Tag Archives: circumstances alter cases

Circumstances and the Ordination of Women

Continuing a series on the Bible, ordination, and the upcoming General Conference in San Antonio.

The hope a few years ago was that the Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) would come to a consensus on the meaning of ordination and then on the question of the ordination of women. If after two years of worldwide deliberation TOSC remained divided on the latter, the committee was requested to offer solutions that would preserve the unity of the church in the midst of such division. Here’s what actually happened.
On July 23, 2013, by a vote of 86-8, TOSC adopted a very significant statement on the meaning of ordination. It defined ordination as “the public recognition of those the Lord has called” to church ministry. According to the statement, ordination confers “representative authority” rather than “special qualities” or a role in a “kingly hierarchy.” These are important distinctions. In other words, ordination is the church’s way of saying “this person speaks for us.” It does not convey unique power or place a person in a higher rank than others.
Based on these points, the question became whether or not “the Lord has called” Adventist women to church ministry. Can women represent the church in such roles? The reality is that in many parts of the world women ARE being called to ministry. They ARE serving in such roles. Unless ordination has some magical effect or promotes a kingly hierarchy, hiring a woman to serve in church ministry is simply the church’s modern way of saying “she speaks for us.”  Women serving in ministry at the call of the church are as good as ordained now.
As noted above, there is one aspect of this issue that I think doesn’t gets enough attention. There is one thing we should all be able to agree on. The Bible NEVER addresses the question of women’s ordination. No Bible writer ever asks whether women should be ordained. The issue simply does not arise in the text. That means that arguing the case for or against women’s ordination seeks expanded meanings from Scriptures addressing other issues. As a result, it is rare for anyone to change their mind on the subject based on Bible study alone. And if the Bible does not directly address a subject, then the conclusion will be driven more by culture, tradition and God’s providence (the sense of God’s working in a particular context) than by Scripture.
An example of such a process in the Bible is found in Acts chapters 8-15. Before Acts 8 Christians assumed that the church was a subset of Judaism and would include only Jews. But then Philip met the Ethiopian, Peter met Cornelius, and Peter had a dream. By Acts 15 it became apparent that the Spirit was working with Gentiles and bringing them into the church without circumcision and without making them Jews first. The church then took a fresh look at Scripture and saw possibilities there that they had missed before (see Acts 15:13-19). The mission of the church and the guidance of the Spirit, rather than the reading of Scripture, demanded the inclusion of the Gentiles. You didn’t have to become Jewish in order to become Christian. Through these experiences the church learned to read the Bible differently for a new situation. Circumstances alter cases.

To be continued. . .

Some Illustrations from Adventist History

Continuing a series on the Bible, ordination, and the upcoming General Conference in San Antonio.

In the early 1800s William Miller’s attention was drawn to Revelation 10. Coming toward the close of the seven trumpets, this chapter had something to say about the period of earth’s history just before the Second Coming. That meant to Miller that Revelation 10 must be speaking specifically to the time in which he lived. Miller rightly saw that Revelation 10 built on Daniel 12 (Rev 10:5-6, cf. Dan 12:7). A sealed book (Dan 12:4) was now open (Rev 10:1-2). What was sealed in Daniel were particularly the prophetic time periods, the 2300-day prophecy (Dan 8:13-14, 26) and the 1260-day prophecy (Dan 12:7, 9). Since those time periods, in his calculation, ended in 1798 and 1843-44 respectively, Miller came to believe that Revelation 10 was talking about the very time period in which he was living, the last 45 years before Jesus’ return (1798-1843). If the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan 8:14) was Jesus’ Second Coming, the world was about to come to an end. The message was electrifying, the biblical arguments were compelling, and a great movement arose, seeking to prepare the world for the soon return of Jesus.

