Reflections on Day 5

I think we had another successful council meeting. I agree with all of the canons that were voted on except the canon on the role of women in the clergy. I understand the point that was made about appealing to unbelievers, but where will the line be drawn with regards to conforming to worldly traditions? The church has a different structure from worldly institutions. Through scripture, we know that God calls for us to win unbelievers over with love and compassion. God does not call us to win over unbelievers by creating a canon which basically states that women are subservient to men. I know of numerous different ways that the church can win over unbelievers therefore it disappoints me to know that the church would belittle women just to gain popularity. It makes me question what else the church would do to encourage unbelievers to convert. Scripture commands us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2,9).

Furthermore, the church can be a great example and show the rest of the Roman Empire how much more successful it could be if women were given leadership positions. Women do have a lot to offer as leaders. This is why there are so many female leaders in scriptures. Why would God provide the stories of Miriam, Deborah, Esther, Huldah, and Athaliah in scripture if we were not to learn valuable lessons from these female leaders? Titus 2:3-5 talks about how older women should lead the younger ones and give them an example to follow. How are the older women supposed to do this if the church does not give them a platform? If women had proper leadership roles in the church they would be able to influence more younger women. I hope the decisions made by the council tomorrow are based on more concrete reasoning than conforming to please unbelievers.