The General Conference Biblical Research Institute has noted that opponent of women’s ordination are claiming that “it opens the way to the acceptance of a homosexual lifestyle by the Adventist Church.” But the GC BRI explains: “The two issues are not related to each other and should be kept separate.” The BRI stays: While the Bible clearly forbids homosexual activity, it does not … forbid ordination of women. The BRI further explains that the “wrong reasons used by some should not prevent us to do the right thing for right reasons.”

The Adventist Church does not seek to pattern itself after others. Rather, we have studied Scripture and examined numerous resources, including the Spirit of Prophecy. Ever since 1881, when a resolution recommending the ordination of women to ministry was presented at the General Conference Session, questions about ordination have been under examination.

The North American Division explains that the Adventist Church has consistently had a vision for elevating the human race by returning to the model found in the Garden of Eden. Uplifting the theology of the Eden model, along with the direct biblical references condemning homosexual behavior in the Old and New Testaments, ensures that our church does not ordain ministers engaged in homosexual behavior. However, the Bible does not directly address the ordination of women and it consistently elevates women above the cultural norms of the day.

It bears repeating the BRI’s advice: the issues of homosexuality and women’s ordination are not related to each other and should be kept separate. The BRI says: While the Bible clearly forbids homosexual activity, it does not … forbid ordination of women. Thus, the “wrong reasons used by some should not prevent us to do the right thing for right reasons.”

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