The longer I live the more I realize that things are always changing around us; whether or not we want to admit it. We don’t like change. It must be in our genetic makeup to want to keep things like they are. Even my five year old grandson hates change. It’s just normal.
If you are a religious person you might have more trouble accepting change. It doesn’t matter what religion you follow. If you truly believe in the tenants of it, you don’t want anything to change what you have always been taught. Unfortunately, even religions have a way of changing. We shouldn’t expect things to stay the way they are; not even there. The Catholic Church is a great denier of change. They really would like for things to still be done the way they were during Constantine’s time. There was great grumbling and dissention when the mass began to be said in English and other languages instead of in Latin which hardly anyone studies anymore. The common people, it was believed, did not really need to be able to read and understand the words of God or his people, they were just supposed to listen to the priest and do what he said. The big problem with that was that some of the priests couldn’t really be trusted not to translate the words of God so that they said what was beneficial to them.
Then there was the sale of indulgences. It wasn’t bad enough that people had to worry about going to Purgatory and then Hell; now they had to worry about finding enough money to pay the priest off so that they wouldn’t go there; or maybe not just stay there as long.
Women in the Catholic Church have always been subservient; lesser than men. It didn’t seem to matter to the creators of the Christian religion and their landmark church that the person the religion was supposed to be based on regarded men and women as equals. In fact, they chose to over look this fact altogether. This is one of the changes that will probably never happen in the Catholic Church. They will never let a woman become a priest or serve the sacraments. That’s pretty extraordinary when you consider that multiple women traveled with Jesus during his ministry and helped him serve the people who listen to him. They were also among the group of disciples that were challenged to go into all the world and teach the people. They were given the same rights and abilities as the men disciples. I guess they just thought that was unimportant.
It has also served the Catholic Church to keep their priests celibate. I think they would be better served to be as other versions of the Christian religion and let their leaders marry. The rule hasn’t stopped the men who act as the Church fathers from having women in their lives or even fathering children. It is historical fact that some former Popes in history have had large families. No one seemed to care (except maybe the woman who couldn’t be married to the man she had her family with). There have been terrible scandals with abuse of young boys in the Catholic Church but the great ones in charge have managed to keep it quiet or hide the evidence whenever possible. Perhaps if open liaisons were possible there would be no abuse. Did Jesus or God say that the priests of the church had to be celibate? NO.
There is no place in the Bible that mandates those in God’s service to deny themselves marriage or family. But that as well as the ban on women being priests works well to keep things from changing in a large corporation where the male in charge doesn’t have to worry about his underlings acting against him.
Change is not acceptable in other religions either. Those of us here are supposed to accept that the interpretation and directions of the people in charge are right. If the religion uses its holy words to teach that women are less than men; accept it. If it teaches war against unbelievers; accept it. If it teaches don’t eat meat; accept it. We are not supposed to question or expect change.
I don’t much like change; I have said that before. There are some things that really need to be changed and maybe; just maybe; we should consider it and not hide behind ancient ways.

Author's Bio: 

PD Rivers has done extensive study in religions of the world. She likes to list the ways that all religions are alike and how it would be easy for them all to come together if they just would try. She is a freelance writer who ghostwrites for those who can't seem to put things into words.