This is going to be unpopular, I'm afraid, but I don't agree with women bishops. I don't agree with women vicars either.
But you're a woman, I hear you saying. How can you agree that women are second class citizens?
I don't. I firmly believe that men and women are equal. But they are also different. Just as 3+5 and 2x4 are equal but different. We have different roles to play.
How did I come to hold this highly unpopular viewpoint? I grew up in a Catholic family, so for the majority of my life I only saw male, unmarried priests. At my Catholic secondary school, all girls, I was taught my value as a woman, and even encouraged to question the seemingly inferior role of women in the church. And, as a teenager, I very firmly believed that women should be allowed to be priests too. Hadn't we been told that in Christ there is no male or female? I went to university and joined the Christian Union which was led by a fantastic female president. I went to various Protestant churches, all with varying views on female pastors - some encouraged, some refused, some allowed joint pastoring from a married couple with the husband the ultimate leader of that church. My mum became a Catholic chaplain, able to do much of a priest's role apart from the sacraments. This has frustrated her, because she must rely on frequently unreliable men, and be treated as though her 'thoughts' on the Word are not as important or helpful.
And I became increasingly aware of the lack of strong, masculine, Christian males in the Church. There were, still are, many strong Christian women, the majority of whom are single. I was blessed to snap up one of the few eligible, single men in my church. Of the other men, most were wishy-washy in one way or another - hen-pecked, soppy, heterosexual but not particularly masculine. Where are the Christian men of the New Testament? Strong, passionate, fiery. The Church has become the refuge of women and weak men.
I began to change my mind about women in leadership within the Church. I heard some female preachers and was impressed. I loved preaching and speaking myself. But I struggled to see how a woman could lead a man successfully.
There are many ridiculous arguments against women priests - outdated opinions, bible verses taken out of context, traditions. And I don't agree with them. But all the same, I just don't think women should be priests. I'm not saying they can't, but that they shouldn't. I believe we need to hear from men and women preaching the Word. I believe that women have a huge amount of experience and knowledge to offer. But I am quite convinced that if we are to enable Christian men to be strong warriors for Christ, then we have to stop feminising the Church and emasculating them.
