The Employments of Women: A Cyclopædia of Woman's WorkPenny, Virginia
General
The Employments of Women: A Cyclopædia of Woman's Work
Penny, Virginia
Women -- Employment
=21. Preachers.= A friend once said "the professions of ministers and
lawyers ought to accord. One is the interpreter of the divine law, the
other of human law. A preacher is a lawyer for heaven." The promptings
and workings of the human heart must be well understood by a minister.
One in this holy office should not connive at the faults of her
congregation, or give herself up to the acquirement of popular applause.
We think one half the good accomplished in a church is done by the
ladies of the church, particularly single women. And we know well that
ministers are aware of this, and readily enlist the ladies of their
congregations in good works. In old times, Angela de Foligno was
celebrated as a teacher of theology. "In Spain, Isabella of Rosena
converted Jews by her eloquent preaching, and commented upon the learned
Scotus before cardinals and archbishops." In modern times, two or three
ladies have studied theology, and preached with success. Mrs. Blackwell
and Mrs. Jenkins are both said to be ladies of literary merit and
genuine piety. Their mild, amiable, and lady-like deportment make them
beloved by all who are sufficiently acquainted with to appreciate them.
Some one writes: "It seems to me that woman, by her peculiar
constitution, is better qualified to teach religion than by any merely
intellectual discipline." Women are more susceptible to religious
impressions than men. Two thirds of the communicants of our churches are
of that sex. The Quakers, Shakers, and Methodists, we think, are the
only denominations in which women speak in religious meetings. The
founder of the Shakers was a woman--Ann Lee--who established her faith
in 1776.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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