Wolves in the fold

From Christianity Today...

A Finnish district court prosecutor recently charged a member of the Finland state church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF), with criminal discrimination for refusing to work with a female pastor. Two other church leaders have also been charged for not interfering to prevent the alleged violation.

"The government has nothing to do with religion and wants to stay out of the discussion," said Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, who was president at IsoKirja College in Finland. "This case has nothing to do with religion; it has everything to do with a perceived lack of equality."

The case could set a precedent for similar cases concerning discrimination against homosexuals. The ELCF is still discussing whether homosexual pastors can serve in the church and whether pastors may bless homosexual couples....

Ari Norro was scheduled to preach at a Sunday morning communion service in southern Finland last March. He is a preacher from the Lutheran Evangelical Association in Finland (LEAF), a group within the ELCF but believes that the Bible prohibits women from serving as pastors.

Norro said that churches generally arrange the pastoral shifts to avoid conflicts with a visiting pastor who does not want to conduct a worship service with a woman. But 15 minutes before the service was scheduled to begin, Petra Pohjanraito appeared.

"We were totally embarrassed by her arrival, for we understood very well that she was coming [to serve] at the altar," Norro told Christianity Today.

Norro said he offered to leave the church, but Pohjanraito decided to leave instead.

Sounds like a set-up to me. Apparently in spite of the law, many church leaders were arranging it so that ministers who opposed the unbiblical practice of allowing women to be pastors were simply juggling schedules to make sure those opposed remained away from the women "ministers". This incident looks to me like an attempt to force the issue, especially since Norro volunteered to leave, yet was still charged with "preventing" the fake minister from performing whatever fake duties she was pretending to do.

Of course, my question is what would Norro remain in a "church" that has so publicly abandoned the Bible? That's his real problem.

Posted by Danny Carlton at November 5, 2007 6:24 AM