A hermenêutica adventista e o dilema da ordenação da mulher

Abstract

For centuries women have lived on the margins of society; in most cases, only domestic duties were left to them. At most they could be a man’s helper. However, today's society has shown itself to be increasingly demanding regarding the promotion of egalitarian gender social relations. So much so that in recent years there have been great advances in the search for gender equity in society, especially in the corporate world. Women have assumed functions in the most diverse areas of society, leaving nothing to be desired in relation to men. However, it is not possible to say the same when it comes to this issue in the religious sphere. In some churches women are present in all leadership roles and are accepted on an equal footing with the men who work there. They are recognized and ordained as pastors and bishops. In others, they have access to all leadership functions, with the exception of ordained pastoral ministry. There are still some churches in which women must remain silent, leaving them only to sit down and listen to what the preacher has to say. Among the churches cited, as an example, is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where women have free access to all leadership functions, except ordained pastoral ministry. In other words, officially the IASD does not ordain women as pastors. This thesis aims to analyze, through bibliographic and exegetical research, Adventist hermeneutics and the dilemma of women's ordination. Therefore, this research will analyze the historical background of the debate on the ordination of women to pastoral ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In this case, the research will identify what hermeneutic basis is being employed by the IASD to substantiate its current position regarding the ordination of women. Understanding how Seventh-day Adventists read and interpret the biblical text is critical to knowing what the reasons are that the IASD has maintained its position in not ordaining women to pastoral ministry. On the other hand, it is extremely important to highlight the role of the feminist movement throughout history, in the face of the struggles for women's rights and gender equality, whether in society or in the church, and how the church has reacted in relation to this whole debate. Has the IASD been assertive or not regarding its current position on the topic of women's ordination?