Beginning the Sunday after Easter, April 7, the How to Read the Bible group will, by popular request, begin discussing the interrelated themes of gender and 1) leadership in the church and 2) how we talk about God. Why for example do we have women pastors in the PC(USA) when the Bible has such statements as: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent” (1 Tim. 2.11)? Do we reject such verses or pretend they aren’t there? Of course not! So how do we understand them as Presbyterians? Related to this is the question of how should we talk about God? The Bible often refers to God as “he,” yet God does not have a body and therefore is neither male nor female, at least in the sense that we normally think of gender. Moreover, many people today struggle to refer to God as their “Father” or to think of God as male because of difficult experiences in the church, harmful relationships, and even abuse. How can we both stay faithful to the historic Christian faith and worship the God we love, while also speaking of God in ways that invite all people into a loving relationship with the God who loves us?
How to Read the Bible meets in the Rec. Room on Sunday mornings after the 9:00 service. Please contact Matt Aragon Bruce with any questions:
If you aren’t able to attend classes, you may watch the recordings below:
