The mayor of Wylie, Texas, has come under fire online after forbidding women from leading the City Council's public prayer.
Wylie Mayor Eric Hogue ignited the controversy when a member of the City Council requested the Council's invocation be given by a member of the local youth group "Youth With a Mission."
In his email reply, Wylie responded:
"All I ask is that those leading the public prayer be young men."
Texas mayor says women can't pray at city council meetings in email to fellow councilmember www.youtube.com
One of Hogue's constituents, Mary Shaddox, commented:
"I just was flabbergasted. It's 2020."
Hogue noted that he's a King James Bible literalist and cited two passages which supposedly forbid women from speaking in church.
The First book of Paul to the Corinthians 14:34-35 reads:
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."
1 Timothy 2:11-12 also describes a fairly misogynistic status quo.
"Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."
Local news station KXAS reports that in his 12 years as Mayor, Hogue has never selected a woman to deliver the invocation.
However, Hogue noted that he's allowed women to deliver the prayer when selected by others.
He commented:
"Yes, there have been multiple women that have led the prayers."
Hogue spoke to local news station WFAA-TV and told the he believes women can hold almost any role in our society, but cannot become preachers, saying:
"If you attend Church of Christ, there will not be a female preacher. There will not be a female song leader. There will not be a female that leads the prayer."
Hogue is not seeking re-election this upcoming November, but that hasn't stopped many from calling on him to step down now.
Misogyny has no place in our modern society.
People who believe women shouldn't hold any positions based on their gender because of a middle ages English King's version of the Bible shouldn't be representing women in a secular government.
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