Bakersfield Women's Ordination Symposium - Stephen Bohr

Pastor Stephen Bohr, Director of the independent Secrets Unsealed media ministry, was the second speaker to present the case for male headship at the "Crisis Ahead" women's ordination symposium in Bakersfield, California. He provided a long list of points, constructed from snippets of Bible texts and passages of Ellen White's writings, which, he argued, demonstrated conclusively that God appointed men to be spiritual heads and women to be spiritually subordinate.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://spectrummagazine.org/article/2015/06/15/bakersfield-womens-ordination-symposium-stephen-bohr

Bohr is not correct. He said being older is tied to authority. Adam was first meaning he has more authority that Eve. Well, the Patriarch system is also based on the oldest. But God did not use that method. Not all of those we call Patriarchs in the Old Testament were the oldest. Some of them were the youngest. Bohr, you are trying hard but not making sense. Your well is out of water, Bohr

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Ok then, let’s just ordain tall women!

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Areis, something I think we agree on
 :wink:

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Edward W. H. Vick, in his small book, Creation: The Christian Doctrine, notes that theology is the effort to explain faith. We see such an attempt in full bloom for some decades now within the Seventh-day Adventist church with regard to ordaining women to the ministry.

It is to the credit of Elder Wilson, the current G. C. President, that his executive committee reported as unanimous their conclusion that ordaining women is not a matter for which there is definitive biblical patterns for or against. This is solid leadership behavior.

And the document his committee drafted and the Annual Council approved with near unanimity and forwarded for approval by the delegates to the upcoming General Conference does not subject the executive committee’s termination of the failed theological efforts with regard to women’s ordination to a vote, but rather, given that the conclusion, asks the delegates to approve soliciting Division Committees to urge, as in help ‘enable,’ the Union Conferences and their Local Conference constituencies to begin ordaining women to the ministry in their territories as they deem the Holy Spirit to be leading.

That some resist following the lead by the General Conference has a long tradition in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Thanks for helping keep us informed, Jared.

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I can’t believe that this actually is in any connection with adventism. If this was adventism
Count me and probably the rest of Germany out


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Web editor, please make a comment. excessive nonsense. I cannot believe a college/seminary graduate would mouth such nonsense. can you? Tom Z .

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I can’t believe this is coming from an actual , educated person, much less a pastor.

But, OK, then a tall woman should be equal to a medium size man, at least; but what about short men? Will there now be a height requirement for ordination? This is unbelievable. We have now officially entered “La-la land”.

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You think?..

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The bias of the author is evident here in the first paragraph.

Stephen Bohr is one of our most brilliant ministers, digging much deeper into Scripture than many do in the defense of our doctrines. Maybe that’s why it sounds like nonsense to some folks. It’s over their heads.

And the best his detractors here can do is twist his words and meaning and question his intelligence. Well, they thought Paul was mad, too . . . . .

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I’m not sure why Spectrum keeps posting articles and blogs on this subject. The majority of those who post here are pro-WO, and aren’t going to change their minds, no matter how convincing the arguments are. And those who are opposed to WO certainly won’t be swayed by the same old rhetoric we’ve been hearing for months (years?).

Projecting much?

Trust God.

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One wonders why it is necessary to keep repeating the fact that ministries like Secrets Unsealed and Amazing Facts are “independent.”

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WHY is there More Column Inches to Eve than Adam in Genesis 1 and 2?

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Tom Z. - " Web editor, please make a comment. excessive nonsense. I cannot believe a college/seminary graduate would mouth such nonsense. can you?"

I think that same thing when I read some of the posts here, too.

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Doesn’t the Bible teach us that God is not a respecter of persons?! So as long as you aren’t female and short you’re in? That leaves out a large part of the planet. I guess that’s how they can whiddle the redeemed down to 144,000.

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[quote=“kevindpaulson, post:13, topic:8548, full:true”]
One wonders why it is necessary to keep repeating the fact that ministries like Secrets Unsealed and Amazing Facts are “independent.”
[/quxote]

So people like me who are not steeped in the SDA network know the provenance of the information.

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The GC vote next month on women’s ordination will not solve issues of this kind. A more powerful potentially damaging issue will no doubt face us, and Adventists seem to be oblivious to that. I am referring to the forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on the legalization of gay marriage. Based on my readings, the June decision could go either way; you can flip a coin. If the coin lands on the wrong side, the church will be forced to deal with far weightier issues than women’s ordination. For example, will the church be ready to appoint openly gay teachers in our colleges and universities? Will our college dorms be open to gay couples? And yes, will the church be ready to ordain gay ministers? If the GC votes ‘yes’ on women’s ordination, their task will remain only half done if they don’t also vote on whether ordination of lesbians will also be allowed.
We are living in perilous times. If we cannot even agree on the biblical teachings regarding women in church, what will be our stand on gays?

He continues to demonstrate a reading into something that appears to support the thesis already embraced. Seen some of his points before and they seem to stretch and stretch as he goes along. Fair enough. He can have his say. It is up to the hearers to “see if whether those things are so” in good Berean fashion.

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So are we to recruit our future Conference and Union Conference
presidents form the National Baketball,Association?

Do the presenters at these anti WO seminars
have any females in their families
whom they respect and admire?
God forbid that they have professional,
successful wives, daughters, and nieces!
Their female family members
must have to put on a very "brave front"
knowing that they are relegated to such second class status.

I think the “headship” doctrine
is a very “blue collar” class thing.
Not to be derogatory of blue collar,
since my absolutely splendid father
was a humble bricklayer and dirt poor.
Thankfully Adventism is an upwardly mobile organization.
Most new converts to Adventism are often uneducated and poor,
but give their families time,
by the second or third generation,
many will have graduate degrees, including the women.

My two daughters with Ivy League degrees,
would disown me if I subscribed to the headship theology,
as would my now deceased wife,
a highly respected and successful physician specialist!

As more and more Adventists attain higher education,
over time, this anachronistic headship doctrine will die on the vine.

The Episcopalian church is the most socially acceptable church
to join, if one is seeking status.
It has many “upper crust” members.
So it is no accident that in the early 1970’s
they were the first major denomimation
to accept,women into the ministry.
They received a lot of criticism and disdain for their action,
from other denominations, who years later, did follow suit.

In an editorial, the New York Times,
lauded the Episcopalians, citing their action of
accepting women priests, as having paved the way
for increased numbers of women senators, Supreme Court
judges, women CEO’s etc.

How splendid if it had been the Adventists who had
pioneered this increase in the status of women,
but we were too mired in our blue collar headship doctrine!

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