Complementarianism

Part of a series on Christianity and Gender

Theology

Female disciples of Jesus Gender roles in Christianity Jesus' interactions with women List of women in the Bible Paul of Tarsus and women Women as theological figures Women in the Bible

4 major positions

Christian Egalitarianism Christian feminism Complementarianism Biblical patriarchy

Church and society

Christianity and homosexuality Ordination of women Women in Church history

Organizations

Christians for Biblical Equality Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus

Theologians and authors

Feminist: Letha Dawson Scanzoni · Anne Eggebroten · Virginia Ramey Mollenkott Egalitarian: William J. Webb · Kenneth E. Hagin · Gordon Fee · Frank Stagg · Paul Jewett · Stanley Grenz · Roger Nicole Complementarian: Don Carson · John Frame · Wayne Grudem · Douglas Moo · Paige Patterson · Vern Poythress Patriarchal: Doug Phillips · R. C. Sproul, Jr. · Douglas Wilson

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Complementarianism is a theological view held by some in Christianity and other world religions, such as Islam,^[1] that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, religious leadership, and elsewhere. The word ‘'complementary’' and its cognates are currently used to denote this view. For those whose complementarian view is biblically-prescribed, these separate roles preclude women from specific functions of ministry within the Church.^[2] It assigns leadership roles to men and support roles to women, based on the interpretation of certain biblical passages. One of its precepts is that while women may assist in the decision making process, the ultimate authority for the decision is the purview of the male in marriage, courtship, and in the polity of churches subscribing to this view.

Contrasting viewpoints maintain either that women and men should share identical authority and responsibilities in marriage, religion and elsewhere (Egalitarianism), or that men and women are of intrinsically different worth (a position usually known as chauvinism, usually male, although female varieties do exist).

Christianity

Complementarianism holds that "God has created men and women equal in their essential dignity and human personhood, but different and complementary in function with male headship in the home and in the Church."^[3]

The complementarian position is seen to uphold what has been the most traditional teaching ^[4] on gender roles in the church. However, the terms traditionalist or hierarchicalist are usually avoided by complementarians, as the former “implies an unwillingness to let Scripture challenge traditional patterns of behavior”, while the latter “overemphasizes structured authority while giving no suggestion of equality or the beauty of mutual interdependence”. Therefore, they prefer the term complementarian, “since it suggests both equality and beneficial differences”.^[5]

The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church both advocate complementarianism with regards to the social doctrine of the Church. The former, for example, asserts that "God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity"^[6] but also that the harmony of society "depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out."^[6]

In contrast with adherents of Biblical patriarchy, some complementarians are open to the possibility of women assuming leadership roles in civic and commercial life.

Roles in marriage

The complementarian view of marriage asserts gender-based roles in marriage.^[7] A husband is considered to have the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect, and lead his family. A wife is to collaborate with her husband, respect him, and serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Complementarians assert that the Bible instructs husbands to lovingly lead their families and to love their wives as Christ loves the Church, and instructs wives to respect their husbands’ leadership out of reverence for Christ.^[8][9]

An example of the Complementarian view of marriage can be found in the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message (2000):^[9]

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to his people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

— Article XVIII. The Family. Baptist Faith and Message 2000

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood teaches that "Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission—domestic, religious, or civil—ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin."^[10]

The expression Sponsa Christi is sometimes used by complementarians, who note that Paul of Tarsus himself advocated such views. Accordingly, the Christ symbolizes the man, while the Church (Ecclesia) represents the woman.^{[citation needed]}

Roles in the Church

Based on their interpretation of certain scriptures Complementarians view women's roles in ministry, particularly in church settings, as limited.^[10] The complementarian view holds that women should not hold church leadership roles that involve teaching or authority over men.^[11] For instance, the president of a large conservative denomination has written that "...while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of Pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."^[7][12]

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood holds that “[i]n the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (1 Cor; 11:2-16; 1 Tim 2:11-15).”^[10] Some believe that women should be ordained neither as a pastor nor as an evangelist, while others believe that it is acceptable for women to be evangelists but not pastors.^[13] This would not support placing women in leadership roles in the church or family that would imply or provide some authority over men. Which other specific ministry roles are open to women varies among complementarians.^[7]

