new church life: november/december 2014
what makes a church. But the priesthood has a role in public instruction and
leading, promoting the integrity and purity of the overall doctrine of the
Church, which is qualitatively different from roles all laity are encouraged to
do – the ministry of angels in serving others.
Another theme is the nature of representation and the priesthood. The
priesthood is a representative office. (Arcana Coelestia 3670:2) The Lord
assumed the masculine form when on earth because He came as Divine truth,
within which is Divine good. (True Christian Religion 86) His work of salvation
is represented by the priestly office, from a love for all by means of the saving
truths of His Word. (Arcana Coelestia 9809)
We are told that “the inmost quality in masculinity is love, and its veil
wisdom, or in other words, it is love veiled over with wisdom.” (Conjugial Love
32; see also Heaven and Hell 369) This would seem to parallel the presence and
purpose of the Lord in His Humanity.
This is not to say that the Lord is primarily masculine. Both the masculine
and the feminine are derived from the Divine and generative organs of both
sexes are in the Grand Human of heaven. But how the Lord presents Himself
is in the masculine form, and as our Father, even as truth is the form of good.
Some have suggested that the teachings about the differences between the
masculine and the feminine are only pertinent to the relationship between
husband and wife and should not be applied to gender in the priesthood. It
is true that there are a number of passages where the Writings are speaking
specifically about the marriage relationship. But there are also many passages
that generalize beyond that, even connecting it to occupations. (Conjugial Love
174, 175) So it would seem appropriate to include gender and the teachings
about the masculine and feminine when considering the priesthood.
One additional point. Some have observed that the Word never explicitly
prohibits a female from being a priest. I believe this is true. Some take from
this that there is no prohibition preventing a woman from assuming the role of
a priest. Argument from omission is an inherently weak argument. But using
that approach, it is interesting to consider that in the many passages describing
the evils to which the priesthood can fall, none of them appears to be related
to masculinity in particular.
However, in considering the dangers of the priesthood there are several
passages that seem to be explicit contra-indicators for women serving in
the priesthood. (Arcana Coelestia 8994:4; Spiritual Experiences 5936, 4940;
Conjugial Love 125) Thus while there seems to be no evidence giving warnings
about males serving in the priesthood, there are some about females serving.
Other teachings have been brought out that to some suggest a genderinclusive clergy, such as the importance of individual freedom of choice, the
Church being the combination of the masculine and the feminine, the fact that
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