Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
Yes, I was sort of making a straw man argument there. How well I represented the thinking I don't know. And I also conflated it with the LSM OT exegesis: "man is a sinner and useless before God. Christ is everything". Well, Christ is a man. Duh.
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Christ is not typified by the repentant sinner of Psalm 51. "Lord, be merciful to me and restore to me the joy of Thy salvation. Lord, please renew a right spirit within me."
But the next verse perhaps reveals a man who is a disciple of Christ. "And then I will teach transgressors Thy ways. And sinners will turn back to You." Because you see Jesus, the Christ, charge His disciples the same thing in Luke 22. "Once you repent, and turn, and are revived, you in turn must strengthen the brothers." And this charge is echoed in John 21. "Peter, if you truly love Me, then take care of those ones who also love Me."
Jesus only had 12 disciples. Although He fed the thousands, and He probably healed the hundreds, there was an inner ring of 12 whom He shepherded closely. And Peter got to see some things even the others missed, like the transfiguration and the raising up of the ruler's daughter. So now Jesus wanted His other sheep to get shepherded through Peter, warts and blemishes and failures and all.
And I believe that this shepherding experience is gender-blind.
Any disciple who gains the prize of experience can shepherd a newbie. As I said earlier, an elder is just someone who has been there, done that. They have experience. You have some elders that serve, and some that don't. And that is irrelevant of gender, age, intelligence, position, race, or education. You (the elder) have been through the valley of death, and you are still there. Arguably, you are there because some experienced one was there with you, counseling, encouraging, and consoling you; and interceding to the Father of lights on your behalf. Should you not now do the same? Peter got through his failures with the leadership of Jesus; shouldn't Peter, or any restored and revived sinner, now be able to shepherd others who suffer similarly?
I don't begrudge Paul's "women should be silent in the church", or "let the woman go home and ask her husband", or "I do not permit a woman to teach". If you look at the times, those statements were in keeping with cultural norms. The societal norms didn't permit christian slaves to rebel in the name of freedom, or women to vote, and Paul was recognizing and reinforcing that. But society has thankfully changed. And I argue that any group that tries to hold to the letter of Paul in not permitting women to function equally, when they are able, is cutting off one of its legs and then trying to win the race. Not a good move. You have all those Christian experiences, waiting to be used, and you say, "Silent". Not a bright move.
Paul said, "Am I not free?" Shouldn't we also ask the same question? Or are we slaves of Paul's letters; the Paul who declared his spirit's freedom? "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand fast therefore and do not be entangled again with the yoke of slavery" I feel Paul riding with me on this one. In arguing against the second-class-sister-system of rigid fundamentalism I think I have Paul with me. Paul was free, and so are we. Anyone who has been round long enough can be an elder, and any elder can serve.