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My Opinion on Women Ordination

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." 
Isaiah 8:20
 
Women’s ordination today is as popular as liberal social issues are in American Christianity and politics. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, particularly some Conferences and Unions in the NAD have been pushing hard for women ordination in disregard to the General Conference's authority and overwhelming vote in the opposite direction. But ultimately what is at stake here are not votes, by-laws, policies or actions by this or other Conference. No one would question that 11 Divisions voted against women ordination and only 2 voted in favor two GCs ago. But that vast majority IS the body of Christ deciding the role of women with "full ecclesiastical authority" (ordination according to the Spirit of Prophecy). However that started by slow escalation of authority from ordination of female elders and  deaconesses, so now leaders use that as justification for equal ordination of women to the pastoral ministry. Little by little we gave away the beauty and simplicity of the Scriptures for complexities and fluidity of policies.
 
What is at stake here is the integrity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church core of solid, Biblical unshakable set of fundamental beliefs. #1: The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history. However the part wants to command the body and they are doing it because they can…unfortunately. By pushing, twisting and turning every piece of rule to accommodate their intent these leaders of some Conferences and Unions will vote after vote, meeting after meeting continue until their goal is accomplished. How many times do we need to vote "No" to women's ordination? The answer is simple: We'll continue to bring it up for vote until it becomes a "Yes", starting with female elders, deaconesses and then pastors. Brothers and Sisters, this will deeply divide the Church, not bring unity, because the vast majority of the body of Christ (the vast population of 11 Divisions) does not believe is this unbiblical, un-Adventist and unseemly fallacy.

This is a sign of something deeper and more pervasive. At the heart of the issue is that truth is no longer absolute. The Scriptures are no longer the infallible revelation of His will. Not according to some leaders. The discernment between truth and lie is no longer a bright line but a wide gray zone that is getting wider by the day. So wide that people do not see any difference in the sanctity of priesthood well written and articulated in the Bible from another form based on human wicked thinking. Just because someone is or was a great leader, male or female, that does not give him/her the right to officiate in the temple. Remember when that unfortunate man tried to catch the ark falling off the cart? He actually died on the spot. Why? Simple: God told them not to touch the ark. Period! 
Clear truth is no longer acceptable. That is too radical nowadays as the church has "evolved" and the firmness of pillars of principles are no longer that firm. After all, we need to be flexible with our cultural diversity. As if the Bible was written with versions for social adaptation...We now have human rationalization use of scriptures in lieu exegesis. Now society commands and demands truth to adapt and we say: Amen! Even at the cost of changing the real meaning of words such as "discrimination" which somehow became an ugly word although is expressed in the Bible abundantly. There is the saved and the lost. There is sheep and the goat. There is the holy and unholy. There are those that love Him and keep His commandments and those that want to do away with His commandments. There are those that do the will of God and there are those that follow their own will. God throughout the Bible makes clear distinction between those who follow Him and those who follow their own ways.   
 
This push for women ordination is based on popular social forces other than the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. The misconception is that although man and women are the same before God they have different and distinct roles, therefore they are not equal in the latter sense. We have become a church that embraces social issues ("not mission…") that plagues popular Christianity rather than the solid, strong Biblical truth centered church with a focus on the three angel’s message.  

What has made some leaders in church wonder off our basics? Think about the quality and formation of our leaders these days. Look honestly at our progress in America in terms of baptisms, church growth and expansion that has been nothing short of a disappointing and utterly failure. Mathematically we are not able to even keep our own children in the church, so it is understandable why some are desperate. We all should be! Now, in spite of an anemic baptismal record (Hispanics aside) the two Divisions that are performing terribly compared to the rest of the world (US and Europe) coincidentally are the ones pushing hard for ordination of women. That off course is in disregard for the vast majority of the body that has this terrible habit of insisting on sticking with the Bible and requiring nothing less than a "thou sayest the Lord" or "it is written"! It just happens that these areas are the ones growing by leaps and bounds!  That ought to tell something to Pastors that use little or no Bible and Spirit of Prophecy in their sermons, but rather make Internet their center of thoughtless sermon preparation.  

