Christian women underlings?

Traditional Christianity puts women beneath men. The head of every man is Christ and the head of every wife is her husband. Or words from Paul to that effect. Women are to be submissive to their husbands. Women are not to speak in the church. How inspired was Paul when he wrote those letters? Not very inspired it seems to me. How could an admitted sinner, morally imperfect, write perfect instruction to the church? Logically, it makes no sense. Just as some of his sexist ideas make no sense either.

Paul did make sense when he wrote that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female...all are one in Christ Jesus. And Jesus made sense when He said He is our living spiritual Teacher and we are all brothers and sisters; in other words, equals in His sight.

My Lutheran dad at times dominated my mom, often making her feel inferior and lose personal confidence. "Who's the head of the house? What does the Bible say?" He angrily said. He knew those biblical passages that appeared to give him the right to boss his wife and kids. He was a religious, churchgoing man. But I believe he missed the Spirit of Christ's teachings. How many other sincere Christian men lord it over their wives as their "God-given right."

Men written Bible! Where's the gals?!

Why is it that the Bible was written only by men? Why are men but not women so central to most of the stories? It seems the Bible was a product of rather patriarchal societies. Jesus had 12 men disciples. He had women followers but they are rather peripheral to the stories of Jesus' life and the Acts of the Apostles.

Proverbs 8 and 9 personify wisdom as a woman. It sure seems the Bible could use a lot more words of wisdom from women. I love to read Emily Dickinson's poetry to complement my bible reading. She was and advanced spiritual thinker, deep-hearted, loved Jesus, independent.

Knowing Jesus for real

Knowing Christ is far more personal than organizational. Do huge mega-churches undermine that idea? Jesus told a Samaritan woman that "true worshippers" of God worship in spirit and in truth -- not at any one place, such as a temple or church building. Those are the kind of "worshippers" God is looking for, intimate individual friends rather than a formal crowd going through the religious motions. Jesus said he considered his disciples friends rather than servants, in John 15. Jesus said that where two or three who know Him are together in His name -- He is with them in spirit. Jesus said He knows each of us, individually. (John 10:27)

I have no idea how Jesus knows each of us and keeps track of the millions who know Him. But He does. He is God and has all power in Heaven and earth. Christians who have experienced Christ's presence and Spirit in their lives know that He knows them. "The Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God." (Romans 8:14-16)

You can relate to (worship) God in a church assembly, singing in the shower, private mental prayer, or anyway that feels right to you. The formality of church services (and I've been to many churches, conservative to liberal) doesn't do much for me. 

I'm not a churchgoer, here's why...

As a non-churchgoer, I've been reprimanded by at least one fellow Christian for "forsaking the assembling of yourselves together." That's Paul's command. Jesus, on the other hand, said where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is there with them in Spirit. I like to discuss the Bible and spirituality (among other ideas) informally with my wife or a friend. I get far more out of casual conversation than big formal meetings; I dislike formality period. (I sometimes tell people I had a hard time showing up at my own wedding.)

I was raised in a conservative Lutheran church and went to a church school my first eight grades. By age 15 I felt saturated with boring religion and left the church. I still believed in the Creator. In high school I read Emily Dickinson's poetry and identified with her private spirituality, apart from the formal church, considering Nature itself as God's "temple". I still find her poetry to be deeply spiritual, comforting, inspiring, more contemporary than the Bible. I like her understanding of God as a familiar friend and "neighbor". I relate better to a woman spiritual writer than the all-male club of the Bible. I also tend to find women easier to confide in than men, generally, anyway.

Preacher talk hogs

Why do most churches use the format of a designated preacher while everyone else listens? Is he or she the only inspired person? In my churchgoing days, when I visited many mainstream churches, I never saw any church follow Paul's format in 1 Corinthians 14, where several people take turns speaking.

Personally I get more out of a one-to-one conversation (or my own Bible reading) than listening to a sermon.

The Christian church sometimes emphasizes "leadership" and trains pastors in leadership skills. The implication is that lay members should learn to be obedient, compliant followers of this or that authorized leader. Personally, I understand Christ and the Holy Spirit leading us. Since the Spirit works through each of us, no one person should be looked to as "the leader." The pastor should reflect the definition of that title, meaning "shepherd", one who nurtures and watches over, and sometimes inspires.

The early Christian church in the book of Acts met together and decided by consensus. They didn't look to one designated "leader." The Spirit at these meetings spoke to (or inspired) several and its will became known and confirmed by agreement. After being in a Christian cult, I strongly distrust "leaders."

I tend to think God is flexible and creatively-minded when it comes to "worship" and inspiration. What benefits one Christian may not help another, so we find our own preferred methods of feeding and nourishing our spirits.