Bishop Budde has been praised for being boldly outspoken at Trump’s first prayer service, but women in positions of power don’t always warrant celebration

‘As Christians, we consistently need to scrutinize the leanings of the cultural zeitgeist against the truth of scripture. Would the Bible have us believe Potiphar’s wife over Joseph or trust Delilah’s honey tinged sentiments?’ asks Hope Bonarcher as she considers Bishop Marian Budde’s sermon alongside Queen Athaliah, the little known Queen of Judah.

Recently, at a prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, Episcopal Bishop Budde commanded headlines when she took the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump to task on his capacity to have mercy for  “gay, lesbian and transgender children,” as well as illegal immigrants.

Knowing a little bit myself about the precarious positions of the Episcopal church in America, like it’s unbiblical teachings on same sex marriage, I wasn’t surprised to see the controversy. What did alert my attention was the number of Christians in my social media feed who championed bishop Budde by mere fact of her being a boldly outspoken woman in leadership.