Women Pastors?

Archivist said:

No, we would just disagree with your interpretation. And you are, of course, entitled to your interpretation.

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So if it’s about interpretation than can we say there isn’t just one truth to scripture than?

pescador said:

God's Word does not prohibit women from being ordained as Bishops (Pastors) and to be deacons. a) That is your interpretation b) We are not under law but under grace 3) There is neither male nor female in Christ Jesus. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

It is amazing to me that some Christians are trying to put the rest of us under "the law" by using the epistles to create rules of a new priesthood similar to the that of the Old Covenant.

There is no reason that women cannot serve in any role to which God calls them. Again, there is neither male nor female in Christ Jesus, so why are some people putting others back under "the law". They are creating new rules instead of being guided by the Spirit. It shows a real lack of understanding of the New Covenant!

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Neither man nor female?

Archivist said:

No, you are presenting your interpretation, just as I am presenting my interpretation. Women have been ministers since the 1600s, that isn't terribly recent. And don't tell me to chill. You were the one shouting in your last post to me.

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it’s pretty cool if everybody can just interpret things how they want. We should all get along better and have kinder conversations.

Loversofjesus_2018 said:

it’s pretty cool if everybody can just interpret things how they want. We should all get along better and have kinder conversations.

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But we all do that. Dunking vs. sprinkling. Wine vs. grape juice. Female pastors vs. no female pastors.

Archivist said:

But we all do that. Dunking vs. sprinkling. Wine vs. grape juice. Female pastors vs. no female pastors.

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Maybe scripture didn’t mean it when it spoke of sexuality? I know you didn’t say that I’m just asking is this possible in your views?

Loversofjesus_2018 said:

Maybe scripture didn’t mean it when it spoke of sexuality? I know you didn’t say that I’m just asking is this possible in your views?

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In terms of what Paul wrote? My view has always been that he was addressing a situation at a specific church, not laying down a rule for all time. Others are, of course, free to disagree with me.

Loversofjesus_2018 said:

So should we adjust to modern times in all areas? Gotta be fair across the board and can’t be picking and choosing. Hopefully you give people this same understanding in the lgbtq community. Hopefully you do if this is your stance on changing with the times.....

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Except homosexual behavior definitely existed in Bible times and is clearly condemned in Scripture.

Female pastors are not condemned in Scripture, there is no Biblical reason to exclude them, and in fact there is Biblical cause to include them. Those issues are not the same.

Loversofjesus_2018 said:

So should we adjust to modern times in all areas? Gotta be fair across the board and can’t be picking and choosing. Hopefully you give people this same understanding in the lgbtq community. Hopefully you do if this is your stance on changing with the times.....

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Hello Loversofjesus. That might be the larger issue. Not about women or the role of women, but about the bible. If you throw out scriptural authority on one issue then in a sense you have potentially opened Pandora's Box. On the next issue and the next, why not just go along with what the world is saying?
From what I have observed of the Presbyterian Denomination the Church of Scotland, acceptance of SSM is not far behind the ordination of women. That could be isolated to the CoS, or it could be a general trend.

God Bless

Darren Brown said:

Should women be pastors?
I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.
1 timothy 2:12

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What about a compromise position? Women can be pastors, leaders, anything, as long as they don't teach, don't have authority and remain completely quiet?

lismore said:

What about a compromise position? Women can be pastors, leaders, anything, as long as they don't teach, don't have authority and remain completely quiet?

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No. Why would you want to restrict what a woman can do for the Lord? Do you similarly advocate for men to have restrictions put on them?

Gregorikos said:

No. Why would you want to restrict what a woman can do for the Lord? Do you similarly advocate for men to have restrictions put on them?

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I guess my attempt at humour fell flat. OH well

To anyone who says female leaders are a good idea I would say two words- Paula White!

lismore said:

To anyone who says female leaders are a good idea I would say two words- Paula White!

