Discussions (Vol 2) - Dabney - V - The public preaching of women

Required reading
Discussions (Vol 2) by Robert L. Dabney (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read 'The public preaching of women'.

My summary
Today we read a lengthy chapter on the public preaching of women.

Firstly Dabney outlines some of the arguments used by those who advocate the preaching of women.

Then Dabney looks at the Bible's prohibition of the preaching of women as given in the Old and New Testament (particularly 1 Timothy 2, 1 Corinthians 11, 14, Ephesians 5, 1 Peter 3).

The chapter closes with a discussion of the origins of the arguments for women preachers and the dangers of them.

What grabbed me
An excellent chapter that I think has even more relevance today than in Dabney's day.

I particularly appreciated this answer to the argument that women can edify the church by preaching: 'The argument from the seeming fitness of some women, by their gifts and graces, to edify the churches by preaching, is then merely utilitarian and unbelieving. When God endows a woman as he did Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, it may be safely assumed that he has some wise end in view ; he has some sphere in earth or heaven in which her gifts will come into proper play. But surely it is far from reverent for the creature to decide, against God's word, that this sphere is the pulpit. His "wisdom is better than man's. The sin involves the presumption of Uzzah. He was right in thinking that it would be a bad thing to have the sacred ark tumbled into the dust, and in thinking that he had as much physical power to steady it and as much accidental proximity as any Levite of them all ; but he was wrong in presuming to serve God in a way he had said he did not choose to be served. So when men lament the "unemployed spiritual power," which they suppose exists in many gifted females, as a dead loss to the church, they are reasoning with Uzzah ; they are presumptuously setting the human wisdom above God's wisdom.'

We should never presume that we know better than God and do what he forbids, no matter how gifted we may feel we are for the task.

Next week's reading
Commence 'Theories of the eldership' by reading up to the paragraph beginning '4. But there are proofs in Scripture'.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.