Roman Catholic complementarianism has generally advocated roles for women as teachers, mothers and nuns. Some traditionally Roman Catholic countries have been called matriarchal because of the high value that was placed on women, and there are numerous women who have been beatified and who are venerated among the saints. However, the Roman Catholic Church restricts ordination to men, since "The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry."^[14]

Other religions

Differentiation of women's roles on the basis of religious beliefs are not unique to Christianity or Western culture.^[15]

Christian

Christian denominations that support complementarianism are Evangelical, Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses and Eastern Orthodox.^[16] These groups of churches that support forms of this position specifically include the Southern Baptist Convention,^[7] Eastern Orthodox Church,^[17] Presbyterian Church in America,^[18] Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod,^[18] Roman Catholic Church,^[19] Conservative Mennonites, Newfrontiers, Evangelical Free Church of America,^[20] Christian and Missionary Alliance,^[20] Sovereign Grace Ministries,^[20] and the Calvary Chapel movement.

Islam

Within Islam, "a tension exists between the egalitarian view that believers are judged on the basis of merit and the inegalitarian view that women and men should fulfill distinct, complementary roles in the family and society".^[15]

Complementarian advocates

Complementarianism is promoted by parachurch organizations including the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, FamilyLife, Focus on the Family, Campus Crusade for Christ, and Promise Keepers.^[21]

Noted supporters of the Complementarian position include J.I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, Albert Mohler, Mark Dever, Mark Driscoll, C. J. Mahaney, Adrian Rogers, Richard Land, Ligon Duncan, Gerald Bray, Terry Virgo, John Wimber, Tim Keller, John F. MacArthur, C.S. Lewis, John Piper and Elisabeth Elliot, missionary and wife of the missionary Jim Elliot.

Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

Main article: Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is an evangelical Christian organization promoting a complementarian view of gender issues.^[22][23][24] CBMW's current president is Dr. Randy Stinson^[25] who is also Dean of the School of Church Ministries at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The CBMW publishes a biannual newsletter called the Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood.^[26]

History

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was organized in 1987.^[27][28] Its origins lie with a talk by Wayne Grudem on "Manhood and Womanhood in Biblical and Theological Perspectives" at a 1986 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), where he invited delegates to join "a new organization dedicated to upholding both equality and differences between men and women in marriage and the church."^[29] This was followed by a meeting in Dallas with Grudem, John Piper, Wayne House, and others.^[29] A subsequent meeting was held in Danvers, Massachusetts. Here the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was finalized.^[30] A full page advertisement containing the full Danvers Statement was published in Christianity Today in January 1989.^[31][32][33]

In 1991, Crossway Books published the organisation's lengthy book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism.^[34] Edited by Piper and Grudem, this book included contributions by D. A. Carson, John Frame, Vern Poythress, Douglas J. Moo, Paige Patterson, Elisabeth Elliot, and several other writers.^[35] Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ also supported the organisation.^[36]

The Danvers Statement recognised the "genuine evangelical standing of many who do not agree with all of our convictions."^[37] In 1994, three leaders of CBMW met with Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) for discussions. While there was much dialog, little agreement was found.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998, the organisation established a British branch, in which Terry Virgo was active.^[38]

As of December 2010, the CBMW had a funding level of around $127,000, down from $336,000 two years earlier.^[28]

Positions

The CBMW position is articulated in the Danvers Statement.^[10] The statement has been endorsed or adopted by the Southwestern Baptist Seminary^[39] and several independent churches.^[40][41] Randall Balmer says that the Statement was an attempt to "staunch the spread of biblical feminism in evangelical circles."^[42] Seth Dowland suggests that the authors of the statement "framed their position as a clear and accessible reading of scripture.^[43] The Danvers Statement is included in readers such as Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism: A Documentary Reader (NYU Press, 2008) and Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim readings on Genesis and gender (Indiana University Press, 2009).

