The mayor of a small town in Texas said that women should not lead prayers at City Council public meetings, pointing to two verses in the Bible which he said were meant to be taken literally.
In an email on Sunday to fellow Wylie City Council member Jeff Forrester, Mayor Eric Hogue urged that a man be chosen to lead the prayer at the next meeting on Tuesday.
“What I’m asking are those who lead public prayers are young men,” Hogue, who currently holds his last term as mayor after 12 years, writes. “As preachers for the Cottonwood Church of Christ, we take the two verses below literally.”
Hogue went on to quote a verse from 1 Corinthians which, according to his e-mail, said, “Let your women remain silent in the churches: therefore it is not permitted for them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as well as the word of the law. And if they are going to learn something, let them ask their husbands at home: because it is embarrassing for women to talk at church. “
He quoted another part of 1 Timothy which said, “Let the women learn in silence with all submission. But I did not suffer a woman to be taught, or to seize authority over the man, but to be in silence. “
The contents of the email, which Forrester said was released through an open note request, were posted on several Facebook pages related to Hogue’s politics, as well as to the page of the church where he was.
Hogue confirmed the authenticity of the email to WFAA-TV on Wednesday and doubled his belief.
“I believe a woman can become president of the United States,” Hogue said. “I believe a woman can be the CEO of a company, the school district overseer. But I believe, and here I am, when it comes to [picking] someone to lead a prayer at a meeting of the City Council, because of the two sets of verses, I will choose a man. “
Forrester said he had not seen Hogue underestimate women in nearly five years as a board member but said he was “surprised by the answer.”
“I certainly do not share that belief. I think we are all created equal in the eyes of God and in the eyes of our government,” Forrester said.
