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Secrets Unsealed

Women's Ordination Symposium

Stephen Bohr

1- Are You Sure? Issues and Answers

Laurel Damsteegt

2- The Impact of Spiritualism on Feminism and Gender Issues Today

Mario Veloso

3- From Mohaven to TOSC; How We Got Here

John Peters

4- Male Headship in the Old Testament

6- The Holy Kiss, Consumption of Alcohol, the Use of the Veil, and Personal Adornment

Eugene Prewitt

7- Straw Man Arguments in Favor of Women’s Ordination

Don Mackintosh

8- The Present Relevance of 1 Timothy

Jim Howard

9- The Third Option: A Way Forward or a Step Backwards?

11- Regional Ordination: A Path to Congregationalism?

Dojcin Zivadinovic

12- Reply to NAD and Other Pro-Women’s Ordination Arguments

Phil Mills

13- Women’s Ordination and the Jerusalem Council

14- The Present Relevance of 1 Timothy

Isaac Olatunji

15- Ellen White’s View of Women In Ministry

Julie Mesa

16- Male and Female Created He Them

C. Raymond Holmes

17- My Story and the Hermeneutical Question

19- The Priesthood of All Believers

Town Hall Meeting

I would like to share with you some of the things I have learned over the years.

The impact of spiritualism on feminism and gender issues today.

Oh Father, we come to you as empty vessels, willing and wanting to be filled, and more than filled, we want to be used.

So this morning, as we discuss your great controversy, we ask that all the holy angels crowd in here and beat back the evil angels, And we ask that you will please be with us in Jesus name.

By way of introduction, I was born and reared in Bangkok, Thailand.

My parents are doctors And they were missionaries in Bangkok, Thailand.

And so that's where I was born and that was where I was reared.

I had so much fun as a child growing up, but I found out that I love doing God's work.

And as a child, we would go out to all these various places and do all these wonderful things and I just loved that.

And I determined very early on that I really wanted to share God's word and to be a missionary.

That meant that I loved God and his word.

And every Christmas or any birthday, people would ask me, well, what do you want for your birthday?

And I'd say, oh, I want messages to young people.

Or I want first volume of the Selected Messages.

Or I'd want whatever book of the Spirit of Prophecy collection I was up to, because I loved to study, even as a kid.

And so it was natural for me to go on to get a BA in Theology at AUC, and then an MDiv at Andrews, and then an MSPH at Loma Linda, because I believe in the health work too.

And so we just really enjoyed sharing through the years.

Now my husband, I did marry my husband after my Andrews years.

He was ordained, but at my husband's ordination, I declined ordination, even as a local elder.

And that is because of some of the things I learned at the seminary.

I wish to serve the Lord, but there were 3 papers that I did at the seminary that have shaped my ministry and my whole philosophy.

And I am going to be sharing 1 of them with you this morning.

First Testimonies 421 has a very interesting statement, but it greatly puzzled me.

Those who feel called out to join the movement in favor of women's rights and the so-called dress reform movement, might as well sever all connection with the third angel's message.

That was very strong because it linked, number 1, women's rights with severing connection with the third angel's message.

And I thought, what in the world in the women's rights movement was so objectionable?

The spirit which attends the 1 cannot be in harmony with the other.

The scriptures are plain, notice that, plain upon the relations and rights of men and women.

Okay, notice that the spirit is plain and it's not something that should be difficult for us.

Spiritualists have, to quite an extent, adopted the singular mode of dress, and so it's in the context of the dress.

Seventh-day Adventists who believe in the restoration of the gifts are often branded as spiritualists.

Let them adopt this costume and their influence is dead.

So here we have women's rights being connected to spiritualism.

And so in my study, now remember, this is before CD-ROMs, before internet, before all those things, because I'm an old lady.

We had to find out what was going on in the spirit of prophecy when she was talking about the women's rights and spiritualism being connected.

And So day after day, I would sit down in the White Estate there and I'd go through all the Review and Heralds.

I'd find every article having to do with women and I would write them all down on these yellow sheets.

And then I'd go and I'd study and I'd study.

Number 1, scriptures are plain on the relations and rights of men and women.

And that's what the rest of this seminar is talking about, is how the scriptures are playing on these things.

Number 2, women's rights and the third angel's messages are incompatible.

But somehow there's a connection between women's rights and spiritualism.

How was women's rights a forerunner of feminism related to spiritualism?

I want to go back and I want to study a little bit about spiritualism.

I have categorized spiritualism as type 1 and type 2.

I'm going to explain exactly what I mean by type 1 spiritualism and type 2 spiritualism.

Spiritualism all started in the garden right here on earth.

And Eve ventured away from her husband and ended up at the tree that she was forbidden to be at.

And right then, in Genesis 3, 4, we have Satan's first lie.

And what this means is if the dead are not dead, the devil can directly communicate with people here on earth through rapings, through seances, through appearances, through levitations, all kinds of manners.

But in Deuteronomy 18, 9 to 14, we find that God very specifically calls it an abomination.

All these kinds of things are an abomination and we should not have anything to do with it as God's people.

But there is a part 2 spiritualism, a type 2 spiritualism and that has to do with Satan's second lie.

Genesis 3, 5, Satan says, ye shall be as gods.

Tree of knowledge of good and evil was forbidden wisdom.

It was woman versus God, her judgment against God's judgment.

Woman overrides God's judgment and goes ahead and does it anyway.

So she believes the serpent over God, she becomes the norm, and she ultimately becomes God.

Great Controversy talks about both these kinds of spiritualism and Great Controversy on page 554 says, and this is talking about philosophical spiritualism now, We are all gods.

And let me unpack that just a little bit.

Spiritualism teaches that man is a creature of progression.

That it is his destiny from his birth to progress even to eternity toward the Godhead.

My fellow man, we're all were unfallen demigods.

And another declares any just and perfect being is Christ.

Another aspect of philosophical spiritualism is that anything is okay.

He declares through the spirits that true knowledge places man above all law, that whatever is is right, that God does not condemn and that all sins which are committed are innocent.

This is what the old book meant when it was saying, I'm okay, you're okay, okay?

You do anything you want, but it's okay, no problem.

You may be all messed up, but nevermind, it's okay.

You believe the way you want, I believe the way I want, and everybody is fine, and this is a great, great problem because this is philosophical spiritualism.

Love makes immoral acts between consulting adults okay.

Alright, there's another aspect here of philosophical spiritualism, type 2.

Ellen White again in Great Controversy 557 says, "'It is true that spiritualism is assuming "'a Christian guise.

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Series

Women's Ordination Symposium

2- The Impact of Spiritualism on Feminism and Gender Issues Today

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Alan Parker - Truth or Hoax: Validity of Ellen White

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1h

Beware Of Girl Power

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Music and Worship: The Chief Battleground of Satan, Part 2

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Eugene Prewitt: How to Learn to Think for Yourself Without Becoming Rebellious

Diseases of the Maturing Mind

39m

Messenger of the Covenant, Part 2

53m

3. The Last Bride

49m

Righteousness by Faith

Return of the Latter Rain

1h 6m

Avenues for Deception

51m

The Word

1h 12m

The Crisis of Authority in the SDA Church

3: The Crisis of Authority in the SDA Church: The Misuse of the Bible

1h 22m

Women's Ordination Symposium

Town Hall Meeting

1h 56m

Sound Doctrine