According to many Baptist church charters, the preacher has the right to hire or fire anyone he chooses. Our church has that written in the bylaws.

That said, I believe that the SS teacher was in the wrong. She had a right to her opinion but to take it outside the church without going through the proper channels was very much cause for dismissal. It makes me wonder what she could have been teaching all those years that she would go first to the secular law and media before going to her pastor and BOD.

Anytime a new preacher comes in, people leave. It always happens. But to go outside the church family was not right. Nor was it Biblical.

Also, I don't have a problem with ladies teaching 12yo and under and other girls and ladies, but I believe that young men and adult men should be taught by men. The verse the pastor used was accurate. I may get flamed but who cares? Getting flamed for standing up for what I believe is right is worth it.

Men, both young and old, have a greater degree of respect for their own than a woman and that includes in the classroom (or SS class).

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"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." --Author Unknown

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey,...but a woman of strength has faith and wisdom to know that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

----And is that right and good? Maybe women should demand the respect. Are we not worthy of the same respect that men get? Maybe some women don't think highly of their gender & are teaching their boys to grow up to be men who are not respectful of women. Holding up the archaic concept that women are not good enough to teach boys only encourages the cycle of this disgusting behavior.

I don't care if I get flamed for this but I do not hold respect for any woman who does not consider herself an equal to a man. We are all created equal.

Note: many of my comments appear in the quote above, with ----in front of them.

I am a person who believes in searching past what is spoon fed to us through the inflammatory liberal media and so I searched for articles to see what pther information was available. I also try not to make snap decisions about issues or people based on my own lack of knowledge or compassion. That said, I found where the SS teacher went outside the church well before she was fired. That was not the Christian answer to disagreeing with a fellow brother or sister in Christ and she knew it. Apparently she was not getting her way and decided to stir up the community against her pastor. I also found where the pastor and BOD told her why she was dismissed ( but I know she knew it would happen based on her own actions- unless she thought herself above church discipline).

I am not a man-hater or even a man-disparager so I can not agree with the statement that men don't know anything. There are a great many men who I have the utmost respect and love for as well as understanding they are human. Before I can make general derogatory remarks about half the world's population, I have to consider that there are things about me and my part of the population that do not inspire confidence either.

As for schooling my son, we homeschool by choice and for religious reasons. We have been involved in both public school and Christian school (I was a teacher), and have seen good and bad in both. I do believe that teen boys respond better to a male teacher, not out of lack of respect, more out of having a better understanding of physical, emotional, and academic troubles they may have. Having never been a teenage boy, I don't completely understand their coping mechanisms. Above all, I want the best education for my children in the safest environment possible. As for the pedophile comment, there are also quite a number of women who take advantage of their students, so that is not a purely male predilection.

Women do deserve respect but they should not expect it, they should earn it, too. My respect for anyone is not based on their title or sex. I believe that men and women are created equal and the Constitution upholds this but being equal does not mean that we are the same. I have many qualities that my husband does not and vice versa. That's what makes us a great team- we complement one another.

As for having respect for myself, I could expect no one to respect me if I didn't respect myself. As for someone who doesn't know me except on a DB, your lack of respect leaves me feeling, well... nothing. It's nice to chat and see what others have to say but just because I don't agree with someone does not give me the right to attack them and their faith. Nor does saying I have faith make me weak or unable to cope with "real" life. It just means I have hope. I am not a feminist but that doesn't mean I am a shrinking violet or a submissive doormat. I thoroughly enjoy the place I am at in my life and have no apologies for it.

Calimari, I have no rancor toward you nor am I angry. I firmly believe that every person in this country has a right to speak their mind and do so without being made to feel ashamed. Whether it is a view that I hold does not make their view any less important. I am glad to see women who are strong and able but I can't flush every man down the drain because of a few.

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"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." --Author Unknown

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey,...but a woman of strength has faith and wisdom to know that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

It appears that 90% of what you just posted has nothing to do with what I posted, or the point of my argument. But I'm glad you have respect for yourself.

You wrote: I am not a man-hater or even a man-disparager so I can not agree with the statement that men don't know anything.

