Post by Susan Peabody on Aug 19, 2020 21:29:22 GMT
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” Acts 2:17
I didn’t think much of the movie The Da Vinci Code, but the book brought up a lot of suppressed feelings about the loss of the “feminine” in Christianity. What do I mean by this? Well let me start at the beginning.
I used to read a lot of books about androgyny (the interplay of masculine and feminine traits) written by the followers of Carl Jung. Jungians, as I call them, love to categorize the masculine and feminine. I was fascinated to learn that the masculine is symbolized by the sword and the feminine by the harp. Power and logic are masculine and harmony and love are feminine.
Men and women are manifestations of masculine and feminine energy. They each contribute equally to the quality of life and to the quality of the church. But does the Christian religion give equal representation to each gender or are we still a bit patriarchal? I think we are. I left my last SDA church because the pastor’s wife was not allowed to serve communion despite the fact the New Testament makes it very clear the Holy Spirt will pour out on “all flesh” and that both “sons” and “daughters” will prophesy. Acts 2:17.
So what are we waiting for? Why are women held back from leadership roles? I believe many men are afraid of women in power. The wielder of the sword stands ready to slay the player of the harp. You may disagree. But if this is not true why does the church cling to the notion that women must stand in the wings. We can cut our hair and we don’t have to wear veils, but we still cannot be ordained. There has to be a reason.
Many feel that Christ himself made this decision. He chose 12 male disciples. But I believe he did this for political reasons. It was a sign of the times. Christ, himself, in my opinion, was androgynous. He used both masculine and feminine language. He threw over the tables of the money changers, but he spoke of love and compassion. And he was all inclusive. His followers were both men and women. I sometimes fantasize that if Christ had not been bound to his mission to save us from our sins he might have had time to fight the culture of his times on this issue of keeping women in their place. But I won’t argue with his priorities. I need to be saved more than I need to lead.
Some will argue that leading the church is a man’s job because it requires the masculine traits of strength and leadership, not to mention logic and perseverance. But androgynous women have these traits also, and some highly valued feminine traits as well like diffused awareness, compassion and empathy. Not that androgynous men don’t have these traits as well. They do. But this does not give men the right to take over the leadership of the church. I believe leadership roles should be filled by both men and women.