Today’s
Scripture Reading (February 23, 2012): Genesis 5
I come from a spiritual tradition that believes in the equality of men
and women. Neither group is disqualified from any leadership position simply by
virtue of their sex. Both have the aptitude given to them by God to lead. They
may perform that task of leadership in different ways, but neither is inferior.
In fact, it might be that a good leadership team needs both the male and female
perspectives in order to make the best decisions. To move forward in any
organization requires the combined mind of both sexes of creation in order to
succeed.
So, having been brought up this way, it is a little disconcerting to
find out that not everyone in my world agrees with my assessment. For some, the
leadership styles of the sexes actually prohibit one of them (women) from
leadership positions in the church. Their leadership is considered to be only
valid under the direction of a male. And, for me, that is a bit of a foreign
idea.
I know that there are a lot of scripture passages that fill the
arguments for both sides, but maybe one of the earliest passage to support the
side of Egalitarianism (the idea that both sexes are equally qualified for
leadership) is found here in Genesis 5:2. It actually looks back at Genesis
1:27 and says that we were both created Man – both the male and the female of
creation are needed to make up man. We are literally two of the essential pieces
of the puzzle to make up the human race. And the word that is used here is “Adam.”
Literally, God created us male and female, and all of us together make up Adam.
It is sometimes considered a redneck trait when we use the term “man” as
a universal term to include both sexes. But according to Genesis 5, we are just
reflecting the mind of God. We are both created Adam, with all the equality
that that suggests.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Genesis 6
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