 Having a popular false idea muddying our truth is nothing new. One single popular idea concerning Daniel 8:14 that the earth was the sanctuary was enough for the great deception of the Millerite movement. One little mistake can sour the entire truth. But if the Church leadership can use a set of poorly articulated, social pleaser, unfounded arguments with pseudo theological grounds, then we can prepare ourselves for the wave of arguments that will come against Sanctuary and primarily against the Sabbath, because enemies of truth have been using the same reasoning and rationale for several decades. The fact that there are no women ordained to priesthood in the Bible is the same reason why there is no Sunday as a day of keeping: It is just not there! In the end, if you can ordain a woman without solid Biblical reason to have "full ecclesiastical authority" and in vain worship Him, then you can keep Sunday on the same grounds.

This fear of discrimination based on gender and what others will say about us is an open door for lawlessness. The next question then is: What types of gender are we referring to? In my opinion, this is setting the path to apostasy and heresy. Forget what we think, or what policies say. The social and popular Christianity will dictate some of our leader’s next steps again in a near future - God help us! They already found the way. 
 
 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by JohnB on July 28, 2012 at 8:32am

Man Flower Glow, it is not about who can preach in the church. You do not have to been ordained to preach.

Permalink Reply by SAbrina DEan on July 23, 2012 at 9:40am

When sin took place in the garden of Eden, Satan chose to take revenge through Eve. Why? Because she was the last creation of God. He knew that when He touched her this would cause a domino effect and everything thus scrambled and scattered. When Jesus came He took birth in the womb of Virgin Mary that is ok !!  But read, study and count the number of women Jesus has been in contact with during His mission on earth. Knew also the number of time He has been forgiving a woman, When He was resurected He was visited by women. Before leaving to Heaven after being resurrected He met with Mary and what He told her ..? Go and tell your brothers about the good news!! He requested Mary not to touch Him because He has not gone to his Father yet. He has empowered women a lot and He has also been surrounded by many women whom He has given lot of blessings and assitance. When the Laodice church was about to expire He saved it by extending that church to that of our existing church : The Seventh Day Adventist Church and the voice of Prophecy  was given to a woman: Sister White. If woman has got that much commitment and dedication and when God has proclaimed that we are equal it should be given to women the opportunities to be ordained to mark their path. Women has got brain to learn theology and they have good communication skills and more. It has been a tradition for men to be ordained so why not break this streotype?  I would like to raise the attention that is not a question of gender issue but rather the talent given to both woman and man to be in the same position while they can both serve the Lord with sincere love to gain souls to Him.

In the previous centuries there no proper education were given to women so they were not prepared now with evolution woman is better prepared and assumed this responsibility at its fullest!!!

Permalink Reply by Ray Phillips on July 24, 2012 at 10:51am

Sabrina

You posted:

"When Jesus came He took birth in the womb of Virgin Mary that is ok !!

 How else could Jesus be "born" into the human race and be fully human?

They you posted:

"But read, study and count the number of women Jesus has been in contact with during His mission on earth. Knew also the number of time He has been forgiving a woman, When He was resurected He was visited by women. Before leaving to Heaven after being resurrected He met with Mary and what He told her ..? Go and tell your brothers about the good news!! He requested Mary not to touch Him because He has not gone to his Father yet. He has empowered women a lot and He has also been surrounded by many women whom He has given lot of blessings and assitance."

This use of empirical evidence to reach a conclusion, when it is contrary to express instruction, is not valid when seeking for truth.  Sure God has used women in all ages to present truth.  Anyone who has become a child of God is His representative.  But, no more are all of His representatives ordained now,  then they were in Israel.  Only those who meet specific requirements are qualified to be ordained.  To do otherwise is sin.  See 1 Kings 13:33, 34.

Then you posted:

"When the Laodice church was about to expire He saved it by extending that church to that of our existing church :"

There is no church that extends beyound the Laodicean church.  The SDA church is the Laodicean church.

Then you posted:

The Seventh Day Adventist Church and the voice of Prophecy  was given to a woman: Sister White.

The SDA church was not given to any human being, not even Ellen White.  She was given to the church, the church was not given to her.

