Holiness and Ministry : A Biblical Theology of Ordination

The World Council of Churches has called for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue. This book is a response to that call. It is grounded in the assumption that the vocation of ordination requires an understanding of holiness and how it functions in human religious experience. The goal is to construct a biblical theology of ordination that is embedded in broad reflection on the nature of holiness. Dozeman's study of holiness and ministry interweaves three methodologies. The first, from the History of Religions, describes two theories of holiness in the study of religion, as a dynamic force and as a ritual resource. Both play a central role in biblical literature and establish the paradigm of ordination to Word and Sacrament in Christian tradition. Second, the study of the formation of the Mosaic Office illustrates how the two views of holiness model ordination to the prophetic word and to the priestly ritual. Third, Canonical Criticism provides the lens to explore the ongoing influence of the Mosaic Office in the New Testament literature. Holiness and Ministry will assist candidates for ordination to discern their call experience and establish professional identity within individual traditions of Christianity, while also providing a resource for ecumenical dialogue on the nature and purpose of Christian ordination. The introduction -- The goals -- The methodology -- Holiness and the history of religions -- The mosaic office and the history of the composition of Torah -- Canonical criticism and the inter-biblical interpretation of the mosaic office -- The overview -- Holiness and ordination -- Holiness as separation -- The sacred and the profane -- The pure and the impure -- Holiness, sanctuaries, and ordination as a rite-of-passage -- Theories of holiness and the ordination to word and sacrament -- Rudolf otto and the charismatic power of holiness -- The separate quality of holiness -- The sacred and the profane -- The sacred and ordination -- Jacob Milgrom and holiness as a ritual resource -- The separate quality of holiness -- The sacred and the profane -- The sacred and ordination -- The mosaic office as the model for ordination -- The mosaic office in Torah -- The mosaic office as a rite-of-passage -- The call to the mosaic office and the two theories of holiness -- The prophetic call of Moses -- The priestly call of Moses -- The ordination to the divine word in Deuteronomy and in the New Testament -- The literary setting of the book of Deuteronomy -- The separate quality of holiness -- The sacred and the profane -- The dynamic power of divine election -- The past election of Israel in the Exodus and the Revelation at Mount Horeb -- The present election of a sanctuary for the divine name -- The sacred and ordination -- The origin of the ordination to the divine word -- The responsibilities of the ordination to the divine word -- Moses the charismatic teacher -- Moses the intercessor -- Additional responsibilities and offices of ordination -- The ordination to sacrament rituals in the -- Priestly literature and in the New Testament -- The literary setting of the priestly literature -- The separate quality of holiness -- The sacred and the profane -- Covenant and divine memory -- The glory of Yahweh at Mount Sinai -- The descent to the summit of Mount Sinai -- The descent into the tabernacle -- The descent into the altar -- The sacred and ordination -- The origin of the ordination to sacramental rituals -- The sanctuary setting -- The vestments of ordination -- The separate status of the priest -- The responsibilities of the ordination to sacramental rituals -- The mediation of holiness -- The ethical demands of holiness -- Additional responsibilities and offices of ordination -- The offices of ordination in the New Testament -- The challenge of the New Testament -- The office of apostle -- The office of apostle as a ritual resource in Luke-Acts -- The origin of the apostles -- The apostolic office -- The office of the apostle as a dynamic power in the Pauline Epistles -- The call of Paul -- Paul's apostolic calling -- The office of the presbyter -- The tradition of the elders in second temple Judaism -- The office of the elder in the New Testament -- The office of the deacon -- The office of the bishop -- The mosaic office and the ordination to word and sacrament in Christian tradition -- The ordination to the mosaic office -- The sacred and the profane and the rite-of-passage of ordination -- The two theories of holiness and the ordination to the divine word and sacramental ritual -- The call of ordination -- The identity of the ordained -- The mosaic office and the ecumenical mandate -- A canonical interpretation of holiness and ordination -- The social and theological background for the rise of canonical criticism -- The goals of canonical criticism -- The mutual recognition of the ordained in ecumenical dialogue -- The mosaic office and the ordination to a specific denomination "The World Council of Churches has called for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue. This book is a response to that call. It is grounded in the assumption that the vocation of ordination requires an understanding of holiness and how it functions in human religious experience. The goal is to construct a biblical theology of ordination that is embedded in broad reflection on the nature of holiness." "Dozeman's study of holiness and ministry interweaves three methodologies. The first, from the history of religions, describes two theories of holiness in the study of religion, as a dynamic force and as a ritual resource. Both play a central role in biblical literature and establish the paradigm of ordination to word and sacrament in Christian tradition. Second, the study of the formation of the Mosaic office illustrates how the two views of holiness model ordination to the prophetic word and to the priestly ritual. Third, canonical criticism provides the lens to explore the ongoing influence of the Mosaic office in the New Testament literature." "Holiness and Ministry will assist candidates for ordination to discern their call experience and establish professional identity within individual traditions of Christianity, while also providing a resource for ecumenical dialogue on the nature and purpose of Christian ordination."--BOOK JACKET ## Abstract This book is an initial response to the call of the World Council of Churches for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue. It is grounded in the assumption that the vocation of ordination requires an understanding of holiness and how it functions in human religious experience. The goal is to construct a biblical theology of ordination, embedded in broad reflection on the nature of holiness. The study of holiness and ministry interweaves three methodologies. First, the history of religions describes two theories of holiness in the study of religion — as a dynamic force and as a ritual resource — which play a central role in biblical literature and establish the paradigm of ordination to Word and Sacrament in Christian tradition. Second, the study of the Moses in the Pentateuch and the formation of the Mosaic office illustrate the ways in which the two views of holiness model ordination to the prophetic word and to the priestly ritual. And, third, canonical criticism provides the lens to explore the ongoing influence of the Mosaic office in the New Testament literature. Contents......Page 8 1. Introduction......Page 12 2. Holiness and Ordination......Page 21 3. The Mosaic Office as the Model for Ordination......Page 44 4. Holiness and the Ordination to the Divine Word in Deuteronomy and in the New Testament......Page 69 5. Holiness and the Ordination to Sacramental Rituals in the Priestly Literature and in the New Testament......Page 90 6. Holiness and Ordination in the New Testament Literature......Page 113 7. The Mosaic Office and the Ordination to Word and Sacrament in Christian Tradition......Page 129 Notes......Page 150 Scripture Index......Page 158 L......Page 164 Z......Page 165 I......Page 166 Z......Page 167 'Holiness and Ministry' is a response to the call of the World Council of Churches for renewed theological reflection on the biblical roots of ordination to strengthen the vocational identity of the ordained and to provide a framework for ecumenical dialogue