Submission the Final Arbiter

   It is an unarguable fact that humans need and want boundaries, so it should come as no surprise that as Biblical Christianity declines, being replaced by a predominantly soft-on-doctrine-don’t-be-judgmental approach, the need for boundaries and structure within the Christian community becomes painfully evident.

   Nowhere is this more evident than in the fact of Evangelical Christians turning in droves to hierarchal priest-craft and more rigid than ever gender-role restrictions in order to provide boundaries and structure in an otherwise anything-goes-religious-free-for-all attitude that is quickly pervading the Christian psyche.

   The Written word of God, the Bible, no longer seems to be the final arbiter as to whether or not behavior is “Christian,” and protestant Christians, who previously looked only to Jesus as Mediator between themselves and their God, seem more willing than ever to transfer that mediatorship from Jesus to pastors who claim it is their responsibility to answer [to God] for their congregants come judgment day.

   How is it that Pastors have become self-appointed mediators between God and their congregations? And how is it that husbands have been appointed mediators between their wives and God? And how is it that how we submit to this man-made hierarchy is said to determine the extent to which we can say it is well with our souls?

   Submission, therefore, becomes the final arbiter of whether or not a person is in rebellion against God?

   How convenient for hierarchalists, as this type of Christianity leaves little use for the Lordship of Christ, the guidance of His Holy Spirit, or the assurance of His Written Word.

Voices

For the past few months, Cindy Kunsman and I have been discussing the abusive paradigm of patriarchal religion on our  BlogTalkRadio Show. Sometimes the impact of the things we talk about can overwhelming. I, for one, would love nothing better than to have a show that deals with light, pleasant topics--anything but the horrors of places like Hephzibah House--but we feel led, even compelled, by the Holy Spirit to turn the flood light of truth upon these dark places and expose the lies and abuses that take place in the name of Christ. We do this in hopes (along with fervent prayers) that eyes will be opened, that lives will be changed for the better, that abuses in the name of Christ will be stopped, that Christian men and women will stand up and refuse to lend their support, any longer, to evil agendas. 

What a travesty that pain, suffering, and ugliness is propogated in the name of our dear Savior who came that we might have life and that more abundantly, and that men who would be god would impose their cruel images over that of Him who is altogether lovely.

On April 18, Cindy did an episode entitled  Helplessness and Bounded Choice, and Life at Hephzibah House which helps us to understand a little better why victims are often voiceless and why we must lend our voices to them, raised in opposition to religious systems that not only offer no life or hope but actually steal those things from us.

Opening Statements Video of Seneca Falls 2

Jocelyn Andersen's opening statements (video) at the Seneca Falls 2 Christian Women's Rights Convention held in Orlando, Florda on July 24, 2010 

Woman this is War: Gender, Slavery and the Evangelical Caste System of Complementarianism from FreeCWC on Vimeo.

Freedom for Christian Women Coalition: Complementarianism: Sowing the Wind and Reaping th...

Freedom for Christian Women Coalition: Complementarianism: Sowing the Wind and Reaping th...: "More and more people are asking, “Is it legal for state created organizations, such as 501c3 tax exempt corporations, to practice and promot..."

Under Much Grace Blog: A Review of Andersen's "Woman This is War" Part I of III (Concerning Christian History)

Under Much Grace Blog: A Review of Andersen's "Woman This is War" Part I of III (Concerning Christian History)

Under Much Grace Blog: A Review of Andersen's "Woman this is War" Part II of III (Concerning Doctrine and Gender Bias)

Under Much Grace Blog: A Review of Andersen's "Woman this is War" Part II of III (Concerning Doctrine and Gender Bias)

Under Much Grace Blog: A Review of Andersen's "Woman this is War" Part III of III (Concerning Abuse and Insidious Totalitarianism)

Under Much Grace Blog: A Review of Andersen's "Woman this is War" Part III of III (Concerning Abuse and Insidious Totalitarianism)

Apology Demand Fed Ex'd to J Ligon Duncan III and to Randy Stinson

ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) -- A group of women and men calling themselves the Freedom for Christian Women Coalition has demanded an apology for religious teaching they say is harmful to women. Shirley Taylor, founder of Baptist Women for Equality, presented the Demand for an Apology from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood at a July 24 meeting in Orlando, FL....
 http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5370/53
 
The Demand was Fed Ex'd to the CBMW today. Fed Ex Tracking numbers:

