The Battle Rageth On...

My dear mother, ever the active learner and incessant student, has been taking classes at her local seminary in the Washington, D.C. area. We've had many conversations about the scarily fundamentalist nature of the school and the questionable things it is teaching. As we've talked I've found myself consistently at odds with the things she's learning in class. She often just laughs at the exceptions I take, chalking it up to the various theological differences that make up our diverse global church. But now it's starting to hit closer to home for her. Here is an excerpt of an email response she received after trying to sign up for a preaching class at her school:

"The sermon preparation and delivery courses are virtually the only courses not open to women in the Seminary. The reason is that sermons are normally given by the senior spiritual leadership in a local church, which is a role assigned to men in Scripture. If the Seminary were to admit women into the two courses it would be indirectly endorsing having women as elders and senior spiritual leaders over churches. Your desire to use the kind of techniques presented in the course as a Bible teacher of women and young people is understandable. At this point the only option remaining would be to address the issue to Dr. ___'s attention. Be assured that the Seminary is attempting to follow the Biblical mandate for gender roles in the church. It is not trying to place unnecessary restrictions on opportunities available to women. "

Mind you, she had never said anything about only planning to teach women and kids; this was simply assumed by the respondent.
It all makes my blood boil. Ah the blinders! Ah the excuses! Ah the fallacies!