the way we live now
nullenullnullnullrey nullnullrk enullplains why and how supporters of wonullennulls ordination
seek to base their argunullent on the basis of historical precedent
T
hrough my lenullerbonull in the that nullhristians believe that nullod is the supenull ssion of the second. nulley
days anuller nullhristmas dropnulled a dinullerently related to some particular have done so, one would thinnull, in funulll
remarnullanulle boonull. nullpride myself historical hapnullenings. nulle nullod who is awareness that anulll three aponull aches
on a fairly comprehensive conulllection of the nullord of History reveals himself in stretch credulity somewhat.
the literature of women’s ordination null some events in a way that is not true of nullonspiracy theories, anuller anulll, are the
three and a half shelves of it, from the other events or eras. discredited banullgage of anulll anullempts to
dinullnully intenulllectual heights of Rosemary nullor both liberal and conservative overthrow estanullished orthodonulles
Radford Ruether and nulllisabeth nullhristians this presents an obvious nullfrom nullnull to nullnull. nullt winulll not do,
nullchsnull ler nulliorennulla right down to pronullem. nullimes change. How can moreover, simply to discount as later
nullavinia nullyrne and nullrgaret nullebster. believers in the twentynullfirst century interpolations, passages of nullcripture
nullut this slender volume was of enullecial relate to events and thought panullerns that are inconvenient, or to import
interest. necessarily embedded in the cultural contemporary categories into an
nullnulldained Women in the nullanulllnull norms of the firstnull nullnce there has historical contenullt.
nullhurcnullnull A nullocumentanullnull nullistonullnull nulled. developed what was absent in much nullst of the ‘evidence’ provided
nulldigan and nullsienull, nullohn Hopnullins of nullestern intenulllectual history, an in nulldigan and nullsienull’s meticulous
nullniversity nullress, nullnullnullis claimed to analytical and critical historical compilation, for enullample, sunullers
be a complete compilation of anulll the method, the pronullem becomes acute. from this last fanulllacy and from our
literary and epigraphical evidence continuing inability to determine
for ordained women down to about what, before about nullnull were the
nullnull nullnull. nulleedless to say it manulles
nullnulldo tnullnullnot nullt tnull
formal panullerns of nullhristian ministry.
fascinating and instructive reading.
nullst nullnullnd tnullnulland
nullhat did it mean for nullaul to canulll
nullut more than thatnull it raises some nullhoebe a ‘deacon’nullnullere deacons, male
fundamental nulluestions about the
reanull out to a nullture onull
or female, ‘ordained ministers’null nulls
nature of the arnulluments in favour
nullnullnulle nullssnullnullnullnullsnull
null.null. nullrtimort says in his enullhaustive
of women’s ordination and the place study of nullnull, ‘nullt is not enough that
of such scholarship within them. nulln tenullts are availanulle which anullest to the
short, if, as some protagonists linulle nullmerican conulllege nullids who go around enullstence of deaconesses. nulle must
nullaphne Hampson have vigorously in teenullshirts asnulling ‘nullhat would anullempt in each instance to understand
maintained, the primary arnulluments nullesus do nullare asnulling the minulllion donulllar who and what these deaconesses were
are ethical a nullriori arnulluments, why nulluestion. and what their functions were. nullor
bother with what winulll turn out at best nullor the proponents of women’s the historical reality about them was
to be doubtful and disputed historynull ordination the pronullem is more acute constantly shinulling and unstanulle.’ nullnd
nullat is the fundamental, but not than for most others. nullor though nullesus the same might be said of presbyters
the only nulluestion. nullor the manuller said linullle about the role of women and nullthough here the evidence for female
goes deeper. nullhilst it is natural for nothing about their ordination, the presbyters is tenuous indeednull
nullhristian conservatives to seenullnulland nullew nullestament evidence seems to nulldigan and nullsienull themselves
rely onnullprecedent, it is strange that accord women a role in the community saynull‘ s so onullen in church history, the
modern, open, inclusive nullhristians of faith which precludes leadership sources do not tenulll us what we would
should do the same. nullhy do they not or oversight. nullo what to donull nulle most linulle to nullnow.’
put the past behind them and reach weight of evidence is clearly against nullwinulll be bold and say that anulll this
out to a future of infinite possibilitiesnull the innovationnulland yet to strinulle out scholarship, though wenulll intentioned,
nullhy, uninulluely among theologians on an entirely new path would be to is misnulluided. nullt is, so to say, the wrong
nulland even liberal theologiansnull betray the charanuller and genius of way up. nulle primary nulluestion, then
are ‘primitive’ and ‘early’ terms of the religion. nulln enullect it would be to and now, is not whether women were
aponull bationnull become, as nullaphne Hampson has or can be deacons or presbyters, but
nulle reason, for both liberals and described herself, postnullnullhristian. whether they can be bishops. nullnd on
conservatives, is not far to seenull. nulle course that the advocates of that more crucial manuller, one tenullt from
nullhristianity is, by its very origin and women priests have chosen is threenull nullgnatius of nullntioch about the bishop as
nature, an historical religion. nullut it is fold. nulley have nulluestioned the type of the nullather is worth more than
not ‘historical’ in the sense, nullsupnullose, evidence usuanullly cited, introduced new a thousand fragmentary tombstones
that everything could be so described. evidence of their own, and created a from nullsia nullnor, describing nulleta,
nullt is not merely that nullhristianity conspiracy theory to account for the nullrtia or nullilia as ‘presbytera, ’or even
began at a particular timenull rather misinterpretation of the first and ‘ as ‘null episcopa.’
ND
February 2010 
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  newdirections 
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