Woman's chronicle. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1888-1???, 1890-12-20
nETHRoNED QUEENS OF METHODIST.

PS~-NA5 49,
Methodist Church. A question which doctors of
divinity, laymen and women preachers and
bishops, are anxiously discussing with ferVtnt and
learned appeals to all history, sacred and profane
all experience, past and present.
And this is the question: Whether pronoun
which includes woman in the ten commandments
and the golden rule is, or is not, elastic enough to
include her as delegate in the Methodist Confer
ence?
The first Christian conference of which we have
anv record was held according to church histo-
rians, J in Jerusalem, about 80 A. D. On this &C.
cason precedent was established which should
forever satisfy the most Chinese conservative
amongst those orthodox ones who imagine the
heavens will fall if anything new be introduced
into ecclesiastical affairs.
For note at that first general church conference,
where eleven apostles were assembled with the
rest of the Christians to transact the important
business OF choosing one to take the place of
Judas, women were present and helped to select
the new apostle The account is given in the first
chapter of Acts ''These (the apostles) all con-
tinued with one accord IN prayer and supplicaton
with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus,
and with his brethren" The disciples, altogether
numbered ''about an hundred and twenty" and
Peter addressed them as ''men and brethren,'
just as the Church continues doing in its congre-
cations of men and women to this day. 1t was
then, apparently, we'll understood that the women
who had travelled with Christ as assistant minis
tiers, in those journeys 'throughout every city
and village" where he went ''preaching and show
ing the glad tidings of the kingdom of Cod"
MARK 10, Al Luke s, 2-3, could not, in COM
mon decency, be shut out of any conferences met
to transact business in which their interests were
equally involved. But Gas if to prepare for day
when churchmen might fall to wranglng over
woman's Legitimate sphere") at the second gen.
eral conference held in Jerusalem, Con the day of
Pentecost, when the Christians sswsro all with one
accord in one place. the equality of men and
women in Christian duties and privileges was nm
mistakably set forth by Peter. This declaration
was addressed to linen of every nation under
heaven" and was called forth by the amazement
winch the great concourse of foreigners, then in
Jerusalem, had expressed upon seeing and hearing
men and women, all equally inspired, preaching in
public. st. Peters Magma Charta to Christians
was as follows: "This is that which was spoken Of
by the prophet Joel-'And it shall come to pass in
the last days. saith God, will pour ont nv shirt
upon all neSh; ana your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy.'"
Now to ''prophesy'' is simply to preach. Those
one-sided commentators who are determined Of all
nazaroS TO prevent women's preaching, have long
urea TO explain this meaning away, wherever the
blole mas used 1t In reference to women. But fine
only CONCLUSION any disnerested person can rea-
sonaOiy come 10 after treadlng the mazes of their
har-splttlng distinctions is,
strange all this difference sboud be
lWNt Iweedledum and Tweedledeep,
u., wv oman may pray in public and publicly ex-
pound the Scriptures at such length as she ,sns
n.y. allows the Methodist rule of discipline,
N0uV' ada the Methodist rulers, "she can never
no. never be named preacher, nor given a pul.
plI ana salary and, above all, is she forbidden 10
e e our General Conference, for that was, is
now w. ana ever shall be sacred to Man"
Illus Illus IL appears, though women were good