I suffer not a woman to teach ...

The dis-oriented author is a Sunday School teacher. In the past I have taught adult Sunday School classes and now I am teaching a young adult class. Of course I am not a young adult but my students are.

Last week the First Baptist Church of Watertown, New York removed, Mary Lambert, a Sunday School teacher, with over 50 years experience, because she is a woman. The church takes a literal interpretation of 1 Tim 2:12:

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

The pastor of the church, Tim LaBouf, has come under fire because he also sits on the city council. The council is all male but the city manager is female.

In my opinion this whole situation could have been avoided — they should never have had a woman teaching men Sunday School in the first place

Critics have said that since Pastor LaBouf holds this view of women, he is unfit to serve on the city council. According to CNN, LaBouf responded:

I believe that a woman can perform any job and fulfill any responsibility that she desires to outside of the church.

This should not strike anyone as unusual. Many churches have clearly defined distinctions between the roles of men and women. While this is evolving most Baptists, some Lutherans, most Jews and Roman Catholics do not allow women to be pastors, rabbis or priests. It is only recently that many protestant denominations began to admit women clergy.

Had First Baptist never allowed women to teach men in the first place, there would be no issue today. In a press release, the church's board said:

In the specific case of Ms. Lambert the Board’s decision to remove her from a teaching position was multifaceted and the scriptural rules concerning women teaching men in a church setting was only a small aspect of that decision.[emphasis added]  Christian courtesy motivates us to refrain from making any public accusations against her.

The scriptural rules were only a small aspect of that decision? Just what kind of Baptists are they? Either they believe it is the clear teaching of scripture or they do not. When I first read about this issue I said, "bravo". It is good to see a church standing up for their beliefs — now I am not so sure.