New Lesson Plan

Why was longtime Sunday school teacher Mary Lambert fired from her job at the First Baptist Church of Watertown, New York?

A. She sought ordination as a minister in the church
B. She drove a pregnant teenaged girl to an abortion clinic
C. She destroyed three surplus embryos left over from her recent (and successful) in vitro fertilization procedure
D. She’s a woman


ANSWER
D: She’s a woman.

The Rev. Timothy LaBouf, who did the firing, said the church recently adopted an interpretation of the Bible that prohibits women from teaching men – despite Mary Lambert’s 54 years of previous service at the church.

LaBouf pointed to a quote in the first epistle to Timothy, which reads in part, “I don’t not permit a woman to teach of to have authority over a man; she must be silent.”

The Taliban would be proud!