World News Korner

Pastor claims "it is a shame for women to speak in the church" and says "when it's learning time, it's quiet time" for women only.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

On Sunday, a pastor in Phoenix, Arizona implored his female congregants not to say “amen” in church.

Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church garnered national attention in 2009 when he told his followers that he prays for the death of President Barack Obama every night. After being contacted by the Secret Service, he insisted that he “didn’t say he wanted his parishioners to attack the president, he did say the country would benefit from Mr. Obama dying.”

Pastor Anderson first attempted to justify the silencing of women by quoting 1 Timothy 2:11, “[l]et the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”

He then asked the congregation to flip to 1 Corinthians 14, which says “[l]et your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak, as it is commanded to be under obedience as also sayeth the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is shameful for women to speak in the church.”

“Now obviously,” he continued, “before the service begins, there’s chatting and talking going on, that’s perfectly legitimate. When we all sing praises to God, of course the ladies should also lift up their voices.”

“But when it’s learning time,” Pastor Anderson said, hammering his lecturn, “it’s silence time.”

“So what it’s saying is that they,” the women, “are to learn in silence.” He then quoted 1 Corinthians 14 again, saying that “when the learning is going on, they are not permitted to speak. When the preaching of God’s word is taking place — and first of all, it’s not for a woman to be doing the preaching, and second of all, it’s not for women to be speaking.”

This guy might be the only one stupid enough to say this out loud, but you KNOW that a number of these fundamentalist assholes agree with him 100%.

I have said it before, but it bears repeating, that I will NEVER understand why so many women participate in a religion that was essentially established to oppress them and to keep them making babies, raising children, and doing housework.

Little doubt that this is the same mindset behind those much reviled purity balls.

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