Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

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The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is recognized as a leading evangelical Christian organization promoting a complementarian (as opposed to an egalitarian) view of gender issues.[1] According to CBMW, men and women are of equal worth and are both equally created in the image of God, but have distinct roles in church, home and society as a whole. CBMW's web site indicates that it was formed in 1987 to address growing concerns regarding the impact of feminist ideologies upon churches and upon secular culture.[2] CBMW takes the view that the Bible instructs husbands to lovingly lead their families, and also that the Bible instructs wives to respect their husbands’ leadership out of reverence for Christ.[3] Also, while acknowledging that women and men are equal in worth and are both created in the image of God, CBMW asserts that some roles involving church leadership and teaching are Biblically limited to men.[4] CBMW's core values are defined by the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.[5]

One of CBMW's stated purposes is to serve as "the evangelical voice for the biblical view of gender to the Christian community and the world."[6] CBMW publishes a biannual journal on gender issues, called the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.[7] CBMW also maintains a web site which offers a blog and an online store; they indicate that 500,000 people from 34 nations visit their web site each year.[8] CBMW also sponsors various conferences, debates, articles, and books.

CBMW has drawn media attention by expressing concerns about gender-neutral translations of the Bible[9], and even developed a web site (www.genderneutralbibles.com) dealing exclusively with that issue. CBMW's Statement of Concern about the TNIV Bible was endorsed by evangelical leaders across the United States, including James Dobson and Chuck Colson.[10]

CBMW is supported by evangelical theologians such as Wayne Grudem and John Piper, who co-edited the book Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.[11] CBMW’s Board of Advisors includes J.I. Packer, Crawford and Karen Loritts, Beverly LaHaye, R.C. Sproul, and Dennis and Barbara Rainey.[12] CBMW is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.[13]CBMW has also featured authors CJ Mahaney and Carolyn Mahaney as speakers and supporters.

1 CBMW's Mission and Vision
2 The Danvers Statement On Biblical Manhood And Womanhood
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] CBMW's Mission and Vision

CBMW's mission is "to set forth the teachings of the Bible about the complementary differences between men and women, created equally in the image of God, because these teachings are essential for obedience to Scripture and for the health of the family and the church."[14]

CBMW's vision is "to see the vast majority of evangelical homes, churches, academic institutions, and other ministries adopt the principles of the Danvers Statement as a part of their personal convictions and doctrinal confessions and apply them in consistent, heart-felt practice."[15]

[edit] The Danvers Statement On Biblical Manhood And Womanhood

Rationale

We have been moved in our purpose by the following contemporary developments which we observe with deep concern:

1. The widespread uncertainty and confusion in our culture regarding the complementary differences between masculinity and femininity;

2. the tragic effects of this confusion in unraveling the fabric of marriage woven by God out of the beautiful and diverse strands of manhood and womanhood;

3. the increasing promotion given to feminist egalitarianism with accompanying distortions or neglect of the glad harmony portrayed in Scripture between the loving, humble leadership of redeemed husbands and the intelligent, willing support of that leadership by redeemed wives;

4. the widespread ambivalence regarding the values of motherhood, vocational homemaking, and the many ministries historically performed by women;

5. the growing claims of legitimacy for sexual relationships which have Biblically and historically been considered illicit or perverse, and the increase in pornographic portrayal of human sexuality;

6. the upsurge of physical and emotional abuse in the family;

7. the emergence of roles for men and women in church leadership that do not conform to Biblical teaching but backfire in the crippling of Biblically faithful witness;

8. the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities devised to reinterpret apparently plain meanings of Biblical texts;

9. the consequent threat to Biblical authority as the clarity of Scripture is jeopardized and the accessibility of its meaning to ordinary people is withdrawn into the restricted realm of technical ingenuity;

10. and behind all this the apparent accommodation of some within the church to the spirit of the age at the expense of winsome, radical Biblical authenticity which in the power of the Holy Spirit may reform rather than reflect our ailing culture.

Affirmations

Based on our understanding of Biblical teachings, we affirm the following:

1. Both Adam and Eve were created in God's image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood (Gen 1:26-27, 2:18).

2. Distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, and should find an echo in every human heart (Gen 2:18, 21-24; 1 Cor 11:7-9; 1 Tim 2:12-14).

3. Adam's headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin (Gen 2:16-18, 21-24, 3:1-13; 1 Cor 11:7-9).

4. The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women (Gen 3:1-7, 12, 16).

- In the home, the husband's loving, humble headship tends to be replaced by domination or passivity; the wife's intelligent, willing submission tends to be replaced by usurpation or servility.

- In the church, sin inclines men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of spiritual responsibility, and inclines women to resist limitations on their roles or to neglect the use of their gifts in appropriate ministries.

5. The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women (Gen 1:26-27, 2:18; Gal 3:28). Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community (Gen 2:18; Eph 5:21-33; Col 3:18-19; 1 Tim 2:11-15).

6. Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse.

- In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands' authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands' leadership (Eph 5:21-33; Col 3:18-19; Tit 2:3-5; 1 Pet 3:1-7).

- In 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 (Gal 3:28; 1 Cor 11:2-16; 1 Tim 2:11-15).

7. In all of life 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 (Dan 3:10-18; Acts 4:19-20, 5:27-29; 1 Pet 3:1-2).

8. In both men and women a heartfelt sense of call to ministry should never be used to set aside Biblical criteria for particular ministries (1 Tim 2:11-15, 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-9). Rather, Biblical teaching should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God's will.

9. With half the world's population outside the reach of indigenous evangelism; with countless other lost people in those societies that have heard the gospel; with the stresses and miseries of sickness, malnutrition, homelessness, illiteracy, ignorance, aging, addiction, crime, incarceration, neuroses, and loneliness, no man or woman who feels a passion from God to make His grace known in word and deed need ever live without a fulfilling ministry for the glory of Christ and the good of this fallen world (1 Cor 12:7-21).

10. We are convinced that a denial or neglect of these principles will lead to increasingly destructive consequences in our families, our churches, and the culture at large.[16]