It may surprise you to learn that I, as an academic person, reduce a lot of my intellectual arguments to their ethical grounding. I often repeat the motif, 'the Tree of Life is superior to the Tree of Knowledge.' Did you know? I prayed for the wisdom of Solomon as a boy. I have been in pursuit of Wisdom ever since. Listen to the wisest man that ever lived. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.The Ordination of Women is a Non Issue
I believe the argument over the ordination of women to holy orders is a nonissue. It is not important, neither to fight it nor to promote it. People think it is important, but I posit its non-importance. I believe the issue of godly submission & authority is central to the arguments being waged. Get it right and the ordination questions will resolve as a matter of course.
It is Not Adiaphora
As a point of clarification, I do not believe the issue is adiaphora, ‘neither forbidden nor mandated,’ left to the neutral ground of permission. I believe there is no scripturally unassailable defense of the practice. But neither I do not find the practice abhorrent to scripture. What I find instead is a church which has abdicated its understanding and practice of godly submission & authority.
Roles are Not Exclusive
In the absence of the scripturally mandated practice of submission & authority (rightly understood), there is no issue, scripturally speaking, with the ordination of women. All Christians, regardless of sex, may pray, prophesy, teach, and lead the liturgy. There is no scriptural doctrine (unless I’ve seriously missed something) which refutes my previous statement.
Roles are Normative
In the presence of the scripturally mandated practice of submission & authority (rightly understood), the ‘ruling’ authority of a woman over a man is found to run counter to the direct reading of scripture. It also conflicts with the biblically mandated submission & authority structure in the home (rightly understood). Also note that women do not command other women, but teach them to be obedient to their husbands. God cannot have set up submission & authority structures (i.e., family and church) to contradict each other.
Eschatological Misappropriation
The best argument supporting the ordination of women cannot be sustained “in the long run.” No apparent, representative authority-structures will be required in the eschaton. So, the “eschatological argument” (i.e., “there is neither male nor female”) does not sustain the adiaphora claim. I do not know whether there will be a heavenly hierarchy or not. We will judge angels, whatever that means. Maybe there will be a representative authority-structure (it won’t be based on sex), but I don’t think we’ll know about that until we get there. Although there are some theological threads we can pull to tease it out …
Conclusion
Submission & authority are mutual concepts. It doesn't matter who the truth comes from, we must submit to it, if it's the truth. This is lost on us. We think we will out clever God. Submission is the eighty percent and authority is the twenty percent. First, learn how to submit. Second, learn how to exercise godly authority. It begins in the home, with your spouse, then your children. If you want to lead in the Church, this is where you will learn. Believe it. Obey it! Amen.
