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bWe: Baptist Women for Equality

Shirley Taylor, a former employee of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, has founded a group called bWe – Baptist Women for Equality, whose goal is to open Southern Baptist leadership roles to women.

Specifically, they “advocate for women deacons and women pastors in Baptist churches.”

Their Web site offers An Open Letter to Baptists (.pdf) which introduces the group and includes brief discussions of scripture and the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2000 Baptist Faith and Message.

It begins:

Even if you think everything is all right in your church, please consider those other churches where women can be Ministers to Children, Ministers to Youth, Ministers to Women, can be on all committees which make church policy and pertain to theology, and financial matters, but who cannot serve a piece of bread and cup of juice.

Do you know why your church does not have women deacons? It can be found in “the cold heart of the church” which is your church’s By-laws. Church By-laws can be changed. When women decide that enough is enough, the cold heart of the church will be changed to include women as Deacons and accept women as Pastors.

Closing the site home page is:

How often do you tell your daughter that she is scripturally inferior to your son?

You tell her every time you take her to church.

How often do you tell your son that he is scripturally superior to his sister?

You tell them every time you take them to church.

Unless your church recognizes women deacons and women pastors.

The site has been frequently updated with new materials, thus far all in .pdf format.

Southern Baptist policies appear to us to be the focus of the site and its literature, since there are other Baptist organizations whose policies with regard to women are far more inclusive.

We look forward to learning more about the group and following their progress.

More about bWe

Goals, rationale, hope for success [here].

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January 23, 2009 - Posted by | Cultural, Religion | , , , , , ,

8 Comments

  1. 1 Cor. 14:34,35

    34Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.

    35And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

    Comment by Dan | January 23, 2009

  2. in response to Dan:

    as we all do God’s good work -

    “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (John 15:16, KJV)”

    - i was told “it’s your thing. do what you want to do”

    so i say they either fight, or, start a better church of their own and take their ball and leave the kids to their little game. who wants to be a part of a crowd that’s got that mindset anyways?

    Comment by ninbroken52 | January 23, 2009

  3. Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (TNIV).
    All of us are made “a little lower than the angels” (Psalm 8 )
    Shirley Taylor is brave to try, is doing so in good faith and may and deserves to succeed.
    Requiring women to be somehow silent only still voices at times when they could better proclaim the message of Christ’s salvation to a world in need.
    Ms. Taylor, I applaud you.

    Comment by ncwildflowers | January 23, 2009

  4. It is Shameful for a Woman to Speak in Church
    “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. What! Did the word of God originate with you, or are you the only ones it has reached? If any one thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. If any one does not recognize this, he is not recognized” (1 Corinthians 14:33-38).

    This command of the Lord is not difficult to understand.

    It is difficult for some people to accept, however.

    When a female cleric was asked on television what she thought of this passage, she replied: “I wipe my feet on it.” At least she was frank.

    Some try to get around this clear statement of God’s Spirit in a more subtle manner.

    Recently I heard the claim that ‘remain silent’ here means ‘stay calm’ and that ‘speak’ means ‘speak noisily’, and that women may therefore speak if they speak calmly!

    Let us carefully examine the meaning of these words. First I might mention in passing, however, that this claim clearly conflicts with the context. Is it acceptable then for men to speak noisily? The passage refers to a difference between men and women (shown by the fact that women are to ask their husbands at home). Are men then not required to stay calm?

    The Greek word here for ‘remain silent’ is SIGATOOSAN, the present, imperative form of SIGAOO. What do Greek lexicons say? Analytical: ‘To be silent, keep silence’; Thayer: ‘To keep silence, hold one’s peace’; Arndt & Gingrich: ‘Be silent, keep still … in the senses: a. say nothing, keep silent … b. stop speaking, become silent … c. hold one’s tongue, keep something (a) secret.’ A.&G. classify 1 Corinthians 14:34 under meaning a. ‘say nothing, keep silent’.

    Here are all passages in the NT where SIGAOO is found:
    Luke 9:36 – “And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.”
    Luke 18:39 – “And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent.”
    Luke 20:26 – “But marveling at his answer they were silent.”
    Acts 12:17 – “But motioning to them with his hand to be silent…”
    Acts 15:12 – “And all the assembly kept silence.”
    Acts 15:13 – “And after they finished speaking…”
    Romans 16:25 – “Kept secret for long ages”.
    1 Corinthians 14:28 – “But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silence in church” [referring to speaking in foreign languages].
    1 Corinthians 14:30 – “If a revelation is made to another sitting by, let the first be silent.”
    1 Corinthians 14:33,34 – “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silence in the churches.”

    The Greek word for ‘speak’ (“For they are not permitted to speak,” “For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church”) is LALEIN, infinitive of LALEOO. Anyone who has studied even a little Greek, knows that this is the common word for ‘speaking’. It does not have the special meaning of ‘speaking noisily’.

    The Greek word for ‘church’, EKKLEESIA, means ‘assembly’ both in the actual sense and in the definitive sense. Someone who speaks in an unknown language must “keep silence in church” unless there is a translator (1 Corinthians 14:28). This refers to the actual assembly. That “the women should keep silence in the churches” (1 Corinthians 14:34) and that “it is shameful for a women to speak in church” (1 Corinthians 14:35) also refer to the actual assemblies. In 1 Corinthians 14:33 we also find the difinitive sense (“As in all the churches of the saints”) followed by the actual sense in verse 34 (“the women should keep silence in the churches”). Thus, “all the churches of the saints” does not refer to the actual assemblies, but to all local churches of Christ. In other words, in all churches of Christ the women remain silent in the assemblies.

    A spiritual person will acknowledge that what Paul writes here is a command of the Lord, and anyone who does not recognize this, is not recognized in the churches of the saints.

    Comment by Dan | January 24, 2009

  5. >”1 Cor. 14:34,35″

    While it is a traition to interpret 1 Cor. 14:34,35 as being against women leadrs, that interpretation is a misreading of 1 Cor. 14:34,35. What has been overlooked is that early Christian worship was structured on existing Jewish worship with women relegated to ab area behind the men. The women were talking amongst themselves and distracting from the liturgy. That is why Paul instructs the Galation women to be quiet. 1 Cor. 14:34,35 is not an admonition against female leadership. There’s a clear difference between the preferred tradition of man and the intent of Paul.

    To argue against the ordination of women, one would be on firmer ground to argue as Rome for a “lack of authority.” However, most Reformation congregations have disposed of the idea of ordination being sacramental and thus have little foundation to support a claim for lack of authority. The Catholics and Orthodox seem to have the better argument than most Reformation congregations.

    God bless… +Timothy

    Comment by Timothy | January 24, 2009

  6. Can I pick out stuff in the Bible I don’t like , too?

    Comment by chris | January 24, 2009

  7. Timothy, my sometimes fundamenalist fraternal grandmother would agree with you. She took seriously the obligation to wear a hat to church and that didn’t keep her from understanding Paul’s comments regarding womanly silence as specific to the circumstances of the church to which he was writing.

    Comment by baptistplanet | January 24, 2009

  8. [...] about bWe: Baptist Women for Equality Shirley Taylor, who with her husband publishes bWe: Baptist Women for Equality email newsletter and Web site, told [...]

    Pingback by More about bWe: Baptist Women for Equality « BaptistPlanet | January 25, 2009


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