Today was a good day. For one, I was able to catch up with a very dear sister in the Lord during lunch. She is serving in the church and will be moving on into pastoral ministry with another church in the coming months. We will then have even more to talk about and I look forward to our next catch up.
After lunch, I had the opportunity to arrange a meet up between my two Arminian mentors, and I was prepared to just sit and listen to them talk shop. These two gentlemen have a lot in common. Not only are they steep in their study of Scripture, Arminianism and apologetics, it was soon found out that they are both into chemistry as well! One a chemistry graduate and the other a chemistry professor no less. I'm not far from wrong when I said they're long lost brothers.
It was indeed a good day.
pearlie
Btw, what are your thoughts about egalitarian and complimentarian with regards to women ministry ? Do you think it's a gospel issue ? I'm on the side of the latter and find it's a gospel issue - i.e. the reversal of order creation suggests a sinful order. This is based on 1 Tim 2. One of the reasons I'm not comfortable with Methodist polity is that they allow women ordination. For some reasons, when I approach those women who are for egalitarian, they refuse to enlighten me to talk about this issue. They says I'm petty about the issue and make a blanket statement that this debate is not a gospel issue. People have been arguing for thousand of years, and no conclusion. Whereas I'm concerned with the authority with Scripture and being biblical is very important.
ReplyDeleteI am not very well-versed yet on what exactly egalitarian and complementarian are except only for what the word means, so I better not tie myself with either. I tell you what I think and then you tell me what I am.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the headship of the men, in that they are made the head of the family and head of the local church. Women are created to be helpers and they support the men. However, when and only when the leadership of the men fails, as in there are no leaders in place, then the women will have to step in. But I would feel that this case will be very rare. Whether men will meet up to the calling is another story of which I feel the women should still play the helper role and pray hard!!!
Yes, I agree on your stand on the order of creation and the purpose God gave to women as the helper and companion to men.
What do you mean by it being a "gospel issue"?
Thanks for replying. "Gospel" issue is a jargon that most of my Christian friends use for doctrinal issues that cannot be compromised. You are complimentarian. Egalitarian would stand for equal role of leadership between genders. So many would regard this women ordination issue to be minor issue and that one should not fight for it but should allow freedom to practice it. In my case, I don't think so as it promotes sinful order of creation and so I should voice it and fight for it. What do you think ? Will you voice it when a lady is going for ordination in denomination - that would mean having authority to lead local church and teach adult men?
ReplyDeleteChee Keat, ever since you've asked me that question about my stand in women in ministry, I've thought more about it and now I would like to take back my stand and put it on hold until I study it more deeply. I am not sure anymore. And for now, I don't have the time and energy to get this topic yet, and would be shelving it for now :)
ReplyDeleteOK..thanks. Will hear from you one day, hopefully not too long:) Will try to get some egalitarian books to read too.
ReplyDeleteI do have the Two Views on Women's Ministry book, of which I plan to read after I'm done with this Calvinism-Arminian thingy :) Problem is that is a print book. I'm so unused to print books now - haha.
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