In the News: I let no woman teach

From CNN:

WATERTOWN, New York (AP) -- The minister of a church that dismissed a female Sunday School teacher after adopting what it called a literal interpretation of the Bible says a woman can perform any job -- outside of the church.

The First Baptist Church dismissed Mary Lambert on August 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.

The good pastor based his decision on 1 Timothy 12, which reads, in part:

I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. She must be quiet.

It's getting really irritating to have pastors quote this epistle out of context and only in part. Just a couple of verses before that one is this, from 1 Timothy 9:

...women should adorn themselves with proper conduct, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hairstyles and gold ornaments, or pearls, or expensive clothes...

But when's the last time you heard a pastor rant about beauty parlors, jewelry and nice clothes? Watch a televangelist lately? See many ladies in jeans and sweatshirts?

If pastors can ignore one but of Paul's advice, why not the other? Seems to me that if they are being faithful to the scriptures, they could at least be consistent. But no. It's easier to enforce scripture that backs up one's own prejudices than to apply it evenly and tick people off.

It's the same problem with Leviticus. No one wants to enforce death for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10), but everyone wants to enforce death for gays (Leviticus 18:22).

Tell you what. As soon as we start executing those who sleep with others' spouses, we can start killing homosexuals.