Priests

I cannot answer for all Christian denominations, however, in Roman Catholicism, women are not allowed to become priests. Why? Christ had many disciples during his lifetime, including many women, but when it came time to choose his twelve apostles, he chose only men. We follow the teachings of Christ.

Women were very involved in Christ's life and ministry, and they took on very active roles. Today, women take on very active roles in the Roman Catholic Church, as well, like the women disciples did then. There are women in the Catholic Church who are leaders in their own right.

Yet, the title, "priest" is reserved for men only. Some find this appalling. I have found that those who do are more interested in "personal gains" rather than in the true spirit of the ministry. The priesthood was not established for the PRIESTS, to bring wealth or power or prestige to the men in the priesthood. It was established IN RELATION to others. Priests are ordained to SERVE their congregation. It's not about what THEY get out of being a priest, but rather what they GIVE! When they die and stand in judgment before Christ, they will not be asked what they had gained from being a priest, but what they BROUGHT to the PEOPLE - how did they serve God's people to help them become more holy? God doesn't care about the power or prestige they gain - in fact, if they enter the priesthood for that reason, then they will likely be unable to serve God's people.

Most of those who think women priests=equality are thinking in terms of what the individual priest gains by entering the priesthood. Women "deserve" the same gains - power, prestige, etc - as men receive when they become priests.

Each one of us is called to make OTHERS more holy. Women do this in their roles in the church, just as well as men priests do. As much as some want to deny this fact, men and women ARE different. Each has a unique set of gifts, to be used for the greater glory of God. To deny our gifts, or to try to say that our gifts are a carbon copy of gifts given to others is an insult to God. We must use OUR gifts, not try to pretend that we have some other gifts. The Church is made up of many parts - each has a different role to play, but we are all one body, the Church. And we are all equally important in the Church. What would the leg be, without a foot? What would the arm be, without a hand? And what would the head be, without a neck to turn it? Just because women cannot be what they think is the proverbial "head" of the Church, does not mean their role - as neck, as eyes, as ears, as hands, etc - is any less important.

In actuality, a very large proportion of the Christian Church - even many rank-and-file Catholics dare I say (although the 'official' positi9n is very different!)- are in favour of women priests. And many large Church denominations already have either bishops, priests or ministers already. Examples are the Anglicn Church, Episcopalians, Methodists, URC, Dutch Reformed, Remonstrant, some Baptists and many others.

These Churches interpret Scripture very differently, and look at the history of the early Church (before it was taken over by men) to see the sort of Church that Christ himself instituted. They see Church leaders who were women ((eg Lydia, Priscilla etc) and they look at scriptural evidence as well as evidence from the catacombs of the 2nd century and see frescos such as the 'Fractio Panis' where the Eucharist is being celebrated wiith the central president being very clearly a woman.

It has nothing to do with modern 'equality' but is definitely to do with each of us being made in the image of God. Christians would never discriminate between a black or white person becoming a priest, because it's against the law. Nor would they discriminate between, say, an Englishman or a Frenchman, or a millionaire or pauper. Yet some feel free to discriminate between male and female. And to suggest that women do not have the 'gifts' necessary to become priests, simply because they are women, is an insult, and speaks more about the attitude of the suggester than the role of women.

As Paul stated categorically in his letter to the Galatians, a church where these very issues were being discussed, and where bigotry and prejudice were creeping in:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

[Gal 3:28]

In the early 20th century, women died as a result of protests because they fought to have the vote. Women have fought in the miiddle 20th century to be paid the same rates as men for the work they do. They have fought for equality within jobs and promotion prospects. The truth is that there are those within socirty, and sadly within the Christian church too, who will hide behind their version of scripture and Church 'tradition' to maintain a mysoginistic attitude towards women in the guise of it being 'God's will'. Yet within the tradition of the early Church and within scripture properly interpreted, there is not a scrap of evidence even suggesting that priesthood should be reserved for men only. And the Church can only reflect the image of Christ, and serve the world with integrity, when those who still try to maintain male-dominated attitudes realise just how wrong they are.

Note that female priests exist already in some Christian denominations with apostolic succession, e.g. Anglican/Episcopal. Some break-away Roman Catholic groups also have female priests. Most Protestant denominations allow female pastors/ministers, but most do not have apostolic succession and thus do not have priests.

In terms of Roman Catholicism, the arguments made in favor of female priests are:

- Jesus himself made no distinction between men and women of his followers; Mary Magdalene has been reviled as a "prostitute" since the Middle Ages, but a modern non-misogynistic view of the Gospels do not regard her as revilable or reviled--indeed, Jesus favored her.

- There is no clear scriptural basis for excluding women from the priesthood.

- In the early Christian church until ca. 400 AD, female priests and congregation leaders were common.

- With the shortage of male priests becoming acute, opening the Catholic priesthood to women would make it possible for the Church to more of God's work more efficiently and minister to more people.

- Women already occupy leadership positions in all churches, and women who become nuns have already taken on 99% of the commitments asked of male priests.

The tribe of Levi known as the Levitical Priesthood:

49 "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; 50 but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it and camp around the tabernacle. 51 And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death.

The "smoking pot" you refer to is an incense burner. Incense is a substance that gives off a pleasant smell when burnt. It has been used in many cultures including Jewish temples. Carrying on the tradition the Catholic Church uses incense at certain Masses which were called "High Masses" usually celebrated by three priests to "incense" the altar. It is also used at funerals to "incense" the coffin.

Medicine Man

Someone who is recognized as a leader in spirituality. Who preforms rituals, and ceremonies according to what is needed in a culture, Religious leader.

I hate to disagree with my fellow answerer below but the church is NOT trying to put down women in anyway. This is a complicated issue, but there are a couple things that one must understand. We as a church did not make this rule, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did: we are only following what we have been taught.

Further, one must understand the role of women and the role of priests to understand that it is no slight and that there is no putting men ahead of women because of this. The church honors women far more than any other organizations. The Popes themselves are "servants of the servants of God". They are, all of them, just servants who are going to be judged much more harshly then the rest of us due to the fact that they have taken on the responsibility of representing Christ to the world. Women, on the other hand, starting with the Blessed Virgin are extremely honored in their own right. The honor show to a priest is actually honor show to Christ whose representative he is. Far from showing honor to women, the attempt at ordaining a woman does nothing but show dishonor to the Almighty, and His Laws.

Anglican orders were ruled invalid by the Pope back in the 19th century due to a lack in the ordination ceremony itself. It has nothing to do with the apostolic succession, it has to to with lack of proper form and intention. One must have the intention to validly ordain a sacrificing priest for a sacrificial priesthood, and one must use the proper words in doing so. The only one with authority to rule in this matter is Christ Himself, and his appointed emissary, the Holy Father.

Another answer:

However, most other denominations are not quite so mysoginistic and ordain women. In the Anglican Church women have been ordained priests since the 1990s, and they enjoy absolute equality with male priests in the same church. Some Anglican Churches have female bishops too. However Roman Catholics rather illogically refuse to accept the priesthood of any Anglican (male or female) as valid, despite both churches' ability to trace back their roots to apostolic succession, and both churches' doctrine on the priesthood and on Trinitarian belief being virtually identical.

Other protestant denominations, such as the Reformed Church or Methodists have had women ministers (they are not called 'priests' but fulfil the same sacramental role) for decades or even longer.

Some denominations do not have a 'priesthood' as such (or even ordained ministry) but have church leaders. one such group, the Salvation Army, has had women leaders ('officers') since its conception in the 19th Century.