Bishops

[Annie.]

Goodness me!
Woman have been allowed to be Bishops!
Will the sky fall in!
After waiting all those years for the vote, we have finally cracked it!

What do you think Robin?

[Robin Orton]

(Not sure why this is in the Asylum, unless Annie thinks it's a topic that only mad people would want to argue about.)

This is one of those topics like same-sex marriage, where I feel myself pulled in two opposite directions. I am all in favour of equality. But I'm doubtful whether considerations of equality are necessarily conclusive and must always trump everything else. There are theological grounds for arguing that Jesus did not intend women to be ordained as bishops or priests and that that should be the basis of the Church's teaching. Almost everyone in our modern Western society, including many, perhaps most Christians, would find those arguments unpersuasive - I'm not sure I'm convinced of them myself. But I don't think they should be dismissed out of hand.

[Annie.]

It's in asylum because none of the titles were appropriate as far as I could tell?
Anyway, I fancied wearing an Anorak!

We were all made,born, and die in the same way.
It's only circumstances that differ.
It's man made rules that determine whether woman are treated equally.

[chrisj1948]

I am disappointed. I looked at this topic because I thought it might be about Bishops, the excellent second hand furniture shop close to Lidl!

Regards
Chris

[Eagle]

Of course there should be lady bishops. It is rather strange that there has not been up to now.

Who really knows what Jesus thought. The Gospels , which may be correct , were written many years afterwards.

I applaud Lady Bishop's , Lady Imaan's and of course Lady Buddha's. God be with all of them.

We know ladies make good leaders. Angela outshines other European leaders and of course our gracious Majesty.

[leenewham]

I'm glad to see that no one is here bashing a bishop.

It's great that they have moved (finally) with the times. It's ridiculous that a book written and heavily edited by men during times of oppression against women about what may or not have happens thousands of years ago is still dictating how women are treated today.

Utterly, utterly ridiculous.

I don't believe any organisation, religious or otherwise, should be allowed to discriminate.

[Annie.]

Well said Eagle/Lee,
I am not really a woman's lib type of person, however, I think man made rules against the equality of woman a bit tough to swallow.

Equally I oppose any religion that holds back woman and girls in education.
Also FGM, it's disgusting and in-humane, and if having Lady Bishops help I any of these fields in any way, then I am all for it, regardless what was alleged by any book from years ago.
After all the world isn't flat is it?

[leenewham]

The bible was heavily edited over hundreds of years. It's texts are interpreted in many different ways, as all religions texts seem to be. The mormons changed their laws and doctrine due to moral codes.

Religions often change and adapt, nothing is written in stone (sorry Moses). It's about time we had an updated religion based on morals with new commandments (why wasn't 'though shalt not rape' included? Or 'thy shalt nor abuse a child'? I'd put those in the new commandments).

[Robin Orton]

Not all the arguments against ordaining women are based directly on specific texts in the Bible. Some also appeal to the universal tradition of the Church, East and West, from the very earliest times. Only in the last century did most Protestants and Anglicans decide to overturn this tradition.