Comment on Northern California Conference Votes to Act Independent of the General Conference by Tongkam.
Sean Pitman: The headship I have in my marriage does not spill over outside of my marriage to give me automatic headship over any other woman – within or outside of the church. That simply isn’t a reasonable interpretation of the Bible’s instruction on these issues.
Sean, I’m not meaning to slap you in your face, as you seem to look at it, but the Bible and Ellen White do teach somewhat differently than what you appear to have understood. Let’s start with headship. A man is head over his children as long as he lives. That means your father still has headship over you if he is still alive–even though you are married. This is Biblical. And it’s in Ellen White’s writings.
Of Abraham it is written that “he was called the friend of God,” “the father of all them that believe.” James 2:23; Romans 4:11. The testimony of God concerning this faithful patriarch is, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” And again, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” It was a high honor to which Abraham was called, that of being the father of the people who for centuries were the guardians and preservers of the truth of God for the world–of that people through whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed in the advent of the promised Messiah. But He who called the patriarch judged him worthy. It is God that speaks. He who understands the thoughts afar off, and places the right estimate upon men, says, “I know him.” There would be on the part of Abraham no betraying of the truth for selfish purposes. He would keep the law and deal justly and righteously. And he would not only fear the Lord himself, but would cultivate religion in his home. He would instruct his family in righteousness. The law of God would be the rule in his household. {PP 140.3}
Abraham’s household comprised more than a thousand souls. Those who were led by his teachings to worship the one God, found a home in his encampment; and here, as in a school, they received such instruction as would prepare them to be representatives of the true faith. Thus a great responsibility rested upon him. He was training heads of families, and his methods of government would be carried out in the households over which they should preside. {PP 141.1}
In early times the father was the ruler and priest of his own family, and he exercised authority over his children, even after they had families of their own. His descendants were taught to look up to him as their head, in both religious and secular matters. This patriarchal system of government Abraham endeavored to perpetuate, as it tended to preserve the knowledge of God. It was necessary to bind the members of the household together, in order to build up a barrier against the idolatry that had become so widespread and so deep-seated. Abraham sought by every means in his power to guard the inmates of his encampment against mingling with the heathen and witnessing their idolatrous practices, for he knew that familiarity with evil would insensibly corrupt the principles. The greatest care was exercised to shut out every form of false religion and to impress the mind with the majesty and glory of the living God as the true object of worship. {PP 141.2}
Obviously, Abraham was head over more than simply his own family. He was head over heads of families who had come to join his “household.” Any man who is head over you must necessarily, by extension, be head over your wife–else your wife is not under you, or not part of you. Abraham’s household included servants, guests, and others who came to stay with him. He was head over all such persons as were in his household. God said of him, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord….”
Both his “children” and his “household” (including non-relatives), over a thousand people, were commanded by Abraham, and God approved and commended this. In fact, this form of headship, both in the family and in the church, relates precisely to the issue of unity facing our church today.
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Tongkam Also Commented
Northern California Conference Votes to Act Independent of the General Conference
@Sean Pitman:
Sean, I’m sure Uzzah was sincere.
Northern California Conference Votes to Act Independent of the General Conference
@S. Heisey: I agree with what you are saying. This is why adding women’s ordination to our doctrinal repertoire is so problematic. There is simply no Biblical support for it. Contrariwise, the scriptures speak plainly of ordaining men.
Northern California Conference Votes to Act Independent of the General Conference
@Sean Pitman: It is not for me or others, of course, to question your sincerity. We all well know, however, the possibility of being sincerely wrong. In place of being sincere, we must study to show ourselves approved unto God–i.e., we should strive to be diligent. I may be sincere, but I would rather be praised for diligence than sincerity.
Diligence in this study requires some linguistic scholarship. Hebrew and Greek must be consulted to ascertain certain facts. For example, the “husband of one wife” passage becomes inescapably clear when a careful study is made of it. One cannot lightly add to the Word of God in twisting the phrase into “wife of one husband.” Nor can one lightly claim there is no distinction made between genders in the Bible on account of Galatians 3:28–doing so would enable homosexuality by the same interpretation. In fact, of course, the context is that of salvation and not of ordination nor of sexuality. But when the context does not suit the post-modern “progressives,” they wrest the lines that they like from it to leverage a thought never expressed in the original, supporting a concept foreign to its author. Thus they fall prey to a deception of their own making.
Mrs. White made clear that the last great deception would include self-deception. We see that happening among many today. The frightening thing with self-deception is that one may be oblivious to the fact. Sincerely self-deceived? How terrible the possibility! None of us can be confident of our own views except as they are based on a PLAIN “thus saith the LORD.”
