In The Name Of God

I am a Religious Studies Student at Temple University, and the sacristan at St. Clement's Episcopal Church, an historic Anglo-Catholic Parish in Philadelphia.
Politically I am a Christian Socialist with strong Distributist and Neo-Luddite tendencies. I live in South Philadelphia with my husband Xopher, who is a graphic artist. I'm always happy to discuss religion, progressive politics, or LGBTQ issues.

Last week the delightful Vicky Beeching tweeted something about receiving abuse for having the audacity to advocate a feminist theological stance. His Grace pitched in, asking: "Who are these infallible zealots declaring that one may not be both feminist and Christian? Do they have idea of the meaning of either term?" This brought further censure and derision upon his own head. Perhaps a little clarification is required...

Thousands of young seminary girls crowd women’s section, prompting police to prevent entry of prayer activists.

Several hundred members of the Women of the Wall feminist prayer group were blocked from entering the women’s section of the Western Wall on Monday morning, with police saying the move was due to thousands of young Orthodox girls who had taken over the site. It was the first time in the group’s 25-year history that it was denied access to the women’s section for its monthly prayer session, Haaretz reported.

Police said that between 5,000 and 7,000 seminary girls had thronged the women’s area, on orders from their religious leadership, in order to deny access to the Women of the Wall. In addition, police said, about 1,000 ultra-Orthodox male protesters were in the Western Wall plaza seeking to disrupt the controversial prayer service, which is held by the Women of the Wall at the start of each new month (Rosh Chodesh).

Women of the Wall have increased their public profile this year after a series of confrontations at the Wall and subsequent legal rulings in their favor. The group, according to its website, seeks “the right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall,” an objective that is vehemently opposed by the ultra-Orthodox.

The Archdiocese, which employs 10,000 people in programs receiving many millions of dollars in government grants each year, will never have to provide health plans with contraceptive coverage under the rule as proposed. Despite this, it is waging a legal battle that is imposing significant costs on the taxpayers who fund its work. And this is only one lawsuit. With the additional cases brought by secular for-profit corporations, over 60 lawsuits have been filed in this scorched earth litigation campaign—which we have to pay to defend.

When it comes to authority, there is no equality. You say, “How does your home run?” A dictatorship. Any questions? It’s a monarchy, okay? Mono. One boss. Okay? That’s how my home is run. That’s how every biblical home is run, by the way, okay? And you say, “Oh, your wife must hate you!” No, women love that. Because they were born to fill that role. Just like I was born to be the husband and the leader, my wife was born to be the wife and to be submissive and subject to me. And she’s gonna be most happier doing what God created her to do, just like I’m going to be most happy doing what God created me to do!

And, you know, you say, “Well, that’s not true, because I talk to all these women that are just, you know, they just want to be a feminist and stuff…” You know what? Here’s what I’ve found over the years: The women who are screaming the loudest that they want to be a feminist and that they don’t want a man telling them what to do, on the inside, are really screaming the loudest, please tell me what to do. Please put me in my place. And, you know what? If you don’t believe that? You’re just ignorant. It’s that simple.

And, yeah, I’m sure that there are some reprobate lesbians out there that have a different view. But let me tell you something: A normal woman, on the inside, wants to follow a leader. She wants to follow a husband. She wants a man there that she can look up to, not look down on…