What's new at cbe?
Purchase The Resignation of Eve at CBE Bookstore!
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Did you read JennyRae Armstrong's review of The Resignation of Eve in last week's Arise? If so, you'll be glad to know that the book is now available at CBE Bookstore. Order your copy today! |
Chicago Chapter Event in February!
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Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Chicago Chapter's meeting with Dr. Spradley on Saturday, February 18. An emeritus professor of physics at Wheaton College, Dr. Spradley has taken a personal interest in the topic of women and science; he has an extensive collection of publications on the history of women in this field. His lecture "Women and the Stars" will examine the contributions women have made to astronomy.
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Houston Conference Speaker!
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Rev. Dr. Katie Hays will be speaking at the Houston
conference, "New Creation. New Tradition: Reclaiming the
Biblical Tradition of Man and Woman, One in Christ."
She will present a personal account of her call to
ministry and the obstacles she encountered because of her
gender. |
take action
See "Miss
Representation"
Take a friend or your CBE chapter to see the documentary "Miss
Representation." The film explores how the media's
misrepresentations of women have led to the underrepresentation of
women in positions of power and influence. Join the Minneapolis
chapter as we watch this on February 6.
Find a screening near you.
Help CBE Translate Our Statement on Men, Women, and Biblical Equality!
CBE is looking for someone fluent in Urdu to translate our one page Statement on Men, Women, and Biblical Equality.
If you would like to support translation work, donate to our literature distribution fund here.
Thank You for Donating!
Because of your generosity, we have raised all the money for our booth at the North American Christian Convention (NACC).
Please remember to keep us in your prayers and, if you live near Orlando, FL,
consider volunteering at our booth!
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2012 Kenyan Conference
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Sign up for Auto Renewals!
"Does the title 'Pastor' mean I'm power-hungry?"
Praised in Christianity Today as one of the five best books on the topic of women in ministry, Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry
is now available in Spanish.
Get your copy today!
Christians for Biblical Equality presents "Equal to Serve: Gender and Authentic Biblical Leadership" on July 20-22, 2012 in Limuru, Kenya. Christian leaders, scholars, and activists from all over the world will conduct sessions about gender, leadership, justice, and what it means to be the body of Christ. Come learn and fellowship with us!
Click here to learn more.
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Join the Conversation
Scot McKnight is a professor at North Park University in Chicago, and is the author of more than 30 books, including a work on women in ministry called The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for close to forty years. They have two children and two grandchildren.
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Complementarians often shift their footings when it comes to Junia (Rom. 16:7). They want to find some argument on which they can stand to diminish the significance of the woman.
First, they argued she wasn't a woman (Junia) but a man (Junias). The evidence disproved them so thoroughly even they gave in (or most of them gave in) and so they shifted to another footing...
Second, they argued she wasn't an apostle. Don't forget this: The only reason males in the history of the church, and the motive seems to be to diminish women leaders in the church, changed the woman Junia to Junias--a male name--was because whoever it was was an apostle. So the complementarians decided to show she wasn't an apostle: she's a woman alright, but only esteemed among the (male-only college of) apostles and not an apostle herself. That was disproven (Eldon Epp's long section in his book shows that this argument that Junia was only esteemed by the apostles but wasn't an apostle herself can't be relied on with rigor). So they shifted to another footing...
Third, they now argued she was an apostle only in conjunction with her male (probably) husband. This one just didn't work because she's still called an "apostle"--a pair of apostles still makes her an apostle. So they shifted to another footing...
Fourth, they now argue that "apostle" really doesn't mean "apostle"--it really means "missionary," and we all know a "missionary" isn't what an apostle is. So we don't have to worry about women leaders, because Junia was just a missionary. To be sure, the word "apostle" undoubtedly has a narrow meaning (the twelve, Paul, etc.) and it has a broader meaning (church-planting, founding, missionary). It still means "apostle" (one sent by Christ) and not only that--this term describes the highest office for the first century Christians. And Junia is in that small and highly esteemed circle: she's a woman; she's an apostle; and she may have been a missionary kind of apostle but don't forget what Paul says--she was a great apostle/missionary.
What's next? Will "great" now be diminished too? Will this all be seen as tongue-in-cheek by the apostle?
This gets tiresome. Let the Bible say what it says. Junia was a woman; she was an apostle; she was a great apostle. Give the woman a break, and give her a big clap! Saint Chrysostom surely did. The question to ask when evaluating someone for leadership in the local church is not "Man or woman?" but "What has God gifted this person--man or woman--to do?"
Do I have a witness?
This article originally appeared on the Jesus Creed blog, January 2, 2012.