Then you posted:

" If woman has got that much commitment and dedication and when God has proclaimed that we are equal it should be given to women the opportunities to be ordained to mark their path."

If God wants women to be ordained, He would have stated that in the beginning, or He would have prophesied that it would happen and then given instructions as to how it was to be accomplished.  The Bible is totally silent about any such change and there is no instructions for such a change.  Humans do not have the authority to "correct" a "mistake" that they feel God may have made.

Then you posted:

"Women has got brain to learn theology and they have good communication skills and more."

It is true that women have the brains to learn theology, it is just too bad that they do not learn it.  For a major part of theology is in knowing God.  In fact, that is what the word means: "God knowledge."  For them to not be able to see in the Bible that God has never authorized the ordination of women, and in fact has placed a death sentence on this practice a number of times in the Bible, the last being in Revelation, does not speak well to their learning power.  If they did learn theology, they would shun ordinaiton like the plauge.  It is not too smart to seek for something that will cause  you to loose eternal life.

Then you posted:

" It has been a tradition for men to be ordained so why not break this streotype?"

 Why not break the traditions of"

  • one man, one woman, one God for one life" too? 
  • Why not break the tradition of keeping the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord our God? 
  • Why not break the tradition of not committing adultery, or not stealing, or not coveting? 

All of these were given by the same God and all have an equal claim on our allegiance to Him.

Then you posted:

"I would like to raise the attention that is not a question of gender issue but rather the talent given to both woman and man to be in the same position while they can both serve the Lord with sincere love to gain souls to Him."

Well, you are close.  You are correct that it is not a gender issue, but then you go off track.  Neither is it a talent issue or a spiritual gift issue, nor a witnessing issue.  It is, however, a love for God issue.  If we love Him, we will keep His commandments. See Exodus 7:9; 8:2; Deut. 13:4; 30:10, 16; Joshua 22:5; 1 Kings 8:58, 61; etc., Eccl 12:13; Daniel 9:4; 1 John 2:3; 3:22; 5:2, 3.  If we break His commandments, it shows that we do not love Him.  So, you cannot have love for God and desire that women be ordained at the same time.  They just are total opposites.  It is like saying that you can have a white/black dress.  It can not be totally both at the same time.

Then you said:

"In the previous centuries there no proper education were given to women so they were not prepared now with evolution woman is better prepared and assumed this responsibility at its fullest!!!"

Even if that were true, the educational level is not a criteria for ordination.  Ellen White was ordained by God and she only had a 5th grade education, or close to that.  In fact, the highly educated Paul had to take a post graduate course in the wilderness to unlearn much of what the had learned when he sat at the feet of Gamaliel.  The teacher in the wilderness was Jesus.  That is the post graduate course we all need to take.  So, educational level is not a point on either side of the question.

As a side note.  Women were more highly educated in the past then is commonly recognized.  This is another misrepresentation of the feminist movement.  If its leaders are that knowledgeable, they would know that.

 

Maranatha :)
Ray

 

Permalink Reply by SAbrina DEan on July 25, 2012 at 9:14am

Thank you very much for this step wise analysis Ray. Very thought full indeed.Ok woman should not be ordained pastor.I would now ask you to please consider this: In Lestho the majority of women are well educated and they are well accepted as leaders. My point is that if given the opportunity to lead women show her best to educate others and she can assume this responsibility.Not being pastors has been a condition respected since years and I will always respect what the Holy Bible has taught us. But women got brain!!

Permalink Reply by Ray Phillips on July 25, 2012 at 11:53am

Sabrina

You posted:

"But women got brain!!"

If women have brains, and I am not insinuating that they do not, then they will avoid ordination like the plauge.  Wild horses should not be able to draggggggg them into a condition that will cause them to loose eternal life. 

  • This is not an issue of abilities, but qualifications. 
  • This is not a case of "need" but of submission. 
  • This is not a gender issue, but a case of living a right example of submission to God. (Something that women have not excelled men in all through history.)

I find it a little amusing.  The claim has been made that men have done such a bad job, therefore, women need to be ordained in order to bring balance and progress to the ministry. 

