A Texas mayor is facing backlash after he said that women shouldn’t lead prayer in public before city council meetings because the Bible forbids it.

Wylie, Texas, Mayor Eric Hogue’s remarks were made in a email to fellow city council members, which was then shared publicly on Facebook this week, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The city’s mayor pro tem, Jeff Forrester, reached out earlier this month and asked for Hogue’s thoughts on having members of the Christian missionary group, Youth With a Mission, lead the next prayer that starts each next council meeting
“Sounds good. I would like that. All I asked is that those leading the public prayer be young men," Hogue responded.

Hogue is also a minister of Cottonwood Church of Christ, according to the outlet. He followed up in the email by quoting two New Testament verses that he said his congregation takes “literally.”

The first, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, says: “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 any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.”
The other passage from 1 Timothy states: “Let the woman 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.”

In the email obtained by the Dallas Morning News, Hogue wrote that not everyone may agree with him.

“But I can’t go against my conscience,” he added.

The email was reportedly obtained through a records request and posted to Facebook, including to a page called Befuddled by Clowns, a conservative blog dedicated to Wylie politics.

Some residents of Wylie, a Dallas suburb of 51,000 people, were upset by the mayor’s comments, and a few called for him to resign.

Mary Shaddox told NBC5 that she was “flabbergasted” to hear such comments from a public official in 2020.

“That's his right in his church and his home, but he cannot bring it into a government office,” Shaddox said.

Forrester told ABC’s local affiliate that he does not share the same beliefs.

“I think we’re all created equally in the eyes of God and in the eyes of our government," the mayor pro tem said, adding that he’s never heard the mayor “speak ill” of women.

However, Hogue doubled down on his comments during an interview with WFAA.

“I believe a lady can be president of the United States,” Hogue said. “I believe a lady can be CEO of a company, the superintendent of a school district. But I believe, and this is me, when it comes to [picking] somebody to lead the invocation at a city council meeting, because of those two sets of verses, I’m going to choose a male.”

Hogue said there has never been a female preacher at his church.

“There will not be a female song leader. There will not be a female that leads the prayer," Hogue said. "Now, there will be ladies that teach other ladies. There will be ladies that teach the children’s classes. But when we’re in a worship service, we’re in a religious service, based on what the scriptures teach, the guys do that.”

He said that his wife of 33 years would “not stick around if I was anti, you know, like that.”

“I mean, we are equal partners in everything," Hogue said.

Hogue is facing a protest on Tuesday from the group Women Organizing Women Democrats.

The group’s president, Debbie O’Reilly, told WFAA that they’re planning to protest outside of the Wylie City Council chambers.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/499289-texas-mayor-defends-comments-saying-women-shouldnt-lead-prayer

Women are not God's creation Abi? What a clown.

That Mayor is ignorant

edoairways:
That Mayor is ignorant

pls explain further, he gave us a Bible quote I'll like u to do the same

Enoch07:

pls explain further, he gave us a Bible quote I'll like u to do the same

Ignorant of what?

Enoch07:

pls explain further, he gave us a Bible quote I'll like u to do the same

If doesn't want women to preach he wouldn't have pour his spirit on them. He wouldn't have raised women evangelist in this era. Am sure God wasn't confused when he used Katherine Kumar to preach

edoairways:

If doesn't want women to preach he wouldn't have pour his spirit on them. He wouldn't have raised women evangelist in this era. Am sure God wasn't confused when he used Katherine Kumar to preach

You haven't answered the question Enoch07 posed.

Mayor Hogue offered two quotes from the Bible to substantiate his position.

What is the basis in scripture for your claim?

TrajansKong:

You haven't answered the question Enoch07 posed.

Mayor Hogue offered two quotes from the Bible to substantiate his position.

What is the basis in scripture for your claim?

The Mayor quoted Paul's statement out of context, in 1 Tim. 2:12, it states, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man" (NIV) . This verse is introduced by a statement that women should learn "in silence," and it is followed by the statement that "she must be silent." The word silence means being possessed by a calmness of spirit and peaceful disposition not preaching as asserted by the mayor. Paul does not expect that women will not or can not learn or teach (compare with Titus 2:3-5 and 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14,15). He states that they cannot teach or have authority over men. So this got nothing to do with preaching in public. There were women that assisted Paul in his ministry moreover Jesus gave the great commission to all ( not men alone) to preach the gospel to all nations of the earth. What Apostle Paul was referring to is women having authority over men which he condemned.

edoairways:

The Mayor quoted Paul's statement out of context, in 1 Tim. 2:12, it states, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man" (NIV) . This verse is introduced by a statement that women should learn "in silence," and it is followed by the statement that "she must be silent." The word silence means being possessed by a calmness of spirit and peaceful disposition not preaching as asserted by the mayor. Paul does not expect that women will not or can not learn or teach (compare with Titus 2:3-5 and 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14,15). He states that they cannot teach or have authority over men. So this got nothing to do with preaching in public. There were women that assisted Paul in his ministry moreover Jesus gave the great commission to all ( not men alone) to preach the gospel to all nations of the earth. What Apostle Paul was referring to is women having authority over men which he condemned.

Thank you for this response.
As a non-unbeliever I disagree with your positions on many things (including the status of women), but it is rare and good to get a clear Bible-based answer from an honest Christian.

TrajansKong:

Thank you for this response.
As a non-unbeliever I disagree with your positions on many things (including the status of women), but it is rare and good to get a clear Bible-based answer from an honest Christian.

Well you don't have to agree with all my points because Christianity goes beyond gathering of brethren. Constant fellowship with Jesus reveals deeper things that you and others can't comprehend except the matured Christians who had experienced similar fate. Shalom

.. The mayor is right.. Naso Bible talk am..