BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
of the minister’s duties and responsibilities in the church. Mlambo had
to ask,
How would a wife and a mother afford to create time for all this, despite her
‘natural’ obligations in the home? Such callings are meant to be for men
only. For your own information, I would never marry a pastor, and neither
would I allow any of my sisters to be. Their role should be to serve their
husbands or brothers at home (Mlambo).
Such is the power of patriarchy. Some men (and women with a stereo-
typed mentality) interpret the Bible to suit their own expectations. Such
an interpretation as above will definitely not give women pastors the
credit which might be theirs. This notion is not peculiar to Zimbabwe
alone. Writing on the churches in Nigeria, Bolaji Olukemi Bateye
(2008:114-115) says,
The Bible was used authoritatively by the Western Orthodox Churches to
silence women and prevent them from assuming administrative pastoral
roles in the church hierarchy. There was therefore ambivalence in the stance
of Western Christian mission pertaining to women. On the one hand, they
claimed to liberate and empower women, while on the other hand there was
a rigid rejection of women from taking up leadership roles in the church,
and in some cases even the larger secular Western Society.
As illustrated, one school of thought uses the selected references to
argue against the preaching of women in the church. However, using
the same Bible, one can equally support the leadership roles of women
in the church, including preaching as well. This is the thrust of the up-
coming section, to illustrate how the same bible that carries 1Tim 2:11-
14, and 1Cor 14:34-35, can be used to support women preaching in the
church.
Women can preach too: The bible as a tool for such a declaration
E.C, Stanton (1974:14), argues says in the Bible there is representation of
both the masculine and feminine elements’. As such, one could use the
Bible to argue either for or against women’s leadership roles in the
church in contemporary society. One critical position by feminism is
that it calls upon for a re-interpretation of the texts to accommodate
women, for all are equal before God (Gal 3:28). Through re-interpreta-
tion, one would argue that women were also part of the disciples chosen
by Jesus ‘...the 12 accompanied him, and also some women...Mary called
Magdalene, ...Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward, Susana and many