ONE BOOK THAT ALL CHRISTIANS SHOULD READ

No, I have not read it. I just found out about it yesterday. But based on the interview of the authors I am putting this on my must read list. The book is called Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future (Gary Macy, William T. Ditewig, and Phyllis Zagano. Paulist Press , 2012). This book is intended to address the issue of the ordination of women as deacons in the Catholic Church. The authors claim that this is one book that all Catholic Bishops should read. I can't help but think this is one book the entire Christian world should read.

Here is a link to the interview with the authors who discuss the interesting topic of women ordination in the early church.

I plan on giving a full review of the book in a later post. For now, enjoy the interview.

Here is a small excerpt from the interview of Phyllis Zagano:

For a long time the argument against ordaining women was heard only as an argument against women as priests: 1) only a male can represent Jesus (the iconic argument); 2) Jesus chose male apostles (the argument from authority).

Well, neither of those arguments applies to ordaining women as deacons. The iconic argument has as an unfortunate sidebar a suggestion that women are not fully human—not made in the image and likeness of God. That argument reduces to what some scholars call a “naïve physicalism.” It is not a healthy attitude for the Catholic Church. The argument from authority simply does not apply to women as deacons. The first seven recorded as put forth by the community in the Acts of the Apostles are often seen as the prototypical deacons. But they were called forth, accepted, and received a laying on of hands from the apostles. So the apparent choice of Jesus at the Last Supper regarding what evolved into priesthood does not apply to the diaconate.

But by ordaining women as deacons, the Church would announce to the world that yes, women are made in the image and likeness of God.

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WILL A MORMON WOMAN RUN FOR PRESIDENT?

A question popped in my mind this morning: Will a Mormon woman ever run for president? Think about it. The first Mormon to run for president was Joseph Smith in 1844. Since Smith others have come along: Parley P. Christiansen, Ezra Taft Benson, George W. Romney (Mitt Romney's Father), Morris K. Udall, Orrin G. Hatch, to just name a few (click here for a list and description of the Mormon presidential nominees since Smith). Notice, no women on the list.

Maybe that's not too surprising. Women did not start putting their names in the hat for president until the late 19th century. We are now into the 21st century and we still haven't had a woman voted into the white house, despite numerous nominations. It has taken a long hard road for women to gain some semblance of equality in our society and it seems that it will always be a fight for women to be taken as serious candidates for leadership by the general public.

But there is something different about the issue of gender within LDS theology and culture. The emphasis on the role of males as leaders is practically audible when read in the The Family: A Proclamation to the World: "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners" (Emphasis added). I can certainly appreciate the stress that the LDS people place on those final words, "equal partners." At the same time, I can't help but wonder if the deification of gender roles has somehow hindered LDS women to seriously pursue leadership positions in general society. It certainly has within the LDS church, since any pursuit by a woman to hold a priesthood office would be doomed from the start. So, if an LDS woman pursued a major political office, like the presidency, would she be doomed from the start because it does not conform to her divinely designed, primary and sacred responsibility of nurturing children?

Are there Mormon women in politics? Of course. Angela Buchanan , for example, was the Treasurer for the United States in the early 80's, and there are many other LDS women that have and continue to serve their nation. They must not feel any dissonance between their career and adherence to the teachings of the LDS church. I just can't help but think that while women in general struggle to convince America that their gender will not hinder their ability to lead a nation, women in the LDS church have an even steeper hill to climb when it comes to the presidency. An LDS woman running for presidency will not only have to convince the general public that she can lead, she will have to convince the members of her church that God's okay with it.

To answer my original question, I believe that one day a Mormon woman will run for president. It will most likely come after other women have forged the trail to the oval office and, no doubt, she will have to battle the same bigotry and misconceptions that our contemporary LDS candidates face. My new question: Will that bigotry come from within?

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