The Burr in the Burgh

The U.S. branch of the Anglican tree, the Episcopal Church - USA, has had female priests for around 30 years now. And it's been close to 20 years since they elected their first female bishop. Now a new barrier has been shattered as the EC-USA consecrates their first female head bishop. This means she will represent the EC-USA in the world Anglican communion. Here is the news article.

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod is part of the vast majority of Christians worldwide who do not ordain women as pastors. This is not only the huge majority position but is also the practice of 99.9% of the church's history.

Why don't we ordain women? Obviously, I cannot give a thorough and finely nuanced explanation in a blog post. So let me keep it simple, at the risk of being simplistic.

First, what do the Scriptures say:
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve (1 Timothy 2:11-13).

There are a couple of other passages that discuss the woman's role in the church. But this one is sufficient. The apostle states that a woman must not teach or have authority over a man in the church. And he argues from the order of creation. Adam, then Eve.

Another argument that I personally find quite convincing is the practice of Jesus himself. He had numerous devout women as his followers and supporters. These were women of tremendous faith and courage. Yet, he chose only men to be his apostles. And one simply cannot argue that Jesus was only following the cultural norms of his time. Our Lord broke cultural norms on a number of occasions, in particular, with regard to women in society. If it is right to have female apostles, Christ would have selected some.

All I've done here is give the sparest of answers to the question in my title. Why don't we ordain women? Because it is contrary to the will of God and this has been recognized through the practice of the church for eons. Perhaps in a future post I will elaborate further, if you're interested.