Sunday school teacher dumped for being female
Monday, August 21, 2006; Posted: 9:20 p.m. EDT (01:20 GMT) from CNN
Recently the First Baptist Church of Watertown, New York dismissed Mary Lambert after she had taught there for 54 years. The reason? Because she was a woman. You can read the entire story here, but following are a few quotes:
The minister of a church that dismissed a female Sunday School teacher after adopting what it called a literal interpretation of the Bible says a woman can perform any job — outside of the church.
The First Baptist Church dismissed Mary Lambert on August 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.
The letter quoted the first epistle to Timothy: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.”
There is a name for this kind of Biblical interpretation. It is called “proof texting,” a practice whereby a person can search the Bible for a verse or passage and use it to justify his or her positions. This kind of Biblical interpretation is not only stupid, it is also dangerous. It has been used to justify the suppression of women, the superiority of men, and the practice of slavery. It has no place in the church, but sadly it is still used and approved of in many congregations and denominations that claim to follow Jesus.
: Bible, church, proof texting, stupidity, women
[...] In a story that rivals the stupidity shown by a church in New York which dismissed a Sunday School teacher of many years because she was a woman, a church in Mississippi has voted to exclude African Americans from their membership. The full story is here, but it begins thusly: [...]