Gender and the
Priesthood of the New Church
in the 21st Century
The Rev. N. Bruce Rogers
This paper was delivered at the Bryn Athyn Council of the Clergy
meetings in June, 2013.
T
o many minds, the question of gender and the priesthood is a cultural
issue. Are women not just as capable as men of understanding doctrine
and ministering to people in need? If other occupations and offices are now
open to women, why not the priesthood?
The office of priest, however, is unique. Whereas other occupations and
offices are, or have been, created by men, either by conquest or by compact, the
office of priest has its origin in Divine revelation. Without Divine revelation,
there is no church, no religion, and so no priesthood. Unlike other occupations
and offices, the priesthood is therefore a creation, not of men, but of God.
The Immutability of the Heavenly Doctrines
Corporations may alter their bylaws. Governments may amend their
constitutions. Almost any other organization may change the rules under
which it operates. Even churches founded on allegorical scriptures are free to
reinterpret those scriptures in the light of further philosophical and theological
considerations.
But the New Christian Church is founded on the Heavenly Doctrines
given through Emanuel Swedenborg, and as such it is not free to alter, amend,
or change those doctrines. Unlike the doctrines of perhaps all other churches,
the Heavenly Doctrines are not the product of the church. Rather the church
is the product of the doctrines, and the church is obliged to reflect those
doctrines in its policies and practices.
That is because the Heavenly Doctrines are not allegorical. Written
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