Wonderful Post. Thank you for sharing this with us. I hope that many read and grasp what you are saying.

After studying this weeks lesson .... I am proud that our church saw the necessity to share and study the way God uses women in the Bible and in our modern times. I am glad to see them promoting more and more the need to utilize the gifts of all of God's people. And bring the 3AM to all people.

It is interesting that even my nation is just beginning to see that a woman could answer the "3AM call to the White House". Whether it is Hillary or Sarah ... they are seeing the qualities of a woman leader. I hope the church will follow suit.

There truly is neither Jew not Greek ... male nor female .... in God's kingdom.

I appreciate the Godly women that serve Him with a gentle & quite spirit (1 Peter 3). I also appreciate the sisters that respect the role differentiations that God has set up.

The qualifications for an Elder exclude most men and all women. God knows His reasons for this. It is not our place to rebel, but to yield to God's instruction in this matter.


Warm regards,


og

By what mandate are you equating the role of "elder" with the role of "pastor"?

Give us some Biblical reasons.

Graeme

I have seen this discussion many times. One viewpoint I have not seen is how ordination of Women would effect the evangelism in the world church. I am told by people in our fast growing areas that if women were ordained this would seriously hurt the work abroad. Is it really worth it? IF there is a chance this will damage our work overseas, isn't that reason enough to drop the issue?
Also the world church has voted against it. Do we respect the democratic process or do we just plow ahead and do what WE think is right?

Is there any element of selfishness in this movement?

The answer is ... do it where it is needed and accepted by culture and don't do it where it is not.

>>A technological advance or superiority does not translate into being better people spiritually or morally, which is the important point in our discussion about women's position in the church.<<

Note my adverbial ‘however’, which concedes that point.



>>The facts argue the case that we in the West have more "things," greater wealth in terms of possessions, and have made technological progress, but I would make the argument that we have not kept pace with moral or spiritual health or conformity to the will of God.<<

That may be; however, who, other than ‘we Westerners’ have more truly fulfilled the Great Commission?

The assumption in the original post in the thread is based on a rumor. Is there any evidence at all available on which we can test that rumor? Any evidence at all of such a 'ban'?

This thread could be classified as gossip ... right Stan?

When dealing with this topic, often more heat then light is generated. Having studied this topic since the late 60's, being related to the first woman who was an ordained chaplin in the US Army, and having dicovered many passages that are not commonly recognized, I could write a book (which I have) on the topic.

In all kindness, there was an error of historical events in the post I am replying to. Ellen White never recieved the oil of human ordination. To claim otherwise undermines her position as a prophet of God. Allow me to illustrate.

If someone is ordained as a pastor, do they have to be ordained as a deacon in order to function as such?

And another issue. If God has called someone, is that call dependent upon humans ratifying it by also calling them?

In brief, the subject of who should be ordained is mentioned in the vast majority of the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I know of no other topic that has as much space dedicated to it in God's word. Surprised? So was I when I discovered it. Why, then has it not been recognized sooner?

1. Why was not the seventh day Sabbath recognized sooner the Rachael Oaks Preston?

2. Why did those who were preaching the second coming of Jesus in the early 1800's not understand the "mistake" of the date of 1844?

3. When translators gave us a translation of the Bible from Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek to whatever language one reads it in, they handled original words in three ways.

a. They translated words from the original language to the target language.

b. They "transliterated" words from the original language to the target language.

c. They "illustrated" the concepts presented into examples of how the principle was applied in other times.

These are the reasons why this topic has not been recognized sooner.

Just one more point. The issue is NOT whether women can be ordained. The real issue is two fold.

1. Will we do things God's way or the way humans do it?
2. The issue in God's word is not the gender of who is ordained, rather their qualifications. Gender is only one point in the list.

This is only a very brief overview of a huge topic. If more information is desired, I'll be happy to share. It is all from God's word.

Happy Sabbath

Maranatha :)
Ray