The CBMW takes the position the the Bible restricts the ordination of women.^[44]

In the late 90s CBMW published articles and papers critical of gender-neutral Bible translations, such as Today's New International Version of 2002. CBMW has drawn Christian media attention by expressing concerns about such translations.^[45][46][47] The organizations thoughts on Bible translations have had influence upon Southern Baptists,^[48] Focus on the Family, and other evangelical organizations.

Complementarian movements within feminism

New feminism is a predominantly Catholic philosophy which emphasizes a belief in an integral complementarity of men and women, rather than the superiority of men over women or women over men.^[49]

Difference feminism is a philosophy that stresses that men and women are ontologically different versions of the human being. Many Catholics adhere to and have written on the philosophy, though the philosophy is not specifically Catholic.

Criticism

It is argued by some who disagree within Christianity, such as Christians for Biblical Equality, which note that complementarianism "sidesteps the question at issue, which is not whether there are beneficial differences between men and women, but whether these differences warrant the inequitable roles, rights, and opportunities prescribed by advocates of gender hierarchy."^[50]

In February 1989, R.K. McGregor Wright put out "Response to the Danvers Statement," an unpublished paper delivered to the Christians for Biblical Equality Conference, St. Paul, which was later revised and republished.^[32] In 1990 Christians for Biblical Equality published a statement "Men, Women & Biblical Equality," in Christianity Today.^[51]

See also

• Biblical patriarchy
• Christian egalitarianism
• Christian views about women
• Christian views of marriage
• Gender roles in Islam
• FamilyLife
• Ordination of women
• Rights and obligations of spouses in Islam

Related secular:

• Antifeminism
• Family values
• Masculism

References and notes

1. ^ Karin van Nieuwkerk. "Women Embracing Islam: Gender and Conversion in the West". University of Texas Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z9WF1fRGOsQC&pg=PA200&lpg=PA200&dq=complementarian+women+islam&source=bl&ots=Jt7mdskKvk&sig=DNaprwFtZDXGH_JOh8IkBUDVJQ4&hl=en&ei=uXlUTbrpB4HAtgfR3NmiCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CEwQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "Secular feminists in Muslim societies demanded full equality in the public sphere, calling for access to education, work, and political participation as part of women's self-development and the empowering of the society in the decolonizing process. Within this feminist framework women accepted the notion of complementarity in the private sphere, upholding the notion of male predominance, regarded as benevolent predominance in the family. They called upon men to fulfull their duties, protecting and providing in ways that upheld the rights and dignity of women." 
2. ^ Wright, N.T. (4 Sep 2004). "Women’s Service in the Church: The Biblical Basis.". http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Women_Service_Church.htm. Retrieved 12 Jul 2010. 
3. ^ Duncan, Ligon (2004-12-15). "Male Authority and Female Equality: In the beginning—Genesis 1-3 being understood as part of God’s created design". Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. http://www.cbmw.org/Resources/Sermons/Male-Authority-and-Female-Equality-In-the-beginning-Genesis-1-3. Retrieved 2007-12-26. 
4. ^ Historical/traditional interpretation of women speaking in the church; Commentaries
5. ^ Recovering Biblical manhood and womanhood, p. 11, Edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem
6. ^ ^{a b} "Catechism of the Catholic Church". Libreria Editrice Vaticana. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P84.HTM. Retrieved 2009-12-15.  sections 2333-2335.
7. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention.
8. ^ http://www.cbmw.org/About-Us
9. ^ ^{a b} http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfmcomparison.asp
10. ^ ^{a b c d} "Core Beliefs: The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood." Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), 1987. Web:13 Jul 2010.
11. ^ Duncan, Ligon (2004-12-15 url=http://www.cbmw.org/sermon.php?id=22). "19 Objections to Complementarianism — 1 Timothy 2:8-15". Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. 
12. ^ Page, Frank. SBC President's Page. Online: http://www.sbc.net/PresidentsPage/FrankPage/ImportantIssues.asp
13. ^ Clouse, Robert G (1989). Women in Ministry: Four Views. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0830812849. 
14. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church". Libreria Editrice Vaticana. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4X.HTM. Retrieved 2010-01-29.  section 1577.
15. ^ ^{a b} Joseph, Suad; Afsaneh Najmabadi (2003). Encyclopedia of women & Islamic cultures. Brill. p. 211. ISBN 9004128190. 
16. ^ Chad Meister, J. B. Stump. "Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction". Routledge. http://books.google.com/books?id=DgYnlWKyTIsC&pg=PA481&dq=roman+catholic+church+complementarian&hl=en&ei=FpRUTZGSIYiFtgeqmdi0CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAzgo#v=onepage&q=roman%20catholic%20church%20complementarian&f=false. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "A third issue which is a special concern to many women in Evangelical, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox contexts is the role of women in church leadership." 
17. ^ Wentzel Van Huyssteen. "Encyclopedia of Science and Religion: 1". Macmillan Publishers. http://books.google.com/books?id=HIcYAAAAIAAJ&q=eastern+orthodox+church+complementarian&dq=eastern+orthodox+church+complementarian&hl=en&ei=lotUTfODLc-btwfBsNygCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBDgK. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "a number of orthodox and neo-orthodox thinkers in the following century held some type of complementarian position." 
18. ^ ^{a b} Wayne A. Grudem. "Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism". Multnomah Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=duzJFC6wVYoC&pg=PT338&lpg=PT338&dq=lutheran+church+missouri+synod+complementarianism&source=bl&ots=Aeso-dbXxn&sig=O2_OgCzk8C0pL-mf0MUhqvD889w&hl=en&ei=FY5UTbbBE82XtwfsrcCmCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "Three influential denominations are included among those that hold a Two-Point Complementarian position. These three denominations are the Southern Baptist Convention (at 26 million members, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States), the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (2.6 million members), and the smaller but very influential Presbyterian Church in America (316,000 members)." 
19. ^ Glen Harold Stassen, David P. Gushee. "Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context". InterVarsity Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=LlMVrmA-b-4C&pg=PA321&dq=roman+catholic+church+complementarian&hl=en&ei=T5NUTbLAIY-4tweM6anaCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "What results is a claim for male leadership in home and church both from creation and from the perceived witness of the ... Catholic complementarians make the case from natural law, Protestants from Scripture, but both argue that a ..." 
