new church life: jan uary / february 201 4
relationship with other human beings so exquisitely delightful.
Furthermore, we must make a very careful analysis of the task at hand
of what it means to be a pastor, a minister or a member of the clergy. What
exactly do we expect from our priests in the context of a New Church society
at this time? One cannot help but conclude from this paper that the only
function of the clergy is to provide “the official teaching of the Doctrine of
Truths” of the Church. I think most of us expect a lot more. We are looking for
ministers, leaders of the laity, and indeed, administrators. Can women, along
with providing “the official teaching of the Doctrine of Truths,” handle these
functions? I think so.
Finally, we must acknowledge that we cannot predict the future. When we
state what the future of the Church will be – to what extent, for example, it will
grow, with or without women on the clergy – we are just as likely to be wrong
as right, no matter how smart we think we are.
Of all the generalizations made by Mr. Rogers, the most disturbing is about
the motivation of these women. Of course, as a natural man, I am not able to
ascertain their motivations with precision. Maybe, however, these women are
motivated with a deep burning love for the doctrines of the Church, the Word
of the Lord. Maybe, just maybe, they have a burning desire to spread the Good
News to the rest of the world.
At the outset, I framed the issue of women in the clergy as to whether any
woman, regardless of how brilliant, and, indeed, how motivated, is inferior
to any man, regardless of how mediocre. But this really misses the point,
doesn’t it? The real issue is whether any woman, regardless of how brilliant
and motivated, is inferior to no priest at all.
You see, I am a member of a New Church society where regular worship
services are held, which has a church building, fully paid for, a manse, fully
paid for, and which has been financially self-sufficient for several years. Yet,
we have no pastor. Why? We have been informed by the church leadership
that there is simply none available. Furthermore, there are no male candidates
entering the Theological School.
Mr. Rogers concludes his paper by stating that to the degree that the
Church adopts the ideas and mores of the popular culture in opposition to its
doctrines, it gradually ceases to be a church in fact and becomes just another
secular institution. And, he goes on, little by little, through generations, the
Church becomes no longer what it once was, but something manufactured out
of the minds of men.
The suggestion, of course, is that admitting women to the clergy would
be in opposition to the Church doctrines, a point which has not been shown,
and that it would be merely yielding to the ideas and mores of the popular
culture of our time. This broad statement is made, without any examination
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