Introduction

About two years ago I wrote about a most vexing problem in the CRC: women in ecclesiastical office. I entitled the article “The Watershed” (Outlook, June, 1981 , p.8). It began, ‘Watershed’ has been defined as a ‘critical decisive point; a turning point.’ If that definition is true, then we may have before us at the Christian Reformed Synod of 1981 a ‘watershed.’ After eight years of tossing the ball called ‘Women in ecclesiastical office’ into opposing courts, the CR denomination must at last settle the issue as it pertains to women in the office of deacon.”

Synod met that summer and once again demonstrated its inability to deal Biblically and decisively with this matter. It chose to appoint the fifth committee in eight years on this issue.

This committee will report to Synod 1983 its findings and recommendations regarding women in all offices, not just the deaconate.

There is a structure in music literature called “sonata form” consisting of three parts: exposition, development, and recapitulation. In the exposition section, basic musical themes are set forth. In the development section, these same t hemes are developed in different rhythm patterns, keys, and tone colors. The third section is called recapitulation (“recap” for short). In it the themes are restated for a final time before concluding the work.

In a very real sense the CRC Synod will meet in a recap session this summer. Although the committee is new, the issue is old, the pro-women-in-office arguments are borrowed and pale, and the church is tired.

Purpose

The purpose of this brief series of articles is to restate the themes of the issue, to evaluate Biblically the arguments for women in ecclesiastical office which have been stated explicitly in books and pamphlets written by members of the CRC community, and to urge all those who are committed to the historic Reformed interpretation of the Scrip· tures to make a strong stand against any and every attempt to undermine the Word of God as it pertains to this issue.

   

Documents

The documents which we will evaluate briefly are the following:

1. DeVos, Karen. A Woman’s Worth and work.

2. Flikkema, Joan. What is Headship? 3. Hugen, Melvin. Document presented to Synod, 1978 in defense of the ordination of Mrs. Marchiene Rienstra to the ministry of Word and sacraments in the CRC. 4. Spykman, Gordon and Grissen, Lillian. Men and Women: Partners in Service. 5. Verbrugge, Verlyn. The Place of Women in the Bible. 6. Wolterstorff, Nicholas. “The Bible and Women: Another Look at the Conservative Position,” Reformed Journal, June 1979, p. 23–26.

7. Synodical reports:

a . 1973 – report on office and ordination b. 1973 – report on women and office c. 1975 – report on women and office d . 1978 – report on women and office

e. 1981 – report on women and office

At the outset I would like to do three things:

1. Lay out the basic problem areas in this issue. 2. Expose strategies which most pro-forces use to push their point. 3. Identify some basic misconceptions and misunderstandings which are common to almost all of the documents listed above.

Basic Problem Areas

Throughout the writings of the pro-supporters many provocative questions are asked and many arguments are advanced to support their positions. All of the questions and arguments seem to cluster around three basic problem areas:

1. Headship

2. Submission

3. Cultural relativity For that reason, we will, in these articles, group our Scriptural passages and observations into these three categories.

Basic Strategies

Another element which is common to most of the writings is strategy. Without a doubt, the prowomen in office supporters view themselves as engaged in a battle against the conservatives in the church today. They do not wish to be considered antagonists of orthodox historic Christianity. They desire rather to be viewed as “bearers of new light.” Whereas apostolic and Reformation Christianity understood certain Biblical passages to exclude women from the offices of the church, new light has appeared in the late twentieth century to which they assume the apostles and leaders of the Reformation would certainly agree were they here today to observe the cultural milieu in which we live and to delve into the deeper and more diverse meanings of terms which they themselves under the influence of the Holy Spirit used in their writings, such as headship and submission.

The common strategies used by the prosupporters to achieve their goal are these:

1. Question the binding character of the Bible’s teaching on practical daily living in the home and the church. 2. Reinterpret the Scriptures—pouring new meanings into old terms. 3. Create contradictions between passages which are not contradictory when understood properly..

Basic Principles

A close examination of the arguments advanced by the pro-supporters reveals some basic misunderstandings of key Biblical principles. For that reason it is important that we state those Biblical principles and consult them when we are evaluating the feminist’s views.

1. Every believer holds a 3-fold office of prophet, priest, and king. This means that each believer, male or female, has a prophetic duty and privilege of speaking and teaching God’s Word; a priestly duty of living sacrificially before Him; a kingly duty of ruling in His name the sphere of life over which he or she has been placed. Often in the pro-documents the author will bring in arguments about women who teach, write or serve in a kingdom capacity, or in the church as organism, or in church groups (such as Calvinettes, Sunday school, societies etc.) other than corporate worship or rulership. These arguments are not germane to the issue and they confuse it. Women did many of these things in Bible times and still do them today and that fact has no bearing whatever on the issue. 2. The Bible teaches a concept of church and office which is not readily recognized or accepted by the pro-supporters. In the Old Testament, the worship of God’s people was regulated and administered by a special group of Levites who were anointed for the special tasks. The people were taught by prophets who were called by God and anointed for their special task. Although the word “prophetess” was used loosely a few times, there is no proof whatever of any woman being so-anointed for this task.The burden for furnishing proof of special anointing or appointment lies with the women-in-office supporters. Unless we have such proof, there can be no warrant for granting such office to women today.

In the New Testament men were chosen and ordained for the work of deacon and elder teaching elder (minister) and ruling elder. They served by apostolic or church appointment and there is no evidence that women were placed in these official roles. There are in fact, special prohibitions of their taking such roles.

There was, furthermore, in the Bible a high degree of authority attached to these offices of the church. This idea of authority in the office has been severely down-played not only by the proponents of women in ecclesiastical office, but also by the Synodical Report of 1973 on office and ordination. In it office was said to mean almost exclusively “service.” The conclusion follows. If office is only service, then why cannot women serve? Who could be against that?

3. The Bible in Galatians 3:38 teaches an equality of the sexes with respect, to the gift of salvation. “. . . there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.” In no way does this passage cancel the roles which God has assigned to male and female in the home and in the church, as some would have us believe. 4. The Bible speaks most directly to the men and women in marriage and the home and the church. It does not speak directly to the issue of women in business, administrative, and government positions. One can conclude from this:

a. That the Bible does not teach a headship of every male over every female;

b. That there can be latitude as to the roles of women in non-home and non-church situations.

5. Male headship and female submission in the home and church situations must not be understood to be the same as male superiority and female inferiority, as some would have us believe. The issue of women in the home and in ecclesiastical office has nothing whatever to do with talent, education or special gifts. It deals only with roles which God assigned to men and women in the home and in the church.

Keeping these principles in mind we will look more specifically at a number of passages commonly raised by the pro-supporters to fortify their case. Because this issue is crucial to the future of the CRC, I would urge you to share this article and others with your friends, relatives and church groups. A study booklet promoting women in office (especially that of deacon) has been commissioned by the Department of Education of the CRC. Other booklets advocating putting women in office have circulated around the denomination. Calvin Seminary has been used as an open forum for the Committee for Women in the Christian Reformed Church. It is time the denomination listen to the historic Reformed side of the story.

Mrs. Vanden Heuvel the writer and department editor, lives at 207 Kansas Ave. N. W., Orange City, Iowa 51041.