[This article is excerpted from the author’s book Must We Be Silent?]
By
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, PhD
Director, Public Campus Ministries, Michigan Conference
Introduction
Among other things, in parts 1 and 2 of this discussion, we challenged the questionable claims by proponents of women’s ordination that there were women priests in the Old Testament and women apostles in the New Testament. In this final installment, we shall examine another innovative interpretation by pro-ordination scholars within our church—namely, the claim that Phoebe was a “female minister” and that there might have been other “women ministers” in the New Testament.
Phoebe: A “Female Minister”?
In Romans 16:1, 2, the apostle Paul writes: “I commend unto you Ph[o]ebe our sister, which is a servant [diakonos] of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in...
[This article is excerpted from the author’s book Must We Be Silent?]
By
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, PhD
Director, Public Campus Ministries, Michigan Conference
Introduction
In part 1 of this discussion, we examined the questionable claim that there were “women priests” in the Old Testament. We also looked at the new interpretation by proponents of women’s ordination that the biblical teaching of “priesthood of all believers” eliminates gender-role distinctions. In the course of the discussion we considered the case of women prophets like Miriam, Huldah, and Deborah. In this present article, we shall consider some other innovative claims by advocates of women’s ordination—namely, the claim that there were women leaders and apostles in the New Testament.
Jesus and the Ministry of...
[This article is excerpted from the author’s book Must We Be Silent?]
By
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, PhD
Director, Public Campus Ministries, Michigan Conference
Until the publication of the controversial pro-ordination book Women in Ministry, Seventh-day Adventist students of the Bible have always recognized the lack of Biblical precedence for ordaining women. They observed that, despite the significant role of women in ministry, women were not ordained as priests in the Old Testament.
Also, though women made major contributions to the ministry of Christ, He did not appoint a single one of them as an apostle; further, when a replacement apostle was sought (Acts 1:15-26), even though women were present and surely met most of the requirements set (vv. 21, 22), it was a male who was chosen.
In...
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, Ph.D.
Director, Public Campus Ministries, Michigan Conference
Introduction
In part 1, we discussed the evolving or changing arguments used to support women's ordination, summarizing both the liberal-feminist arguments and the "Evangelical-feminist" arguments as represented in the books The Welcome Table [1995] and Women in Ministry [1998], respectively. This present article is a continuation of the discussion. In view of the confusing, sometimes plausible-sounding, arguments being advanced for women’s ordination, it is important that we identify the crucial issues that are at stake and find out what the Bible has to say on the issues.
What are the crucial issues in the decision the church faces regarding ordaining women as elders or pastors? This section will...
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, Ph.D.
Director, Public Campus Ministries, Michigan Conference
Introduction
In the previous discussions (parts 1, 2, and 3), we looked at: (i) the evolving (and sometimes conflicting) arguments for women's ordination, (ii) what the key issues are (and are not) in the debate over women's ordination, and (iii) what the Bible teaches about gender-role differentiation between men and women, when such a role distinction originated (whether at Creation or Fall), and whether it is still applicable today. The issues addressed in (iii) above concern spiritual leadership or headship in the home and the church. In this present article, we shall attempt to explain why the Bible gives no evidence of women priests in the Old Testament, nor women apostles, elders or pastors in the New Testament....
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, Ph.D.
Director, Public Campus Ministries, Michigan Conference
Introduction
In parts 1 and 2 of this article, we looked at how proponents of women's ordination keep changing their arguments and, in view of these evolving arguments, we identified some crucial theological issues at stake in the ongoing debate. One of the key issues concerns whether or not the Bible prescribes gender roles and when such roles, if any, were instituted. This question concerns the "headship principle," the view that God calls upon men to exercise spiritual leadership roles in their homes and churches and holds them accountable if they default in their responsibility. This present article will address this important question.
Proponents of women’s ordination...
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, Ph.D.
Director, Public Campus Ministries, Michigan Conference
Introduction
Regardless of one’s position on women’s ordination, this one fact is incontrovertible: Ordaining women as elders or pastors is new light which the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist church is being urged to embrace.[1] For more than 100 years, Adventists have been unanimous in their view that no precedent for the practice of ordaining women can be found in Scripture, nor in the writings of Ellen G. White and the early Seventh-day Adventist church. [2]
By the 1970s, however, this established position began to be reversed in favor of ordaining women as elders and pastors.
This new trend was created by the converging interests of feminism, liberalism, church leaders’ desire to enjoy...