The Cost of Compassion by Tim Costello (Acorn Press and CPX, Sydney 2020).

This morning I read in Tim’s book a quote from the Jewish theologian and philosopher Martin Buber that ‘nothing so tends to mask the face of God as religion’ (page 45).

It comes in a part of the book where Tim is discussing the theory of belief over against how our beliefs are practiced. As Christians we are painfully aware that our own actions do fall short of the values we claim. Though we profess to be Christian, we know we have blind spots and biases that come from living in a fallen world and we choose to behave in ways which suit our best interests to protect ourselves and survive in the modern world. We do things for economic gain, to maintain social status, cultivate acceptance and protect our territory.

We read in Genesis 1 that God explicitly created male and female in His image, together and equally. This statement is made prior to God taking a rib from Adam to make Eve. Despite this being said prior to the event, the case is still made by some that the woman is derived from man and therefore secondary to man. It struck me that this is an argument that has been used by our church in disqualifying women from ordination. Such an argument has been used for the shameful abuse of women in in all sorts of situations and to promote male exclusiveness and privilege. It has been used a justification by implying God wills that status quo for women to exist and in fact made it that way.

How often has omitting or even denying the context of passages in the Bible been used falsely to support a case against women’s ordination?

As I read more about the discussion of women’s ordination, it is painful to see the extent to which many have gone to downplay the part women played in spreading the message of the gospel in the time of Jesus’ ministry and in the early centuries of the church. It does not take much research of Bible History to find that women led churches, were even Bishops in the early church and that wealthy women were instrumental in providing for the needed funds for ministry. They were instrumental.

In Luther’s day the laity were kept ignorant of the Bible and of theological understandings. Do we likewise need to get over the thought that we as a church have everything right? I really wonder what Jesus would say about Women’s Ordination today.