We took some interest in the article because the vast body of historical records on Jesus Christ, mainly from New Testament scripture, contains absolutely no information indicating that Christ ever ordained women.
But it was not the ordination idea that was most unusual in the commentary by this Catholic writer and theologian. Rather, it was Karban’s idea that the resurrected Christ represents a wholly “new creation” in the sense of Christ’s changed doctrinal understanding, and that the resurrected Christ is now a uniquely different person in his comprehension of all things spiritual--not the same historical Jesus that once lived in mortality among the Jews.
Karban bases his revisionist views of the resurrected Christ on what appears to be his misinterpretation of 2 Corinthians 5:17, which simply states that “…if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature…” What the Apostle Paul more likely meant in this context was that a true follower of Christ is spiritually reborn in terms of his or her own personal conduct, having made decisions to live a righteous, Christ-centered life.
But Karban goes further in his “new creature” interpretation, writing that “the person who rose from the tomb into a new creation on Easter Sunday was just as much a slave as a free person, a Gentile as a Jew, and a woman as a man.” He construed this idea from Galatians 3:27-28, which actually reads, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
In other words, according to the commentary, Jesus now risen could not be considered the first-century Jewish man, carpenter, and “itinerant preacher” described in the New Testament.
We might more accurately interpret Galatians 3:27-28 as meaning that in the eyes of God, true believers are equally acceptable, and have become unified in their faith in Jesus Christ.However, as Karban reasons, if Jesus were now both male and female, then surely he would not now refrain from ordaining women in the Catholic Church. According to Korban, this is “because it is now a different Jesus, not a ‘returned’ historical Jesus” as described in the New Testament. “The risen Jesus constantly modifies his message to meet the needs of new times and new audiences,” he writes.
How convenient! Teachings and practices may now be changed on a whim to meet the “needs of new times and new audiences.” The doctrines taught by the historical Jesus have no lasting relevancy!
In yet another surprising reinterpretation of scripture, Karban claims that Jesus did not raise Lazarus or the 12-year-old daughter of Jairus from the dead. He states, “Jesus simply resuscitated them.” Thus, he denies, as many non-believers, the power and authority of Jesus Christ to perform such miracles.
Korban retells the story of Paul’s conversion in Acts, chapter 9. But according to Korban, Saul is “knocked to the ground by someone claiming to be Jesus.” And then, “much to Saul's surprise, this confrontative risen Jesus identifies with all his followers,” suggesting somehow that believers both men and women in Damascus represented “other Christs.” From this we are to understand “according to Luke’s theology” that all believers are equally other Christs.
Korban concludes by writing that “just as the church once struggled to surface the risen Jesus in Gentiles and slaves, it continues to struggle with experiencing that same unique (Jesus) person in women.” The parallels with mistreatment of slaves and discrimination against foreigners are apparent--quite a condemnation of his denomination.
Wow! Let's now return to some sense of truth: The scriptures are clear that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, born on the earth; He lived a perfect life, taught the gospel, organized his church, atoned for our sins, was crucified, and resurrected as an immortal glorified being--but not as a uniquely different person apart from his historical authenticity. He allowed his disciples to “reach hither thy finger and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side” (John 20:27) to know with certainty that it was He who was tortured and killed. After his resurrection, He continued to teach his disciples the same gospel doctrines--perfectly consistent with all that He taught them before the resurrection.
The Devil would like people to diminish the historical Jesus of the New Testament as merely a carpenter turned itinerant preacher, and to deny the miracles, and even to suggest the teachings of Christ in scripture are no longer relevant today because the new Jesus is somehow more enlightened to contemporary social issues. Many already do that for the Devil in so-called intellectual, but spiritually hollow commentary.
And incidentally, Peter also raised the dead (Acts 9:41) with the power and authority of Christ. And Jesus Christ didn’t knock Saul to the ground. We need not twist the scriptures or invent a new Jesus, more perfect than the one we already know, to appease popular notions or meet the “needs of new times and new audiences.”
