I revived that old "Pace" salsa commercial and cried out, "New York City?!" Well, it was not really the City, but it was a headline from the State of New York, namely the City of Watertown. I felt many emotions flooding into my head at the site of this almost unbelievable article.

           A female Sunday School teacher was fired by the sinister, opps that was a typo, which are not unfamiliar to many of my loyal readers, all 3 of them and all family members..but I digress..a female Sunday School teacher was fired by a minister from the First Baptist Church in Watertown, NY. The reason? The minister has decided to adopt a literal interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:12, which says, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent." Of course, for those of you who believe women should be submissive to men, you might find some fodder for that argument throughout 1 Timothy.

           I always find it interesting that people adopt a literal point of view when it comes to scripture because it is literally picking and choosing what their agenda is literally encompassing. Want to find a reason to sacrifice an animal on the alter? Turn to the "Old Testament." Want to condemn divorce? Want to condemn looking at someone else's spouse? Want to prove that a combination of materials in clothing is a sin? So many agendas, so little time!

           The truth is we can all literally twist and turn things to make ourselves look right, left or indifferent. I can sit here, argue, and quote scriptures to refute this minister's interpretation. The bottom line, as I see it, is the sad fact that many, many people truly believe that what this minister did was theologically correct. Forget the fact that God created all of us equally. Forget the fact that Jesus empowered women. The fact that this minister is not only the Pastor of this church, but also a member of the Watertown City Council, is what is disconcerting! People can decide whether or not they want to go to his church, but he is making decisions that affect the entire community. Yes, he says that his theology does not affect his City Council decisions, yeah right! Yes, he says that outside of the church, women can be the boss, perhaps he's only saying that because the City Manager is a woman and his boss..aha..now we see a clearer picture..

           These are the thoughts and actions that make my "job" so difficult. People point to this minister to paint us all the same. It takes months, maybe years, to dispel this type of control-laden misinterpretation of the bible. One step forward for old time religion, three steps back for liberation theology. I hope that one day, the tide will turn and many more people will realize that until we all start speaking against this misinterpretation and stop the "turn our backs because it has nothing to do with us mentality," people like this minister will continue to thrive. Until then.I will continue to speak out with everything I have. THAT, my friends, is something you can interpret literally.