I grew up in a church where women were not allowed to vote on church issues. Is this a common practice? Are there churches that still use this rule?
Women voting on church issues
Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by trainbrainmommy, Nov 24, 2010.
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Hopefully not, as it's blatantly offensive and extra-biblical.
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I can tell you in my church that's not the case. We're independent Baptist. Any member of the church (and we do not become "family" members but individual members - each must come for membership on their own) can vote on church issues. However, only men can be pastors or deacons.
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The reason was that women were to be silent in church. Women weren't allowed at monthly business meetings. They were only present for the public votes that occured after the worship services.
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Very Old Testament, but not very New Testament - I wouldn't attend much less be a pastor of a church that had such a policy in place
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The church and denomination I grew up in still does not allow women to vote.
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Spurgeon reports in his Autobiography that his predecessor John Gill would not have become pastor of their church without the "female vote". (Particular Baptist early 1700s).
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I've heard about it, but not had any first hand experiences in a women-not-allowed-to-vote church.
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In the churches I've been in, anyone 16 and over could vote. Women are not discriminated against. I wouldn't go to a church that did discriminate against women like that.
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Minutes of the Philadelphia Baptist Association (1746):
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If it wasn't for women in many areas, we wouldn't have a church! Women are people too.
On the "women to be silent" someone needs to do some proper Bible study and local customs.
I have heard some very good female preachers. God bless them.
Cheers,
Jim -
By the way the passage you mentioned on keeping silent had nothing to do with local customs. The church met in private houses and the world did not know what went on and God never sets church policy due to world or local customs. -
The thing about women being silent in the churches is speaking of preaching and usurping authority. I don't know what is so hard to understand about that.
All church members are to have a voice in decisions facing the church. -
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The church I grew up in was an Independent, Fundamental Baptist church. My pastor was a graduate of Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, WI. I don't know that the college was teaching that. Women were also expected to wear a head covering in church, never wear pants and be submissive in every aspect of life. Children were basically considered property and there was what I consider mental and physical abuse.
My dad never required us to wear a head covering, and since we lived on a farm we were allowed to wear pants. When my dad died, my mother left the church b/c she wasn't allowed a voice. She was not allowed to designate her offering either, since that was a way of "control over the pastors and deacons wishes." -
The NT speaks of female deacons and those who taught men.
We are the ones who make the limitation.
On the silence and long hair, it had to do with the prostitutes having their hair shorn off in public, and the women keeping silence ad to do with the female cults forming and Paul was putting a silence to this.
The chauvenism of the time is also showing. Men were dominant in everything, but women did play a role also.
Cheers,
Jim -
The church I was raised in had "men's meetings" where the men would discuss all the church business. Once they decided what to do, they were to go home and tell their wives. (This was to explain it to the women so they wouldn't need to ask questions or "speak up" during a business meeting.) Then they'd have a church business meeting a week later where the issues would be up for vote. I'm not sure why they bothered to let the women vote since the men already decided everything beforehand.
I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if some IFB and some Anabaptist churches don't let the women vote. -
I've been told that if a woman votes opposite her husband, than she is canceling out his vote.
I'm confused about "extra-biblical".
Exactly which passage says who has a vote in a church business meeting.
Jag, since your church allows 5 year old members to vote - thats fine, but I would be cautious about joining such a church.
In fact, does the Bible even prohibit non-members to vote? If so, I have missed that passage.
Salty -
In the case where a woman might have taught a man it was outside the organized church. Not inside where the leadership roles are.
The other thing you mentioned about hair is also false. There is absolutely no scriptural evidence for what you say. In fact the scripture gives the reason for the long hair and it has nothing to do with what is going on in that culture.
None of this is about culture or chauvinism. It is about order in which the genders serve because of the order of creation and about faith if the people will believe and obey.
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