I sure didn't write that men didn't know anything. Where in the world did you get that? And I purposely wrote that men are women are equals - I did not write we are the same because we are different. But still equal. And, again, the point of my argument was not whether or not the SS teacher went outside the church or did something that some might construe "unchristian" in an effort to keep her job - the point is that the church is hiding behind biblical scripture when explaining why she was dismissed. They are lying. If they fired her for stirring up trouble or not following church procedures, they should say that instead of saying she was fired because she can't teach boys.

Read my post a couple times before jumping to answer. And I hold no anger towards you, either. I do, however, appear to disagree with everything you stand for though. Not surprisingly.

Brave little newbie.....

I was just going to let this whole thing pass by instead of responding, especially after realizing this has nothing to do with this SS teacher getting fired. It is another opportunity to show that the opinion "Churches are filled with hypocrits" is true. And I will agree it is. Every day the things I mean to do and want to do, I don't. And those things I don't want to do, I do. I believe the Apostle Paul had this same problem (Romans 7:15).

Upon reading your last post, I was struck that you followed the normal anti-Christian rhetoric: first try to reason with those poor deluded Christians, then when that doesn't work, go for patronizing remarks and scorn.

As for the SS teacher, obviously she was fired after going to the media which is against Biblical teaching (Acts 6). But I also believe that this preacher was going to ask her to step down anyway because the true reason she was fired was because of his belief in the Biblical teaching in Titus 2:12. And I believe he had already made known to her his belief. No hiding there but definitely out of line with what the world understands and accepts.

"I sure didn't write that men didn't know anything. Where in the world did you get that? "--- The source of my comment comes from another of yours. "Most teachers in general are women - if it weren't for us, men wouldn't know a d-mn thing."--- The inference is that women know everything and without us, men would be running into walls and drooling all over themselves.

I won't respond to whatever comments you may have to this. Not out of cowardice or lack of conviction. Simply put, not being a newbie to this DB (I was gone for several months and just got back and re-registered), you have a strong dislike for what many believe and have no qualms about trying to denigrate our beliefs. And it grows tiresome and ridiculous.

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"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." --Author Unknown

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey,...but a woman of strength has faith and wisdom to know that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

"the opinion "Churches are filled with hypocrits" is true. And I will agree it is."

Well, at least we agree on something!

you have a strong dislike for what many believe and have no qualms about trying to denigrate our beliefs. And it grows tiresome and ridiculous.

I do not denigrate your beliefs. I just think it's ridiculous that an earlier poster who is supposedly in contact with that church says that the woman was fired for reasons other than her being a woman, but that the scriptural reference is given as the church's reason & you actually seem to believe that is true.

And if you think my point of view is tiresome & ridiculous, try being me sometimes. It's all I can do to keep from screaming at the computer after some of the stuff I read. Oh, and by the way - to anyone in general - I'm sort of taking an "I'm not concerned if I tick you off" approach nowadays, so I'm not being so careful in how I word things. It has grown tiresome.

Let me clear up a few things, as I am the one with the most "personal" knowledge, due to having family members who live in the community and the church in question is my father's family church.

First, the SS teacher was NOT fired because she went to the media regarding her disputes with the church. She was fired because she was trying to oust the new pastor. Basically, they (the BOD and pastor) got rid of her before she could stir things up more and get rid of the new pastor.

Second, I firmly believe what the pastor and BOD did was wrong and completely unethical and unchristian. They lied about the reasons for firing her until it was in their best interest to make it known. They did not let the congregation choose in which direction they wanted the church to go.

It really has nothing to do with her being a woman and teaching SS. It has everything to do with an power struggle within the church's hierarchy.

She was wrong to air her grievances outside of the church before trying to change things within the church. They were wrong to remove the "troublemaker" without trying to find a common ground and for then lying about the reasons.

Each side in this conflict thinks that the Bible gives them the right to act this way. Well, I'm sure that each side can quote chapter and verse supporting their argument. And they are all acting like a bunch of hypocrites. Like I said before, my grandmother is turning over in her grave thinking about what is going on with her beloved church. And again, a POX on BOTH of their houses.

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It's all I can do to keep from screaming at the computer after some of the stuff I read.

Same here!!