a recent topic of conversation for many churches, theologians, and individual believers. As the cultural pressure to remove gender-specific limitations builds, many of those aforementioned have turned to scripture for answers. Seldom are women’s roles in the Old Testament characterized by decision making or personal merits. Rather, a woman’s capacity to produce an heir for their husband complements his dominance and responsible faithfulness and allows God’s plan to be fulfilled through their combined efforts. In the New Testament, through the transformative power of Christ, prominent women became less of an anomaly, but were still held to a different set of standards and expectations than men and were usually still praised according to their actions and their faith. The Pauline epistles, written in the context in which the Church still exists today: the age to come, provide a basis for today’s understanding of women’s roles in marriage and in church leadership. Although there are many instances of women fulfilling God’s plans and proving their worth among the community of Christians, the biblically normative role of women is to avoid authoritative church leadership positions and remain submissive in situations of teaching and interpreting the Word.