Paraklesis | Fall 2005

Evangelical Egalitarianism

In the last few decades, the rise of modern feminism has led to a debate over the role of women in evangelical (Bible-believing) local churches. Among evangelicals, two responses to these changes about women have emerged. One is evangelical egalitarianism, which asserts that there should be no role distinctions between men and women in the church of God. According to this view, women can serve as pastors in light of passages like Galatians 3:28.

The second response is what has come to be called the complementarian approach. This position is championed by The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (www.cbmw.org). It sees role distinctions between men and women in the family and in the church as designed by God. Men are to be the loving leaders of their families. Men should serve as the shepherds of the churches. These roles are complemented by God’s design for women who serve in different ways.

In my judgment, the complementarian position follows the biblical text (Ephesians 5:22ff; 1 Timothy 2:11-15) and allows God’s transcultural design for men and women to shine for the benefit of both families and churches. Bible-believing churches should resist changes that have been brought on by feminist notions in the culture when such notions are at odds with the teaching of Scripture.

With that in mind, I want to highlight some issues influencing churches and theology which have been fostered by the surge in feminism. First, there is the redemptive movement hermeneutic. This position seeks to develop an approach to application that allows for women to be pastors today. It is based upon the progression found in the text about women relative to the Bible’s culture rather than looking strictly at the content of the Bible as a model for practicing leadership in the home and church. Contrary to this position, it is much better to simply accept God’s design in Genesis 2 (which is used in 1 Timothy 2:11-15) and eliminate the intrusion of feminist thought into theology.

Another area in which the influence of feminism has been felt is the debate over gender-neutral translations. The discussion concerns the replacement of gender specific terms like “he” and “son” with terms like “they” and “child.” In some circles, it is no longer considered politically correct to use the word “he” as a generic term to refer to both men and women since doing so is viewed as a putdown of women. The translation most discussed in this respect is Today’s New International Version (TNIV). In general, Christians should make sure that translation philosophy is not motivated by feminist pressures to move away from traditional and accurate meanings of the biblical text.

Associated with the rise of feminist thought as it intersects the evangelical world are other theological issues such as the formulation of the doctrines of the Trinity and the Atonement. The doctrine of the Trinity is especially troublesome for evangelical egalitarians since it teaches that Jesus was functionally submissive to the Father while at the same time being equal with the Father in His essence. If this is true, the argument cannot be made that women are less than men simply because of their submission to them in appropriate ways.

The doctrine of the Atonement has also been reworked by those advocating a “nonviolent” atonement in which Jesus does not suffer the wrath of God upon sin. Such a notion is viewed as typical of male violence. According to this view, what is needed is a more feminine and nurturing understanding of Jesus’ death. However, such thinking emasculates the biblical text and should be strenuously rejected. In the end, the feminization of modern culture should be avoided while keeping God’s balanced and beautiful design in place as men and women complement each other in the roles designed for each.

Mike Stallard (Ph.D.) is Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Ph.D. program at BBS. He is an experienced pastor who has led various church plants and churches.