Can Women preach ?

Question

or is that just a Baptist thing ? if it is true that women cant preach then why did God put Debra in charge as a Judge over the whole nation of Israel? A women, a Leader hmmm.

Answer 1

Yes they can preach and some are pretty good.

Answer 2

In First Timothy Two Paul instructs that Women are not to teach and/or have authority over men. The reason for this is that people as a organism need leadership, distinct and decisive leadership. God made Adam first, so thus He put Adam as head of the household. Now by no means does this institute that women have no say, or that they are inferior, all it means is that some one has to lead, and God chose Men. Woman have every right to express feelings, judgements, wisdom and so on, but as for leadership over a man within the Church constituted under God, man was given the right to the podium. I have been in many churches that woman had a leadership role over children and other woman and have done great and admirable things in that area, it is not belittling to not have control. I have also been in situations where a woman preached and nothing she said was wrong or unbiblical, but I honestly believe that if you are preaching from the bible, and the bible says woman are not to preach to men, then they shouldn't... even if they are good at it.

As for Debra, that is a story unto itself, in the time of the judges there weren't very many good men or woman left, very few of them knew and honored God, there are plenty of woman who have done great things for God, and she is just one of them mentioned in the bible, but the fact that God chose a woman only reaffirms the fact that people were so very far from God she might have been one of the only candidates, along with samson and the others... if you look down the history of the judges, even they weren't the most upstanding people. Times were tough, but to use that in this example of preaching, i really feel is out of context, that has nothing to do with the church.

Answer 3

Why worry about this? Who would want to worship a god that places women as secondary and calls it "divine order". No god I would worship, that's for sure. It's just insane to put faith in something like that. Nature designed the female to be smaller / physically weaker than the male so he could force himself on her whether she was so inclined or not to ensure the survival of the race. As we all know, if women were able to out run / fight men, they would have stayed as far away from men as possible thereby dooming the human race to extinction. The only reason we have marriage is so that other men couldn't take away/steal women (property) from men without paying some sort of penalty. Religion is strictly an effect of uneducated man explaining away undeterminable events. Though I am athiest, I admire the pagan/wiccan belief in the Lord & Lady equally. They worship the divine as male and female, though different, completely equal or equivalent. However, I just can't get into all the other nutty things they do.

Answer 4

No, I have no problems with it. One of my mentors is a woman pastor, and I go to a Divinity School where women teach the preaching classes. Now, lets get to the scripture. "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church” (1 Corinthians 14.34-35, NIV). The above verse, and a few other verses from Paul are the scriptures those opposed to women preachers use. Notice, however, that very few churches actually follow the ENTIRE verse which says that women should not even be allowed to speak. Those who believe women should be allowed to be preachers use the following verse from Acts as a support their argument: In the last days it will be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. It would also be accurate to translate prophesy as preach. So, according to this passage, God will pour out his spirit on men and women and they will preach. Also consider Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Also consider the fact that there were 3 women prophets in the Old Testament. I can only remember 2 of them right now, Miram and Deborah. Not a simple answer is it? You can see what a tough argument it is. Personally I believe that Paul's answers reflect the culture of his time. Of of my mentors is a woman minister, as is my wife. I identify with a group of Baptists that supports women in ministry called the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I've given you some info, so you can make up your own mind.

Answer 5

God appointed Debra as a judge over the whole nation of Israel-not a preacher.
Nowdays, the Bible states in 1st Timothy 2:12: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent."

Answer 6

It depends on the denomination - there was a huge out cry when the Anglican church said that women could become ministers. There was one church in my home city that hung a banner outside saying they didn't agree with the abomination (that word again) of women vicars.
A lot like the Methodist church have no problem with it and haven't had for a long time. My friend mum started out as a lay preacher (like a locum doc) and is now a fully fledged minister with her own church.

Answer 7

Some religions do restrict what duties a person can perform, based on their gender.

But it is not a universal belief, and most religions have sects that allow women to do the same jobs as men.

Answer 8

When a man won't do the job ,God calls women.Just as Barak was chicken until Deborah went with him.
Today I say yes a woman can preach but it should be a man.

Answer 9

Who ever the Divine chooses to speak to should pass on the message. Sometimes the best man for the job really is a woman.

Answer 10

Yes. In the Church of All, the minister who can ordain other ministers is a woman. There are several ordained women in the Church of All. I know of ordained women in the Church of Religious Science, Unity, Unitarian-Universalist, and the Methodist Church.