Everything was in place except the coming of Jesus itself. But it never happened. When Jesus did not come on October 22, 1844, people began to notice that the open scroll in the prophecy would be sweet in the mouth but bitter in the belly (Rev 10:8-10). In other words, there were clear indications in the text that God knew about The Great Disappointment before it happened, but they had completely missed that part of the prophecy. The purpose of Revelation 10 was not to provide the date of the Second Coming, but to galvanize the final proclamation of the gospel to the world (Rev 10:11; 14:6-7). Adventist understanding of Revelation 10 had been perfectly clear and compelling before 1844. But after October 22, 1844, the Adventist pioneers were forced to re-read and re-think what the Bible had to say about their era. Circumstances alter cases.

The same thing can happen with the writings of Ellen White. According to records at the 1919 Bible Conference, the General Conference president was holding some meetings in the city we know as Oslo. Attendees had come from all over Scandinavia. One of the attendees was an extremely thin and pale colporteur based in Hammerfest, at the time the northernmost city in the world. Hammerfest back then rarely received any canned goods, and fruits and vegetables were extremely expensive when they arrived at all. A man on a missionary salary could not afford either. So when A. G. Daniells (the GC President at the time) asked the unhealthy-looking man what he ate back home the man replied, “Mostly the north wind.”

The primary food options in Hammerfest at the time were reindeer meat, fish, potatoes and starchy foods like corn meal mush. The colporteur was an ardent follower of Ellen White’s writings, so he refused to eat any animal products. But the result of his “faithfulness” was the opposite of good health. Daniells advised the man to center his diet on reindeer meat when he got back home. But on the long boat ride back to the United States, the GC President began to feel a bit guilty about his advice and how that might play around the world. So when he returned to the United States he made the long trek across the continent to visit Elmshaven and get Ellen White’s reaction.

According to Daniells, Ellen White’s response was, “Why don’t people use common sense? Don’t they know that we are to be governed by the places we are located?” After further conversation, she was concerned enough to wonder if her Testimonies should not be recalled and “fixed up,” in other words, written in a way that principles given to particular people in particular circumstances could not be absolutized in an unhealthy way. Circumstances alter cases.

To be continued. . .

Circumstances and the Bible, Part 3

Continuing a series on the Bible, ordination, and the upcoming General Conference in San Antonio.

Moving to the New Testament, we have another example of how circumstances alter cases. The council of Acts 15 reached a decision that Gentiles should not be troubled by practices like circumcision (Acts 15:19) but should refrain from eating food that had been “ceremonially polluted” (alisgêma) in relation to idols (15:20). This was one of several regulations that would allow Gentiles and Jews to more comfortably fellowship together. In disseminating the decision of the council, the leaders clarified their meaning with a different word; Gentiles should not eat food “sacrificed” or offered (eidôlothutos) to idols (Acts 15:29).

Paul addresses the same issue in 1 Corinthians 8-10, but does so in greater depth (he mentions food offered to idols [eidôlothutos] six times: 8:1, 4, 7, 10; 10:19, 28). He asserts that “no idol in the world really exists” (1 Cor 8:4, NRSV), “an idol is nothing” (KJV), therefore offering or sacrificing food to idols does not in any way change the food or affect our relation to it (1 Cor 8:8). So eating such food is not an issue for intelligent Christians, in spite of the decree of the council in Acts 15. But not all Christians have this knowledge (8:7), so one must be sensitive to the impact one’s own practice will have on the faith experience of another (8:9-13).

In addition, while idols have no real existence, temple practices should generally be avoided by Christians as they may involve the presence of demons, which would make the temple a dangerous place to go (10:16-21). On the other hand, if an unbeliever invites you to dinner (10:27) or you are shopping in the marketplace (10:25), don’t worry about whether the food was offered to idols or not, go ahead and eat without asking questions. But if someone, likely a fellow believer, objects that the food was offered to an idol, then don’t eat it (10:28), not because an idol is anything but because of the conscience of the one who said it (10:29-33). You don’t want to damage that person’s conscience or walk with God (8:10-13). In matters like this, council or no council, it is important to use common sense (10:15). Paul was not opposed to the earlier action of the council, but was using common sense to clarify the council’s intention in various situations. In a different place, the policy should be applied differently. Circumstances alter cases.