20. ^ ^{a b c} Wayne A. Grudem. "Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism". Multnomah Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=duzJFC6wVYoC&pg=PT338&lpg=PT338&dq=lutheran+church+missouri+synod+complementarianism&source=bl&ots=Aeso-dbXxn&sig=O2_OgCzk8C0pL-mf0MUhqvD889w&hl=en&ei=FY5UTbbBE82XtwfsrcCmCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "Other Two-Point Complementarian groups include several denominations and organizations that historically have been strongly truth-based and doctrinally vigilant. Included in this group are the Evangelical Free Church of America, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and the more recently formed Sovereign Grace Ministries (formerly PDI)." 
21. ^ Wayne A. Grudem. "Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism". Multnomah Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=duzJFC6wVYoC&pg=PT338&lpg=PT338&dq=lutheran+church+missouri+synod+complementarianism&source=bl&ots=Aeso-dbXxn&sig=O2_OgCzk8C0pL-mf0MUhqvD889w&hl=en&ei=FY5UTbbBE82XtwfsrcCmCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "Some parachurch organizations in this category are Focus on the Family and Promise Keepers. Both have decided not to take any official stand on the role of women in the church, but both uphold male headship in the home. In its official policies, Campus Crusade for Christ also falls in this category since the organization has not taken any role of women in ministry, while Family Life, a division of Campus Crusade under the direction of Dennis Rainey, clearly teaches male headship in the home at its "Weekend to Remember" marriage conferences." 
22. ^ Rosemary Skinner Keller, Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Marie Cantlon (2006), Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Indiana University Press, p. 468.
23. ^ Pamela Cochran (2005), Evangelical Feminism: a History, NYU Press, p. 160.
24. ^ Agnieszka Tennant, "Nuptial Agreements," Christianity Today, March 11, 2002.
25. ^ CBMW web site: Randy Stinson, accessed 13 Sept 2011.
26. ^ Sarah Sumner and Phillip E. Johnson (2003), Men and Women in the Church: Building Consensus on Christian Leadership, InterVarsity Press, p. 38.
27. ^ CBMW web site: about us, accessed 13 Sept 2011.
28. ^ ^{a b} Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability web site: Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, accessed 13 Sept 2011.
29. ^ ^{a b} Wayne Grudem, "Personal Reflections on the History of CBMW and the State of the Gender Debate," JBMW, Vol. 14 No. 1.
30. ^ Roger E. Olson (2004), The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology, Westminster John Knox Press, p. 312.
31. ^ Daniel T. Rodgers (2011), Age of Fracture, Harvard University Press, p. 312.
32. ^ ^{a b} R.K. McGregor Wright (July 1992). "A response to the Danvers Statement". The Journal of Biblical Equality (Lakewood, CO: Front Range Chapter of Christians for Biblical Equality). 
33. ^ Ronald W. Pierce, Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, Gordon D. Fee (2005). Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity Without Hierarchy. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. pp. p.66. ISBN 0830828346. 
34. ^ Piper, John; Grudem, Wayne A.. Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. Crossway Books. ISBN 978-1-58134-806-4.  (Book of the Year for Christianity Today, 1992) – online edition
35. ^ John Piper and Wayne A. Grudem, eds. (1991), Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, Crossway Books, table of contents.
36. ^ John G. Turner (2008), Bill Bright & Campus Crusade for Christ: The renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America, UNC Press, p. 209.
37. ^ Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen (2010), A Sword Between the Sexes?: C.S. Lewis and the Gender Debates, Brazos Press, p. 76.
38. ^ Mathew Guest, Karin Tusting, and Linda Woodhead (2004), Congregational Studies in the UK: Christianity in a Post-Christian Context, Ashgate Publishing, p. 194.
39. ^ http://www.swbts.edu/index.cfm?pageid=1727
40. ^ http://www.gracenevada.com/What_we_believe.htm
41. ^ http://churchofthefirstcentury.org/SOF.aspx
42. ^ Balmer, Randall (2004). "Danvers Statement". Encyclopedia of evangelicalism. Baylor University Press. p. 170. 
43. ^ Dowland, Seth (2009). "A New Kind of Patriarchy: Inerrancy and Masculinity in the Southern Baptist Convention, 1979-2000". In Friend, Craig Thompson. Southern masculinity: perspectives on manhood in the South since Reconstruction. University of Georgia Press. p. 258. 
44. ^ Stanley James Grenz and Denise Muir Kjesbo (1995), Women in the Church: a Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry, InterVarsity Press, p. 15.
45. ^ "'I will make you a fisher of PEOPLE': New gender-neutral Bible translation angers conservatives," Daily Mail, 18 March 2011.
46. ^ Glen G. Scorgie, Mark L. Strauss, and Steven M. Voth (2009), The Challenge of Bible Translation: Communicating God's Word to the World, Zondervan, Note 55.
47. ^ Art Toalston, "Bible scholars quickly begin debate of new gender-neutral NIV revision," Baptist Press News, 30 Jan 2002.
48. ^ Michael Foust, "Patterson, Mohler endorse resolution critical of NIV '11," Baptist Press News, 29 June 2011.
49. ^ [Allen, Sr. Prudence Allen. 'Man-Woman Complementarity: the Catholic Inspiration.' Logos 9, issue 3 (Summer 2006) http://www.endowonline.com/File/spComplementary.pdf]
50. ^ http://www.cbeinternational.org/?q=content/complementarians—whats-name
51. ^ Christians for Biblical Equality (April 9, 1990). "Men, Women & Biblical Equality". Christianity Today: 36–37. 

Further reading

• Piper, John; Grudem, Wayne A.. Recovering Biblical Manhood Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. Crossway Books. ISBN 978-1-58134-806-4. 

External links

• Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW)
• Equal but Different
• International Council for Gender Studies (ICGS)
• Family Life