Adventist Ordination Crisis

Didn't Ellen White have a position of authority in the church?

Didn't Mrs. White encourage women to participate in the work of the church?

Is the authority of the Bible really such an important issue for Seventh-day Adventists?

What does the New Testament actually say about women in elder-pastor leadership roles?

What is Ellen White's relationship to this issue? Was she ever ordained?

But most of the people I know (many of them, anyway) are in favor of ordaining women as elders or even pastors. Shouldn't this count for something?

What is the significance of Paul's discussion about head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 for the discussion of the role of women in the church?

Why does Paul appeal to Adam's being created before Eve to justify his injunction that women should not be permitted “to teach or to have authority over men” (1 Timothy 2:12)? Is it arbitrary to assign leadership on the basis of priority of creation?

Does the New Testament distinguish between the office of elder and that of pastor?

What kind of speaking does Paul prohibit to women in 1 Corinthians 14:34 when he writes, “The women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says”?

What are the implications of this for the issue of ordination of women to the headship positions in the church?

Did Adam “rule over” Eve before the Fall?

What evidence is there for a “structure” in the relationship of the man and woman before the Fall?

Is Gen. 1, where man and woman are presented as equals, more trustworthy than Gen. 2, where the woman is subordinate?

Are “equality in being” and “subordination in function” contradictory terms?