In Romans (written in the 50s AD) Paul speaks very positively about the role of civil government. Christians should be subject to civil authority because such authorities have been instituted by God (Rom 13:1). To resist such authorities is to resist the same God who appointed them (13:2). In fact the civil authorities act as servants (diakonos or “deacons”) of God to keep order in society (13:3-4, 6). Christians should treat civil authorities with honor and respect, for the sake of conscience (13:5, 7).

But forty years later, the situation seems to have changed. In the book of Revelation (probably written in the 90s AD), civil authorities enmeshed with false religion can be described as vicious, persecuting beasts (Rev 13:1-2, 11) who are hurting and will hurt God’s people (Rev 13:7, 10, 15-17). They also blaspheme God Himself (13:1, 6). Since Romans was probably written from Corinth, in the same general region of the Empire as Asia Minor, we see a very different attitude toward civil authority in the same region, but at a different time (forty years later). Different times and different places call for a fresh application of biblical principles. Circumstances alter cases.

To be continued. . .

Circumstances and the Bible

Continuing a series on the Bible, ordination, and the upcoming General Conference in San Antonio.

Let me share some examples of how the principle of “circumstances alter cases” can be seen in the Bible. In Genesis 17 God offers Abraham an “everlasting covenant” (Gen 17:7). That sounds pretty permanent. This everlasting covenant would be for “you and your offspring after you throughout their generations” (Gen 17:9, ESV). That’s sounds pretty permanent too. And the sign of that everlasting covenant was the circumcision of all males among the descendants of Abraham.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the early church adopted circumcision as a mandatory rule for all followers of Jesus. In fact, some of the most passionate believers among them confidently asserted, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1, ESV) But at the council described in Acts 15 church leaders discovered that the Holy Spirit was calling uncircumcised Gentiles like Cornelius. What to do? They re-thought Genesis 17 and drew the conclusion that circumcision was specifically for the physical descendants of Abraham, but was not required for the Gentiles (Acts 15:19). Later on, when Timothy accepted Jesus, Paul required him to be circumcised because the Jews in that area knew his father was a Greek, but he had a Jewish mother (Acts 16:3). The full Gentile Titus, on the other hand, was not circumcised (Gal 2:3). Circumstances alter cases.

The book of Leviticus offered rules and regulations for Israel’s experience of wandering in the desert and living in tents around the tabernacle. Leviticus 17 addressed the issue of private slaughtering of animals for food and sometimes even as sacrifices. Some of this slaughtering was happening around people’s tents, others did it outside the camp. Leviticus asserts that under no circumstances was such slaughtering to occur without bringing the meat to the door of the tabernacle to be inspected by a priest (Lev 17:4). Even better would be to let the priests handle the whole process there (17:5-6). A crucial factor in this regulation was the proper draining of blood so it would not be eaten (17:10-11). This was to be “a statute forever for them throughout their generations” (17:7). This is a reasonably clear text. And it sounds pretty universal and permanent.

A generation later, however, the circumstances were about to change. Moses created a “second law” (Deuteronomy) which would apply to Israel’s settled existence in the promised land (Deut 12:1). In Deuteronomy 12 he instructs them to continue bringing animals for sacrifice to designated locations such as the sanctuary (Deut 12:13-14). But the slaughter of meat for food was no longer part of the regulation. They could freely do that slaughtering where they lived as long as they did it the right way, respecting the blood regulations (12:15-16). You see, with sacrifices at the sanctuary, the animals could be transported live, so the distance between home and sanctuary is not critical. But with meat slaughter, freshness begins to decline the moment you do it and having to transport meat as much as 50 miles back home before people could eat it made no sense. Circumstances alter cases.

To be continued. . .