Why is that funny?

Because, the reason men have done a bad job is that they were ordained when they did not qualify as elders or pastors.  They did not have God's blessing on their ministry.  They often were responsible for good and qualified men to be dismissed from the ministry, by their self centered practices.  Oh, they may have appeared to do a good job, but most of those men are among those who have capitulated when the test came regarding ordaining women. 

So, how can women really believe that they will do a better job when they do not qualify?  Will the Holy Spirit bless their minstry when it did not bless the unqualified men's ministry? 

 

Let's get real.  This is a sin problem, not a gender issue.  NEWS FLASH!!!  Both genders are all sinners.  Therefore, to just replace one sinner with another sinner does not really make much sense, when you stop and think about it.  Why not only ordain those who God has approved of and who meet the qualifications He has established?  These qualifications include that the candidate be a male.

 

So, it is not a case of "giving women a chance."  It is a case of returning to obedience to God's revealed will.  God created both genders.  He knows what women can and cannot do, and the same for men too.  It was God who assigned the ordained positions to men, not some good ole boys male club.  So, when a person fights that point of qualification for ordination, they are in reality fighting God, not a very brainy idea.

The very fact that a woman beives she is being called by God to be an ordained elder or pastor, shows that she is not following the God of heaven and therefore is not qualified to be ordained in the Adventist church. 


Maranatha :)
Ray

 

Permalink Reply by Ray Phillips on July 25, 2012 at 2:07pm

Sabrina

 

You are asking good questions.  Just now as I was working on Hebrews, a thought came up, which I have noted before, but it had slipped my mind, which is this. 

Speaking of Jesus, Paul writes:

    "Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law."  Hebrews 8:4 ESV

This is what I mean by the issue being one of submission, not of gender.  This is the test of submission that God has established to see who will give up earthly glory, honor and power just because He asks them too. 

Jesus passed that test, in that He did not seek to be a priest, even though He had greater power then any priest who has ever served.  He did nothing on His own initiative, John 5:30 NASB, instead He only did what His Father told Him to do.  As a result of His submission, God has made Him a high priest forever after the order of Melchezidex.

Now, if Jesus could not be a priest/pastor, then why should women be all pushed out of shape becasue they are not able to be ordained to a similar office?  The reason is that many women today have the Eve Complex.  They want to be equal with God, call the shots and not submit to anyone.  The Eve Complex is described in Genesis 3. 

     "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  Genesis 3:5 (ESV) 


 Satan promised that Eve would be like God, Satan is promising women today that if they can just be ordained, they will be like men.  However, in challenging God's requirements, they are in fact just like Eve, wanting to be like God.

This problem is not limited to the fairer sex, but that is the issue that needs to be noted in the clamor to ordain women.  Will we submit to God's revealed will?  Or will we place our opinions above what God has said?

 

Maranatha :)
Ray

 

Permalink Reply by JohnB on July 28, 2012 at 10:16am

No-one is denying that there is a work for women to do. That has never been an issue for those anti-WO. You need to understand what the arguments actually are.

God set apart gender-roles from creation. By making women the ones that bear children did He discriminate between men and women?

Why is there an insistence that women and men must do everything with equivalence? Yet you even quote from Ellen White where she says that God will give some women a power that exceeds that of men. If EGW says they will receive that power without ordination - why then push for ordination?

The religion that God established in the Children of Israel was radically different from all the other religions around it. He could have included priestesses as well as priests in the sanctuary service but He didn't. All the other religions had priests and priestesses but His religion did not. He portrayed Himself solely as male. All the other religions had male and female aspects of their god but the Children of Israel knew God as male, only.

When Christ came He also had the opportunity to, and did, radically reorganise the Church. He taught that we should relate to God not just as male but as our Father in heaven, not as our Mother. He told us that we should call God, Father. Christ left His Church to be a bride whilst He, as bridegroom, went to a far land. His Church is represented as a pure woman in prophecy and He likens His relationship with His Church as that of a man with a woman.

