[Note from BibleTexts.com: The question/insight below is from a fellow participants in an Ordination of Women email forum in which I participate. Charlie Perrin (Charles.Perrin@ecunet.org), Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, responded to the question. His response is produced here with Charlie's permission.]

Question/insight #74:

By calling only males to be his Apostles, Jesus established the tradition [of male-only Apostles]. Now I know people have offered a number of reasons for his choice, and these reasons seek to show that the choices Jesus made were not normative for all places and times. Personally I don't find them very convincing, particularly ones that suggest Jesus had no other option.

Guest Response #74 from Charles Perrin, Episcopal Diocese of Long Island:

Here's a suggestion. Remember that what we possess for Scripture is that which was passed along and recorded. Maybe the women were "left on the cutting room floor" to use an analogy from motion pictures. Could be. After all as the Church worked to form its theology, there were "winners" and "losers". The winners were declared "orthodox" and the losers were declared "heretics" and their works were destroyed (mostly). Some of Tertullian's stuff made it, and so did some of Origen's. But for the most part this is how it happened.