An interesting and inevitable outcome of the Sarah Palin nomination? Trouble in the ranks of conservative Christian denominations who are being called out for hypocrisy over the issue of women's ordination.
... a sharp reminder that most Southern Baptist churches and institutions are staunch opponents of women clergy arose when the nondenominational magazine Gospel Today published its September-October issue. It features five successful women pastors—who pose, smiling, on the cover. Bookstores affiliated with the SBC removed the magazine from their shelves.
Founder-editor Teresa Hairston said she learned before Labor Day that LifeWay Christian Bookstores—"one of our largest outlets," she said—had opted not to display the issue in more than 100 stores. An anonymous e-mailer first informed her of the situation, complaining that the stores had treated it "like it was pornography."
And more:
Gospel Today editor Hairston, who began her Atlanta-based publication in 1989 as a Christian music newsletter called the Gospel Score, said her full-color Christian lifestyle magazine has a readership of as many as 250,000.
"The article was not intended to create controversy; it was journalistic coverage of a trend," she said.
Hairston said she thought it hypocritical of SBC leaders to show enthusiastic support for Alaska governor Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee for vice president and "not have this same open-mindedness about successful women pastors" in other churches.
Maybe the unhappy readers would be more ok with women pastors on the cover of their magazine if the ladies were snarling, instead?
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