The Anatomy of an Error

Forward in faith/UK has been publishing New Directions for several years. The magazine is mostly the work of Anglo-Catholics in England, but its relevance extends beyond that country. I have written for the magazine in the past, and so have friends of mine such as William Tighe, David Mills and Patrick Henry Reardon. In 2003 the magazine ran a series about the subject of women in Holy Orders called The Anatomy of an Error. I recommend it as a good place to begin discussions here at this blog. From the first article in the series, here is an excerpt:

The House of Bishops of the Church of England turned to the consideration of Scripture and the Tradition (how adequately readers will judge for themselves) after they had considered the details of actual legislation...The appeal to Galatians 3.28 invariably takes the passage out of its context in the Pauline writings, out of its historical context in both first-century paganism and Judaism, and out of the process whereby ‘the Christian community has reflected on it and interpreted it through history’. It requires the passage to be read in conflict with other Pauline passages; it requires us to suppose that Paul stood in judgement on Jesus himself, who had appointed no women as members of the Twelve; and it foists upon Paul notions of sexual equality unheard of before the European enlightenment of the eighteenth century.

Read it all here.