80 Paula,

That’s the goal, to get the “other side” a voice. It’s very much like the evolution issue (sorry Cheryl, but it’s a perfect analogy): one side uses every dirty trick in the book to keep the other silenced, because it fears examination. It knows that if people truly had a choice, and could freely examine both sides, they might “leave the club”.

I do believe that it is very important to hear both sides. Even for those of us who are convinced on the egalitarian side. The problem I have with having the other side presented here (and in particular the evolution side) is when someone wants to present the other side but won’t answer questions on their view. They won’t answer how they came to their point of view, or what their point of view is exactly and they won’t give the parameters that define their view so that there is a principle regarding how one sees the difference between a scripture that is literal and one that is “figurative”, “poetic”, a “hymn” etc. So I tend to tolerate a respectful opposition position as long as the person will dialog. Otherwise I feel like my own blog is being used to promote a view that conflicts with the scripture. I guess I have been around the cults for too long that it wears on my patience to see someone dodging questions and refusing to give a reason for their belief.

And a lot of us have tried reasoning with them, their leaders and followers, but to no avail. The solution is to just keep shouting out the truth and try to reach as many as possible.

I have been learning that some will not dialog because they cannot allow themselves the ability to even hear the opposition. When the walls come down, then we need to move on because we are wasting our time. There are many times that I have tried every angle I can think of to get people to think outside of their prejudice. It doesn’t always work and we need to balance being a faithful witness of the grace of God towards women and knowing when to respectfully walk away and work with others who are more open.