Right now one of the hot topics being discussed in Community of Christ is what priesthood is and where its authority is derived from. Amazingly, Evangelist Roy Cheville prophetically wrote about many of the topics that we are talking about today way back in the 1950s with his book “By What Authority?”
Recently in a Community of Christ group there was a women who took a stand against abortion and made it explicitly known that she was speaking as an elder in the church. Amazingly, this exact situation is something that Cheville wrote about. I would like to recount a couple of paragraphs from the 4th chapter in “By What Authority?”
Authoritarian or Authoritative
The ministry we can bring to our people will be conditioned by the quality of our ethical choices. The authoritarian makes answer with definiteness because some “authority” by virtue of position or prestige has given the answer. Several years ago when Daniel McGregor visited a group of university students they asked him about the theory of biological evolution. He picked up the Bible and read a few sentences from the Book of Genesis and made this caustic comment, “There it is. You can believe it or go to hell.” He put both “authority” and penalty for disbelief of authoritarian statements back of his reply. One thing was sure – those young people never came to him with any more questions.
There is an aging elder of fervent faith who likes to practice this authoritarian approach. At least they find support in it. Whenever they and their spouse have a difference of viewpoint, with respect to matters of doctrine or application of this doctrine to affairs of daily life, they can resort to this comment, “That is my interpretation. After all, my Melchisedec priesthood counts for something.”
Through history people who have held priestly office have been tempted to use this priesthood in backing them up and giving official sanction to what they might say. Especially has it been so if the priestly office held was one of high rank. There is a great difference between speaking forth by virtue of holding the office and speaking forth by virtue of the competency achieved through functioning in the office. If someone has been functioning well, they have been building up authority that comes through years of effective ministry. Any person who has to rely on their priesthood title to make their words be heard and received by the people must be lacking in the genuine authority that gives them the right to be heard and to be respected.