Michiana Adventist Forum

"A Linguist's Reading of the SDA Church's Debate on Women's Ordination" with Dr. Julia Kim

Michiana Adventist Forum

Presents

A Linguist's Reading of the SDA Church's Debate on Women's Ordination

with

Dr. Julia Kim
Associate Professor of English
Andrews University

Saturday afternoon at 3:30 pm
January 20, 2018

Chan Shun Hall
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI

About the Speaker
Dr. Kim is director of the graduate Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program at Andrews University where she mentors future professionals who will be teaching English to non-native speakers.

Before joining the English faculty at Andrews, she directed the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Southwester Adventist University in Keene, TX, for four years. She also worked with middle school ESL students in Powder Springs, GA, and taught at Korean Sahmyook University in Seoul.

She holds a BA from Union College, an MA from Andrews University, and a PhD from Northern Illinois University.

In her free time, she enjoys walking, reading, writing, or traveling with family.

In regards to women’s issues in the Christian church, she says, “As a member of a protestant denomination, I relate most with the progressive Christian view, which embraces deity of Jesus and sacredness of the Bible and yet rejects literal, fixed interpretations. Second, along the wide ranging spectrum of perspectives represented by various groups of feminist theologians, I resonate most with evangelical feminists who uphold the value of the Scripture but reject the notion of predestined hierarchy based on gender.”

About the Subject
Dr. Kim has provided the following information about her presentation:

The issue of women’s ordination is typically approached from a theological perspective, with both sides of the debate presenting their arguments based on what they confidently assert to be solid biblical principles. However, since hermeneutics is subjective and artful, to a certain extent, and human cognition is mediated through language, examining the arguments through a linguistic lens could shed further light on the debate. This presentation comparatively analyzes two written statements that were issue in 2014 by two groups of Seventh-day Adventist scholars—“On the Unique Headship of Christ in the Church” and the response statement, “An Open Appeal”—through a linguistic lens in orde to uncover any paradoxes or dilemmas inherent in the arguments that may go unnoticed. The analysis indicates that the SDA Church’s current debate concerning women pastors seems to center not so much on which side interprets the Bible and Ellen White’s writings more carefully. Rather, the debate seems to hing on how the church defines pastoral leadership and with which theological paradigm it aligns its view of the Trinity.

Adventist Forum is open to the public. All are welcome. For
information, contact Art Robertson at robertsa2@earthlink.net or call 471-7150.