OK - here is the text again:
1 Timothy 2:12-15 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
...and here are my issues with using it to support not ordaining women:
1. "I suffer not a woman to teach..." Uh-oh. Get rid of all the female educators in our schools and churches!!
2. "...nor to usurp authority over the man..." Usurp? Here is a dictionary definition:
u·surp ? ?[yoo-surp, -zurp]
verb (used with object)
* to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right: The pretender tried to usurp the throne.
* to use without authority or right; employ wrongfully: The magazine usurped copyrighted material.
How does that apply to ordination of women?
3. "...but to be in silence." How did that apply to EGW?
What I hear you doing is raising questions about how to apply the text consistently, which is very important, but I don't hear you offering a contrary interpretation.
Re: #1:
Titus 2:3-5 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
So here we have Paul commanding women to teach. So 1 Tim. 2 is not an absolute ban on all kinds of teaching.
Re: #2: Those that believe that this passage is still good counsel today believe that Paul is endorsing the idea of male headship in the church, where men lead out. And a lot of women want men to be men and lead out in spiritual things in the home and in the church.
In Adventism, ordination invests the individual with authority to ordain elders and deacons, baptize, marry, organize churches, etc., anywhere. If a woman has been granted that much authority, in what way is the divine order in Scripture still preserved?
In the OT, all the priests were men. In the NT, all of Jesus' apostles were men. Women filled important and vital roles, but they didn't fill the priest/apostle roles. When Barack didn't want to go to battle unless Deborah when too, Deborah's response was basically, "Shame on you!"
Re: #3: The Bible endorses the idea of women serving as prophets. Some have pointed out that Paul also allowed for women to pray or prophesy in 1 Cor. 11:5, which thus allows for women to speak during public worship. So where does one draw the line? A logical place seems to be when a woman becomes
the leader in the church.