From the Genesis to Revelation this distinction has remained and in the church from the Early Church up to the 20th century this distinction remained. The "priesthood" continued unchanged from Judaism to Christianity as a male one. None of this prevented women working in the churches. The only thing that has changed is the "equal rights" and "feminism" movements of the world that now attempt to make every aspect of society fit according to their own gospel. 

Rather than changing the church according to the new gospel of humanism and equality we should be asking why we are accountable to the gods of this world rather than remaining accountable to the God of all creation. Will ordaining women make them more able to labour for God? If women want to work then let them work. Will ordination as a pastor make a woman any more able to work than Ellen White was? The Columbia Union fully accepts that she was never ordained by men so why do women working in the Columbian Union today need that? Why not just work?

...or, could it be that men, being ordained, receive more money than women doing an equivalent job? Could it be that men have tax advantages from being ordained that unordained women cannot have? Or perhaps that a disgruntled employee is refused parity of pay and sues a denomination business which causes it to have to pay over $600,000 in back pay? Perhaps, in the rush to comply with the laws on equality of pay and the flush of victory for women's rights we forgot to consider whether we had strayed into God's territory when we decided to change the way His Church is structured? The solution to unequal pay practices should be to remove that practice not to change our theology to suit the economy.

Permalink Reply by Mark Silva on July 27, 2012 at 3:45pm
This is not a matter of stereotype or education. The issue is the full ecclesiastical authority which was issued to man. Prophets and priests are not the same. A priest can prophesies but a prophet may not assume a priest function unless ordained for it. Evolution is unrelated to women ordination issue but what has been established already and we simply refuse to accept.
Permalink Reply by Daughter of God on July 27, 2012 at 10:03pm

@Sabrina

The education issue does not rely apply here.. Hebrew women were educated, and just like the little boys were required to memorize the scripture by the age of 12. It was not a matter of education or naivety that made God set this rule in place, but rather a symbol (in addition to the fact that Eve stared this whole business)... It is not much different than the fact that man is to be the head of the household.. 

(Genesis   3 : 16   Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thyhusband, and he shall rule over thee. )

The man of the house it to be the "priest" of the house and we the bride.. He was to preform all sacrifices on behalf of his family at the alter, before the temple was built. We see various examples of this in scripture (Job, Abraham..ect..)... God has used symbolism to teach us from the beginning, and this is not different.. 

That being said one must ask "What happened in the temple services when any part o God's symbolism was violated ?" Here is one of many examples of the answer to that question.. Leviticus 10:1-2 "1  And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. 2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. " It was only after the death of Christ that God put an end to the symbol, and when He did it He made it clear and obvious, speaking via His prophets.. Where as with female pastors we have been instructed to make no such change, because the type, and symbol is still in play.. And even if one thinks there is wiggle room assumptions have been the downfall of many, and may also be the downfall of our church if we are not careful..

Permalink Reply by Sarah Sulton on July 28, 2012 at 1:01pm

PREACH SABRINA!!!!! ^ _ ^

Permalink Reply by Scobs on July 23, 2012 at 1:55pm

Live long Mark... 

What has made some leaders in church wonder off our basics? Think about the quality and formation of our leaders these days. ... That off course is in disregard for the vast majority of the body that has this terrible habit of insisting on sticking with the Bible and requiring nothing less than a "thou sayest the Lord" or "it is written"! It just happens that these areas are the ones growing by leaps and bounds!  That ought to tell something to Pastors that use little or no Bible and Spirit of Prophecy in their sermons, but rather make Internet their center of thoughtless sermon preparation.  .... and therefore a way of life Mark.
...and by the way, we now have (in Africa) pockets here and there of similar voices echoing the minority stand point on this matter (even at the face of such opposition from the vast majority).
May man and women who fear the Lord follow His word and remain unchanged on this and other areas of importance in God's church.  God bless.
Permalink Reply by Ray Phillips on July 23, 2012 at 7:45pm

Scobs

 

You posted to Mark:

"What has made some leaders in church wonder off our basics?"

That is easy, but sad.  Their own ordination was not according to God's plan, or they have become proud of their position and have fallen from where they once were.

 

I applaude your position that we need to stay true to God's word.

 

Maranatha :)
Ray

 

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