ORDINATION OF WOMEN

ORDINATION …• Is the process of someone becoming a leader in the eyes

of the church.• Once ordained they can carry out Rites of Passage and

religious festivals and ceremonies.• Priests are seen as God’s vessel on Earth to pass on ‘the

word of God’. • Gives person responsibilities and powers• Preach, counsel, “pastor”• Can consecrate sacraments

SOME HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS• Unusually spiritual, perhaps marginal forms of Christianity• Quakers, Shakers: women can speak with inspiration of Holy Spirit• Congregationalists (1853)• Holiness and Pentecostal female preachers (late 19th/early 20th c)• Early 20th century: possible but rare• Presbyterians (1922 as deacon, 1956 as minister )• Methodists (1926 as elder, 1956 as minister)• Second Wave Feminism: Possible and more frequent• Lutherans (1970)• But note more conservative Lutheran denominations do not ordain women• Reform Judaism (1972)• Conservative Judaism (1985)• Episcopal Church (1976) and Church of England (1992)

BIBLICAL VIEW• Old Testament Example• Women were mostly in a subservient role, but a number of women

are mentioned as leaders and prophets of Israel, including Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4-5), Esther (Esther 4:15-17), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) and Athaliah (2 Chronicles 22:10-12). • The New Testament• Jesus' Example• Jesus chose only men as His twelve apostles (Mark 3:13-19), and that

is sometimes cited as a reason that only men should be appointed to church leadership roles. However, Jesus sent His apostles out to spread the gospel to the world, seeking food and shelter where they could find it, facing great danger and ultimately martyrdom. This would not have been considered an appropriate role for a woman in Biblical times, just as it would not be considered appropriate today.

BIBLICAL VIEW- “NO” CONCLUSION

• Women Cannot Be Ministers or Priests• Many people interpret the fact that Jesus appointed only male

apostles, and the New Testament passages cited above as an absolute prohibition of a ministerial role for women. It is the natural order, decreed by God, that women should forever be subservient to men. Based on inerrancy of the Bible, these passages must be taken at face value, and women must forever be barred from roles in ministry.

BIBLICAL VIEW- “YES” CONCLUSION• Women Can Be Ministers and Priests• Many others view the New Testament prohibitions simply as practical advice to

preserve the sanctity and tranquility of the church and to avoid scandal. Although the New Testament writers passively accepted slavery, few people would argue that we should return to the horrors of slavery. In the same way, although the New Testament writers passively accepted the oppression of women, it does not imply that a leadership role for a woman would be wrong in today's very different society. Some of the great leaders and prophets of Israel were women, so God could not have intended to exclude women from spiritual and political leadership. Paul's proclamation of equality and Jesus' willingness to defy convention and accept women into his larger circle of disciples should be the guiding principles rather than the customs of the Roman Empire in the first century. Women took as large a role in the early Church leadership as was allowed by the conventions of that society, so women today should be able to serve the Church in whatever positions they are qualified to fill.

CHURCH VIEW- ROMAN CATHOLIC

• The Roman Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women, as expressed in the current canon law and the catechism of the Catholic Church, is that: "Only a baptized man (in Latin, vir) validly receives sacred ordination." The Church teaches that this requirement is a matter of divine law, and thus doctrinal. The question of whether only males can receive ordination to the diaconate has been proposed as still open to discussion, although there is a fundamental unity between deacon, priest, and bishop in the single sacrament of Holy Orders, meaning that women cannot validly be ordained as deacons. Pope Francis has more recently stated that "with regards to the ordination of women, the church has spoken and says no...That door is closed."

CHURCH VIEW- PROTESTANT

• Clergy in Protestant faiths can be many things to their congregations. They may preach and interpret lessons from the Bible to guide the everyday lives of the people hearing their sermons. They may offer counseling during times of trouble, and serve as spiritual guides and moral compasses for members of their congregations. They may fulfill ceremonial functions — performing weddings or baptisms. Their support and leadership take many forms — and it is the role the clergy play in church members’ lives that is one of the defining characteristics of Protestant denominations.

CATHOLIC’S ARGUMENTS AGAINST…

• Jesus was a man• God is ‘he’ / ‘father’• Jesus only had male disciples• Jesus is representation of God on Earth • If Priests are God’s vessel then how can they be women?• The Bible states that woman should be subject to her

husband.

MORE ARGUMENT’S AGAINST

• Women have babies and would need to spend time looking after their children when they should be looking after their congregation.• Women are more emotional than men and could not cope.• Women would not have the same respect as men.• Women should not be in charge of men.• It’s easier for a man to advise a woman then a woman to advise

a man.

ARGUMENT’S FOR ORDINATION OF WOMEN• Women were obviously very important to Jesus as he first

appeared to Mary Magdalene• In Jesus time Women were subordinate so he would not have

been as respected / believed if he gave women more of a role and would therefore not have had the same status. Women have a different role today from the one they had back then.• Women are better careers and have shown that they make

good ministers.

MORE ARGUMENTS FOR

• Women get a ‘calling’ too. Surely this means God wants them to be ministers.• Jesus helped men and women equally therefore there is no

difference in God’s eyes.• Women had a high place in the early church before the priesthood

was formed.• Women were amongst the followers of Jesus.• Women are now leaders in ways that they were not before.

INSIGHTSFor me as a Catholic, it is fine to live by the norms, that priests remain

as men, as long as these men have a pure heart to do what they are tasked to do, and as long as women are not barred from preaching and spreading the word of God. Either be biblical or cultural, living with the norms will not do us bad as long as humanity themselves do their part on contributing for the betterment of the society and the world in general. There may be plenty of passages in the bible that talked about men being ordained and how worthy they are to be ordained. Plenty of examples where man is told to be more superior than women. But we also have to take into considerations that there are also instances when women was told to lead and were trusted by God to do so. That is why I am not saying that there is absolutely no chance for women to be priests. It will take a lot of courage to change these things. Time is changing, so as the people, the needs, and the situations. All we have to think of is what is best for everyone not only physically but also mentally, emotionally and most of all, spiritually.