The Bible has much to say, and many illustrations are given, establishing that the responsibility of leadership in religious matters was given to the man. Adam, the man, was created first and Eve, the woman, was to be his helper. The responsibility of leadership continued in their sons ... not their daughters. Those who were saved from the flood were led by a man ... Noah. Abraham and all the patriarchs were men, as were Moses, Joshua, and all thirteen of the Judges that ruled Israel. All the kings and all the prophets were men. The old priesthood of Israel was composed of men. The twelve apostles and the early church leaders, preachers, deacons, elders, evangelists, missionaries, etc. were all men. The woman is spoken of as "the weaker vessel" (I Peter 3:7), and that "the head of the woman is the man." (I Cor. 11:3.)

All religion knows that this is taught ... both in instruction and by example. To say that the woman has never been satisfied with this arrangement is to put it mildly. To say that the man has always willingly accepted this responsibility is to be ignorant of the facts.

In the beginning, religion was going good in the Garden of Eden until Eve decided to take over and Adam consented. When Eve, the woman, took over the leadership in religion a chaos resulted that has lasted until today.

One of the biggest of the shams of today's religion is that which presents man as being in the position of leadership in religion. Religion knows that man should be leading, so it pretends he is even when they know it is not a reality. It is obvious to anyone who cares to observe that women dominate religion while still feigning submission to the man.

More women attend church than men. A large percentage of the men who do attend are generally there because their wives insisted. More women teach Sunday School classes. The spiritual leader in the average religious home is the mother. Ordinarily there are more women's organizations in the church than men's, and more women hold church offices. More women than men generally sing in the choir. It is a fact that the influence of the woman dominates the average church and the average religion. Most of the established religions have begun to ordain women and to use them as pastors, evangelists, missionaries, etc. A large percentage of the more recent religions were started by women.

It has to be said that in most instances men have willingly relinquished the responsibility of leadership. Sometimes they have submitted only after a long battle. The lack of men has created a void in religion that women have tried to fill. That this is a fact is one thing, but to pretend that it is not is another. For women to dominate religion while keeping man as a mere "figurehead" is rank hypocrisy. It so cheapens and belittles man as to create a response of disgust.

Too often a man's name is listed as Pastor and he stands in the pulpit, but in reality the church is "pastored" by his wife. He is a mere figurehead ... a stooge. This kind of pastor preaches the sermons that his wife has deliberately influenced and in some cases designed. She uses him to pour out her vengeance upon any who dare question her leadership. She uses the influence of the pulpit as a weapon in all the feuds and church fights in which she cares to participate. By her interpretation, to disagree with her is to disagree with the church. To displease her is to set oneself up as the target for next Sunday's sermon.

The Pastor's wife generally shares the same kind of intimate knowledge concerning the personal affairs of the membership as her husband. If she so desires, this knowledge can become a deadly weapon used to keep the membership in submission to her rule. This type of Pastor's wife pictures herself as a "church queen" and expects everyone to pay homage at her throne.

Sometimes it seems the Pastor's wife must assume this dominating role to provide some self-protection. She finds that this must be done or else she must stay hidden out somewhere most of the time. No one can be the "target for today" as much as the Pastor's wife. Everything she does is subject to the closest scrutiny by the other women of the church. They delight in "picking her bones" and it is always open season. How she dresses, keeps house, raises children, works in the church, etc., are all examined continually under the magnifying glass and discussed freely by all.

This kind of condition where a man is a mere figurehead is also a reality in many of the other positions of leadership in the church. The man holds the office but the wife manipulates the strings and he responds as an obedient puppet.

One of the arts in which a Pastor must develop a great deal of skill is keeping peace with all the different women's organizations in his church. Too many times a Pastor has had to retreat from the field, battered and defeated, after making the mistake of incurring the wrath of an organization of women. One thing these organizations will not tolerate is for a mere man, even a Pastor, to try to give them any leadership. A Pastor, like all other men, finds it difficult to understand women. A women's organization can be nailing his hide to the wall, ruining his ministry, and sending him to his study battered and beaten, while at the same time they are baking his favorite cake and taking up money to buy a new suit for his birthday!

The Bible presents a contrasting picture of a woman. She is used as the symbol of the highest form of holiness ... the bride of Christ (Eph. 5), and also as a symbol of the lowest in depravity ... the harlot of the 17th chapter of Revelation. She is pictured as contentious (Prov. 27:15), subtle, and deceitful (Prov. 6:24). Yet her love is the finest of all virtues of mankind (I Sam. 1:26). She has brought about the greatest good and yet is responsible for the greatest harm.

These characteristics of the woman show up in each generation.

Most churches will periodically find themselves wracked with divisions that can degenerate into real church fights. These do irreparable harm to the cause of religion. One thing these church fights and divisions all seem to have in common is that they are started by women.

Most women religious leaders fall into one of several categories. There is, of course, the Crusader. Her type is probably the best known. She is always riding at the head of a righteous cause ready to do battle with any and all who stand in the way. The Crusader always thinks of herself as the defender of the faith who is going to right every wrong. She charges from one committee meeting to the next, whipping in line the less zealous.

There are the female religious leaders who are the Reformers. Generally they are ladies who never enjoyed sin very much themselves and they are going to see that no one else does.

Some of these women religious leaders could only be called Losers, as nothing they ever do succeeds. They hold regular committee meetings where they carefully plan each defeat. Their whole assumption is that religion doesn't have a chance so they make a career of rejoicing in defeat.

Then there are the Sufferers. These are the female religious leaders who axe always loudly proclaiming how silently they suffer for the cause of religion. These ladies are generally planning on suffering anyhow and they figure religion gives them a reason. Most people can't stand to see someone suffer so these ladies wield a powerful influence.

Another group might be called the Organizers. Their main characteristic is being busy ... busy ... busy. They are the "take charge girls." They always move with great speed and efficiency in getting every religious project organized, complete with all details. They also generally wind up being "Madam President."

Trouble Shooter is a position that a lot of women religious leaders covet. A Trouble Shooter is one who feels that it is her job to take the leadership in helping those in trouble. Let a man and his wife have a fight and the Trouble Shooter is right there to help them patch it up. Helping young girls in "trouble" is a specialty. Advice on rearing children is freely given. Helping a wife with a wayward husband is a delight to the Trouble Shooter. One of the added advantages of being a Trouble Shooter and possibly the reason it is so sought after is that it enables the Trouble Shooters to get all the latest gossip first hand. This really makes them the hub of activity.

Women have been successful in keeping men who are religious leaders in submission by a method known as "hero worship." It is really very simple. Women will look upon a man in position of leadership as a white knight and will give him all the accolades and plaudits that are his due as a hero. No mere man can resist this and will do anything to maintain his "hero" status ... even to the submitting to every whim of the women.

Religion got into trouble in the beginning when Eve decided she was going to take charge and run things her way. This difficulty reoccurs every time this attempt has been repeated. Yet it must be said that if it had not been for faithful women, religion would have gone out of business a long time ago. The blame for women dominating religion has to rest with the man. It is because of his failure that this condition exists.

Religion needs men who will drop the pretense and in reality give the spiritual leadership that is needed in the home and in the church.