What does Ellen White tell us about the the designed relation between Adam and Eve and the effect of the Fall upon that relationship? Pastor John Witcombe takes a brief look in “The Curse That Redeems.” FIND IT HERE
Category: Seventh-day Adventist Church
The July 2013 issue of Ministry magazine, a journal published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and mailed to clergy of all Christian denominations, contained an article by Nancy Vyhmeister, titled “Junia the Apostle” (pp. 6-9). The cover artwork features an image of a smiling woman, presumably and supposedly a representation of this “apostle.” If you have never heard this person (Junia) described as a female apostle before now, you are not alone. However, among those endeavoring to find support for women to serve in male-sex specific roles, it is no new idea that this person must have been a female apostle.
Pastor Mike Lambert received his copy of Ministry this month, too (all Seventh-day Adventist clergy are mailed a copy of the magazine each month). When he saw the cover and its claim, he investigated. The brief article that follows here is pastor Lambert’s frank reaction to the arguments offered. FIND IT HERE.
On May 30, 2013 the Netherlands Union Executive Committee voted to ordain female pastors, but kept this decision secret until July 5, 2013. They claim they felt their action necessary to make a point of recognizing women as equal to men. Consider this part of their statement:
In the end, this decision was the result of weighing the principle of unity against the principle of equality. Other possibilities were also discussed, including the option of not ordaining any pastors until the world church recognises equality, and the option of waiting until the upcoming session of the General Conference of the world church to reach a decision. Ultimately it was decided that from June 1st, 2013 all ordained and commissioned pastors, regardless of gender, will be considered ordained in the Netherlands” (http://www.adventist.nl/2013/07/06/netherlands-union-conference-votes-to-ordain-female-pastors/, accessed 2013-07-07).
In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, ordination grants the individual an authority in the church that is global in nature, not merely local. The world church—not local unions—looks to the Scriptures to determination qualifications for ordination. Because of the biblical counsel concerning spiritual leadership, one of the requirements for ordination is that an individual be male.
For 2,000 years the church has discerned that men and women are equal, yet called to different roles. No union has the authority to redefine “equality” for the world church. In addition, there is cause for concerned over any “principle of equality” that is seen to be of greater authority than the “principle of unity.” The Netherlands Union offered no explanation for the basis of their superior “principle of equality.”
Unions are entrusted to discern which male candidates meet the qualifications which the world church has set forth for those who shall be ordained. In exceeding its authority, the Netherlands Union stands in defiance of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It has acted unilaterally and in disregard to previous world church actions (1990, 1995 GC sessions) refusing to grant unions the right to ordain whomever they wished. The present, high-handed action of the Netherlands Union, constitutes a current example set before church members and before the world, of disunity, rebellion and apostasy.
Categories
Biblical Interpretation Daniel Augsberger Denis Fortin Donna Jeane Haerich Elizabeth Shussler-Fiorenza Ellen G. White Feminist Theology Foundations of Women's Ordination Gender Hermeneutic of Suspicion Heteropatriarchalism Heterosexism Historical-Critical Method Homosexuality Jacques Doukhan Jerry Moon Jo Ann Davidson Larry Kirkpatrick Larry Richards Mainstream Feminist Theology Nancy Vyhmeister North American Division (NAD) Patriarchy Paul Jewett Peter van Bemmelen Randall Wisbey Raymond F. Cottrell Richard Davidson Rio Document 1986 Robert Johnston Rosemary Radford Ruether Russell Staples Seminary Seventh-day Adventist Church The President's Report The Welcome Table Trisha Famisaran Walter Douglass Women in Ministry
Foundations of Women's Ordination, part 7: Feminist Theology in Adventism
Part 7 in an 8 part series offers reviews of The Welcome Table and of Women in Ministry, the two most prominent pro-Women’s Ordination books published in the Adventist Church. After the first six articles in the series, this one at last brings things together to show how Feminist Theology has manifest itself in the Adventist Church. FIND IT HERE.