The Ordination of Women
From the comic Non Sequitur, by Wiley
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I'm not even sure why still ORDAIN people... Are we not ALL OF US Priests?? I think we should just stop that practice or revise to something more relevant to our times.
ReplyDeleteOrdination? I think the problem comes not so much with ordination as with the ordinand. Too often they believe themselves to be God Almighty speaking. (Benny Hinn is a good example).
ReplyDeleteWe do need theologically well educated men and women to lead. Ultimately, whether we ordain or not they are going to end up with some or other title - whether it be 'pastor', 'Father', 'Reverend' 'Team leader', 'Director' or whatever.
I am not so sure that I can agree with Paul regarding the priesthood of all believers. I have taught for years and have discovered that many people will never attain to that status, simply because they are followers and not leaders.
Perhaps Paul is talking about an activity to be aimed for - the church certainly has not reached that point.
Adventism's sense of "ordination" reflects medieval sensibilities far more than anything in the Bible. If we followed the Bible's example, we'd ordain people who'd just joined the church (like Jesus did His disciples) and ordain them for all manner of spiritual gifts, from architecture to cooking.
ReplyDeletethis shows just how much of the "mother church" we still hold dear...
ReplyDeleteThat cartoon is so funny it hurts! While I agree with much of what is said here about ordination, the cold hard fact of the matter is that, when it comes to role of the pastor, the SDA church continues to "ordain" men and withhold "ordination" from women, with all manner of devastating results. So while it is nice to side-step the issue with a call to a more biblical understanding of ordination, I do find it most interesting that this call only tends to get made when the question of women's ordination comes up!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a female pastor.
ReplyDeleteIf we had a more biblical understanding of ordination, the gender side of it would be moot.
ReplyDeleteWith the obviously influential role of women throughout scripture and in the early Christian Church, and even early Adventism, it still strikes me as somewhat of a hypocritical argument, and a frustrating on at that.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let there be no doubt - women should be ordained. Plain and simple. I am all for the ordination of women. In my opinion, the phrase, "allowing the ordination of women" is in itself a shame. As if we men have the supremacy of "allowing" women to do anything...
Ironically, though, how many people here (of the male species) automatically had their spouse (of the female persuasion) take their last name? And it was just assumed that the wife would be named after the husband? You know, "I now pronounce you Mr. & Mrs. Husband"? How many men on this blog would be willing to take their wife's last name?
My point, until 100% equity and equality between the sexes is obtained within the church, this argument will forever be on the table. Does that mean we should quit the fight? GOD FORBID!
Most religions and societies today are patriarchal. Islam. Judaism. Christianity. Hinduism. Arranged marriages. Fathers being the head of the house. Imams. Rabbis. Priests and Bishops. Popes. Conference Presidents. This list could go on and on.
My point? Ordination is NOT the issue. It's a band aid to make us feel better. The bigger issue is this:
26 Then God said, "Let us make human beings* in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground." 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground." ~Gen 1:26-28 NLT
Sounds like a divinely ordained (pun intended) equal partnership to me!