Why are we not talking about the church as a whole? It is God speaking and doing the ordaining and this seems to be divorced from the discussion. So how is today’s feminist interpreter – male or female – able to discern what is authoritative for the church if he or she can seriously accept something as absolutely authoritative i.e. an absolute truth if he or she also believes it to be mistaken or in error? It would appear that the feministic hermeneutic of suspicion undermines the Gospel.
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Comments 8
Greetings. In the matter of prayer some may assume that others believe we listen to the Lord and He gives a definitive answer and we shove that down the throat of others. My apologies for the forceful language. Just want you to know that that is not my experience of prayer…..most often for me it is that God reminds me to see His goodness, His wisdom and love and this is a humbling experience. He does invite me to change my ways, What we pray is interesting in the matter of WO. Is it possible that having considered the Lord’s Word at length over years…it is OK to recognise that our human wisdom and best intentions to hear God’s definitive answer we have not come to this place. My plea is to wait on the Lord and not endeavour to direct His way of answering in any shape or form. He is God and He has a way for us. The way of tangled repetitive dialogue weighs me down as it simply puts many other ministry endeavours on hold. Blessings to all. Eunice
Yes, Eunice, I do agree that there are many more areas in our church that require attention such as mission work. I, too, am weighed down.
I don’t know that feminists have a principle (hermeneutic) of suspicion. My understanding of feminism is a belief in equal rights, status and opportunities for women. It is not a “suspicion” of unequal rights and opportunities for women in the LCA, it is currently a fact.
I hear the weight of biblical argument against the ordination of women but struggle to understand the force of the emotion behind it. I also recall impassioned arguments elsewhere in this debate about the importance of female subservience in marriage, an argument that was understood by the writers to be supported by the same texts that are used against female ordination.
My questions are these:
Does the need of some for biblical support of male dominance within marriage override the needs of others to see the LCA reflect equality between the sexes in ordination?
Would allowing women to be ordained somehow diminish the status of the ordination for men?
What is being taught in Lutheran Bible College about the status of women that has entrenched views not now held in other Christian churches?
Is the LCA predicated on a belief in the inherent inferiority of women?
Was Jesus a feminist, a promoter of women?
I appreciate that people are passionately resistant to a change that runs counter to their deeply held beliefs. I hope that those who oppose the ordination of women by the LCA can, in turn, appreciate the anguish that this causes to women in the church who live in a secular society that promotes and supports the equality of women and who believe that the least of men should not be elevated above the best of women.
Was Eve condemned for being female, or having blonde hair and blue eyes, or maybe something else, or the fact that whatever her gender, she did the wrong thing. Adam also did the wrong thing, but seems to have inherited much less of a condemnation.
What point are you trying to make, Richard? Please clarify.
“A feministic hermeneutic of suspicion underming the gospel” is not a principle but a matter of how we read, interpret Scripture. Feminist theology doesn’t accept Scripture plus tradition or Scripture alone because these are products of men. This then means inequality, male dominance as you put it, inferiority implying a superiority of men, female subservience, diminiishing status.
Christian tradition is critiqued in a feminist way vis a vis the language used. Holy Scripture is God’s Word to man. Man and woman are not interchangeable. They are ordered to each other is a certain relationship. This does not make women inferior or less human than men. Society, on the other hand does view men and women as interchangeable resources in the economy. Are women suppressed in Scripture? No!
Is ordination mentioned in the Bible, or is that man’s construct, as was decided about confirmation? I would like to see a justification for ordination.
To Janise and others with the same question, go to the below website for a decent and short Biblical presentation on why the church ordains.
http://www.gotquestions.org/ordination.html
Blessings
Pastor Chris Raatz