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To anyone who says male leaders are a good idea, I would say two words- Kenneth Copeland!

nolidad said:

In the Roman Empire- polygamy was frowned upon, but Timothy is serving in Asia Minor where the Roman rules were not in fullforce. I am agreeable to either a monogamous relationship or only married once. But a bishop must be the male husband of one wife! Hitroy and biblically it is clear to all those except those who have an agenda against the clear teaching of SCripture!

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You're right that there were different mores in different areas, but polygamy wasn't universally frowned upon and was routinely practiced in various places which is why the rejoinder is necessary. Polygyny, on the other hand, was universally recognized as illicit so there is no such need for that qualification. That single phrase is not enough to warrant basing a tradition that if we look to the historical documents we can see arose later, and the English translations relied on that tradition in their rendering. A major criticism of early Christianity was the number of women and the extent of their influence within the church, as the early church treated women and men as equals.

Fervent said:

. A major criticism of early Christianity was the number of women and the extent of their influence within the church, as the early church treated women and men as equals.

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Can people have different roles and yet still be equal?

lismore said:

Can people have different roles and yet still be equal?

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That depends, are those different roles of equal authority?

Clearly people exercise roles with different levels of authority. Not everybody is called to exercise roles with high levels of authority. The issue is not whether everyone exercises equal authority, but whether the possibility is open to everyone to discern a vocation to such a role.

Gregorikos said:

Except homosexual behavior definitely existed in Bible times and is clearly condemned in Scripture.

Female pastors are not condemned in Scripture, there is no Biblical reason to exclude them, and in fact there is Biblical cause to include them. Those issues are not the same.

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I see your point but you have to admit we seem to find reasons to justify what we want to justify. That’s just me being honest about what I have observed. It does seem this way. People obviously are free to believe whatever they choose and I’m not here to point any fingers one way or another. One thing I will say is there is a lot of inconsistency in when believers choose to believe one way or another in regards to what scripture says. All have lots of reasons to justify their “interpretations” some reasons seem genuine some seem a little more about not wanting accept what Jesus or Paul or whoever said. Again truly my stance on most issues is I don’t know because I seriously... don’t know.... I was not there to know context and I can read a million books from people who weren’t there either to give me what they THINK the context is but the fact is none of us were there and none of us know. It is a little weird to see people saying my interpretation or your interpretation because really it’s just all up in the air because it’s literally just about opinions at that point. It’s basically perspective... I was just curious do people who say “Paul didn’t mean that” or “this is what the context is”, I wonder do they afford others the same respect to offer their interpretations of various scriptures?

Loversofjesus_2018 said:

I see your point but you have to admit we seem to find reasons to justify what we want to justify. That’s just me being honest about what I have observed. It does seem this way.

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I have always observed this to be the case with those who do not accept women in ministry.

Loversofjesus_2018 said:

I was just curious do people who say “Paul didn’t mean that” or “this is what the context is”, I wonder do they afford others the same respect to offer their interpretations of various scriptures?

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Of course. Why not?

Paidiske said:

I have always observed this to be the case with those who do not accept women in ministry.



Of course. Why not?

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So maybe they have some reason to believe woman shouldn’t be pastors. Maybe they got it from scripture? What if someone has an interpretation that the lgbtq community should no longer be treated in the way they once were... would you offer them that same respect? If so I see no contradiction at all. But if not. If one comes up with reasons to justify their interjection as wrong even if it may be ridiculous to you then that seems a little one sided. Again I personally don’t know the answers to all these because they force me to give my opinion and I’m not sure how much weight our opinions actually hold so I would rather say I’m unsure and do the best I can.

A soul is touched/transformed by the "power" that is in the "word" preached or taught and not by the skills or gender of the preacher/teacher. That "power" flows from God through the instruments (men & women) chosen by God for his purposes and according to His will.

If God, by His spirit, doesn't mind working through and using any instrument which surrenders itself to Him & called for the purpose, what is the debate all about?

Ultimately, work is HIS not ours.

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty."

If we are talking about just the 'authority struggle', positions, power and names then it is prevalent amongst people of the same gender as well and it is not just the man-woman issue.