The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1872-02-22
From the New York Herald.
NNnmen in the Ministry.

Many things nave cOnSpfcd dur (
ing the present century to bring
the Christian pulpit and ministry |
into disrepute. The advancement /
Of the masses in general intelli- /
gcnce and literary culture, whereby |
priestcragt has lost its hold upon /
the people; the sensational charac- /
ter Of many OF our so-ca'led "Chris- |
tian" puIpits, and the practical and 4
actual atheism and infdelity |
taught by many others, tend to /
bring the sacred Office of the Gospel !
ministry into contempt. But it is
likely to be rendered more ignoble /
by the elevation of women in very
great numbers into the pulpits Of
the land. Not, indeed, that we OBJ
iect to women teaching religion or
morals, law or physic, or anything
else that the sex is capable of but
rather that we object to the time
and place and manner Of such
teaching. Women have pushed
themselves into the professions of
law, medicine, music, art and so
forth, and it is perhaps only natural
for the sex to aspire to become
public teachers of morals and re
ligion also. Their advocates insist,
rs an clement Of their fitness for
this work, that women are and al
ways have been more devout and
holy than men, and they are there
fore better fitted to teach godliness
20 mankind. If the premise is true,
it shows that the mental caIibrc Of.
women is inferior to men, and the
conclusion is, therefore, not a safe
one to dcduce. Women who have
been always deyout are not likely to
be the women to graPple with inf
dclity, and the fact that they have
been pious above men is evidence
that they have not had the mind to
raise doubts, and they dare not and
cannot meet inidelity in their own
hearts nor in the hearts of others.
And this inferiority of womau's
mind, we think, is manifested all
through history, whether sacred or
profaue. The lust Of the flesh and
the lust Of the eye and the pride of
lie which induced Eve to commit
the first act Of disobedience, have
been potent enough with her chill
dren ever since to keep them fol
loving where she led. We take it
that the fact that the Lord never
called a woman to be a pull lie
teacher of His religion is evidence
that lie considered the sex inferior
to men for such purposes. And
where we have one Debora or Anna
in sacred history we have scores Of
Ten prophets, apostles, martyrs
and confcssors held up before US as
teachers and exemplars of the very
highestfo forms and manifestation Of
Picty. Christianity is manly re
ligion, and it requires men of
strength and nerve and will to pro
claim it and to contend against the
prince of the powers Of the air
against spiritual wickedness in
high places. And it is this manli-
ness and nobleness in the Christian
religion, above every other known
system of morals, ancient or mod
cru, which has elevated woman so
IS they had never been exalted be
fore. And in the ratio in which the
Christian religion advances women
will rise higher and still higher in
morals.
But there is a tender and sympa-
thetic feature Of Christianity which
women are certainly better adapted
to preach and to teach than men,
and this they should do everywhere
and at all times. The religion and
morals Of the world are committed
t. women 90 teach in the home cir
Gle. If they fail there, they should
have no claim upon US to stand uI
as public teachers thereof to pro
miscous multitudes; and that they
have failed, God has appointed mer
to 90 this work. And from Tho
earliest ages of organized socictie:
vc hvae no record Of women acting
IS teachers of morals outside O
the family circle, save in few in
stances, which the attendant cir
cUmstances made exceptional.