"I would just like to thank my sisters and brothers in Christ. . . "
This is the cheesiest and must stop. It serves as a code, of course. If you say "sisters and brothers" instead of "brothers and sisters," or, saints preserve us!, "brethren," then you are one of those benevolent males who love and respect womyn.
But come on. This is condescending at best - and anti-apostolic at worst. Let me clue you in, guys: the latest generation of women see this as the worst sort of Boomer idiocy. And if Paul said ajdelfoi' when addressing the Romans, did this make him a misogynist? The feminists certainly think so - but then again, they aren't real big on, well, you know, Christianity.
So let's stick with "brethren," brethren.
+HRC
Amen
ReplyDeleteHeath,
ReplyDeleteI commend your wife for having married such a decent fellow as your self.
I remember from my days in CAT41 this lesson from a woman named Emily called "Are you a Momma's Boy?" Through Baptism (the womb of the Church), we are all made heirs of the promise that Christ offers us. And we know at the time of the early church period, inheritance laws in civilizations disallow women from being heirs. Not so the Church!
ReplyDeleteFor that reason, I usually prefer "brethren" even I still am a woman and do not dig the idea of woman's ordination. Hey, even male brothers are not all called to be pastors.
Yours,
Brother Carol Rutz