Last night I was playing Responsible Adult again for the church teen group. One of the male Responsible Adults was telling one of the girls that the virtue of obedience is very important. Earlier in the evening he commended one of the boys for having the courage to question. The sad thing is, the male Responsible Adult probably thinks he wasn’t discriminating.
Yet another entry about church. So tell me readers, do you think church organizations are more sexist than the rest of society?
Not true!!!! Of course you put yourself at a disadvantage by using the word “never” but I can think of literally hundreds of well documented cases where obedient women have made history. Obedience is not always the cowardly decision. Look at our best example of Mary’s fiat! It would have been so much easier for her to say, “Find someone else, please.” Instead she said, “I am the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be done according to His will.” It should be noted, however that she did first question, “How can this be since I know not man?” She and her husband had made a vow of chastity. How could she remain obedient to her vow to God, and be obedient to his will for her to be the mother of God. Questioning is not necessarily a disobedient challenge. True questioning is a desire to gain knowledge.
This “responsible adult” may have been sexist but our Church has a long history of honoring women. One only needs to look at the saints to see that obedience can make history. St. Joan of Arc may have looked like a rebel but her rise to leadership and warrior was completely through obedience. No one can say the Blessed Mother Theresa hasn’t made history. I guess the challenge is deciding Who to be obedient to. That is where one must question.
Comment by Susan — December 14, 2009 @ 1:01 pm
Susan makes a good point. One can do something obedient, while still questioning. It’s important to be picky about what/whom to obey.
The original quote, “Well behaved women seldom make history,” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, was a comment on women such as Rosa Parks, Christine de Pizan, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, Virginia Woolf. If they would have stuck to the roles society expected of women, they wouldn’t have accomplished what they did.
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