Women once had no place at the legal bar, no place in the medical school. While these bans are disappearing beneath the pressure of legal and moral constraint, one barrier remains. The church remains free from legal constraints in selection of its ministers. Instead, women are banned from the pulpit simply because they are women. This hidden power of culture to ban and exclude proves most pervasive.
Cultural exclusion is devious, often wrapping itself in the language of flag and family and Bible.
Indeed, the power of culture often exerts more influence on Baptist theology than does the Bible. Southern Baptists largely gave up racism not because it was wrong, but because it was illegal and unpopular. But each of these bans is temporary and subject to change. Political fortunes are transitory and cyclical. Ruthless leaders can be outvoted.