Donald Coggan, archbishop of Canterbury
My own belief is that ordination of women to the priesthood will come. My own personal view is, it should come. When, I don’t know. And how, I don’t know.
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, professor of English, The William Paterson College of New Jersey Those who believe that God is omnipresent, not only transcendent but also imminent (1 Cor. 3:16), and those who accept the statement of Genesis 1:27 that God created both man and woman in his image must in all consistency support the immediate ordination of women. Because genuine human equality is rooted in God’s omnipresence and imminence, both racism and sexism are practical denials of God’s presence. An honest practice of the presence of God is the cure for both. A Christian woman, like a Christian man, is made in the image of God and is a temple of God, and she is part of Christ’s body. Within that body work is apportioned according to gift, not according to race or sex (1 Cor. 12). Until women are ordained and granted full equality in the governments of evangelical churches, the churches remain guilty of denying these profound theological truths.
Letha Scanzoni,co-author of “All We’re Meant to Be—A Biblical Approach to Women’s Liberation” I think the Holy Spirit settled the matter at Pentecost by coming upon women and men alike. God’s message was specific: “on my menservants and my maidservants.” Qualified and spiritually gifted women in the New Testament held administrative positions and had teaching and preaching responsibilities. The lists of gifts of the Spirit say nothing about gender limitations. If half the Church’s members are blocked from using gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the upbuilding of the whole body, the cause of Christ suffers.
There is inconsistency among those who claim literal application of passages that (I believe) are culturally conditioned. If women must keep silent, why permit them to sing solos or be in the choir? If women may not teach, why sing and be instructed by the doctrinally rich hymns they have written? Why use Bible-study guides, Sunday-school quarterlies, and books written by women? Is teaching biblical truth through the pen so different from teaching from the pulpit? If Jesus entrusted the resurrection message to women, I can’t believe he hasn’t called female messengers today as well.
Ruth Graham,wife of evangelist Billy Graham I personally am “agin it.” For one thing, I do not feel that we have that much of a shortage of men. For another thing, I believe that it basically goes against the principles of Scripture. Bible teachers? Yes! Sunday-school teachers? Yes! Prayer-group leaders? Yes! But “clergywomen”? I have serious reservations.
I think if you study you will find that the finest cooks in the world are men (probably called chefs); the finest couturiers, by and large, are men; the finest musicians are men; the greatest politicians are men; most of our greatest writers are men; most of our greatest athletes are men. You name it, men are superior in all but two areas: women make the best wives and women make the best mothers!