Tracking number 790720735778 to J Ligon Duncan III

Tracking number 792202508448 to Randy Stinson

Copy and Paste numbers here to view delivery confirmations http://www.fedex.com/Tracking

The Freedom for Christian Women Coalition Demands Apology

FREEDOM FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN COALITION

July 24, 2010

Dr. Randy Stinson, President
Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood
2825 Lexington Road, Box 926
Louisville, KY 40280

And

Dr. J Ligon Duncan III
Chairman of the Board of the CBMBW
First Presbyterian Church
1390 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39202


The Freedom for Christian Women Coalition met on July 24, 2010, in Orlando, Florida, and agreed and affirmed this Demand for an Apology from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood because of the concerns as listed in the following pages.

For the sake of all Christians, men and women, we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, make a public apology for the misuse of Holy Scripture as it relates to women, and cease to publish or promote The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood.

Sincerely,

Shirley Taylor
Waneta Dawn
Cynthia Kunsman
Janice Levinson
Jocelyn Andersen

Freedom for Christian Women Coalition


DEMAND FOR AN APOLOGY FROM THE COUNCIL ON BIBLICAL MANHOOD AND BIBLICAL WOMANHOOD

At a time in our church history that the main focus should be on winning lost souls and spreading the gospel to a hurting world, we fear for the future because the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood has placed a greater priority on women’s submissive role rather than on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is with that thought in mind that we make these statements.

1. We are concerned that men are being taught that they are god-like in their relationship to women within the church and home. As the mothers, wives, and daughters of these men, it is our concern that this doctrine is setting them up for failure as Christian fathers, husbands and sons;

2. we are concerned about the sin that evangelical church leaders commit when they deny the love of Christ fully to women simply because they were born female;

3. we are concerned about the damage this causes to families when husbands and fathers are told that they have Headship over their wives and daughters;

4. we are concerned about wife abuse, girlfriend abuse, and abuse to female children that takes place in many homes where evangelical men are taught that they have earthly and spiritual authority over women;

5. we are concerned that the children who attend churches that subscribe to the principles of The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood will grow up not knowing the full redemptive power of the blood of Jesus for both men and women;

6. we are concerned for the mental and emotional development of girls and boys who attend churches that teach males have superiority over females;

7. we are concerned that men who are taught that they have Male Headship over a home and church do not feel that they are accountable for abusive attitudes and actions towards women;

8. we are concerned about the mistranslation of the scriptures by complementarian translation committees and by the false teachings propagated by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood;

9. we are concerned that pastors who teach and preach male domination/female subordination cannot relate in a loving, Christ-like manner to female members of their congregations because they have already judged them and found them lacking;

10. we are concerned that the issue of wifely submission, promoted so heavily by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, is more about power and control than about love or obeying the Word of God.

It is because of these concerns that:

1. We demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood acknowledge the harm that has been done to the church body by The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, confess it as sin, and denounce it;

2. we demand that denominational leaders and all churches and seminaries which have adopted The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood do the same;

3. we demand a public apology from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, and from all heads of seminaries and Bible colleges that have adopted The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, for the inestimable damage this statement has done to all Christians whose lives have been influenced by it;

4. we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood begin to promote the Biblical design of functional equality for all Christians, both men and women;

5. we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood begin to speak out against pastors who continue to demean women and oppress Christians by the use of The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood;

6. we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood chastise pastors who claim that abuse of women is acceptable and justified because the wife is not submitting to the husband;

7. we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood make known to every boy and every girl who attend an evangelical church, that God is their head, and that authority over another human being can come only from God;

8. we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood teach men that they share equally in the burden of society’s ills, and that all that is wrong with society today cannot be blamed on women;

9. we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood do everything in their power to teach seminarians to show the love of Christ to both men and women;

10. we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood teach pastors to be loving towards those Christian men and women who disagree with The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood;

11. and, finally, for the sake of all Christians, men and women, we demand that the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood, make a public apology for the misuse of Holy Scripture as it relates to women, and cease to publish or promote The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood.


Shirley Taylor, bWe Baptist Women for Equality , Presented at the
Seneca Falls 2 Evangelical Women’s Rights Convention July 24, 2010 in Orlando, Florida



AFFIRMED BY THE FREEDOM FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN COALITION AT THE SENECA FALLS 2 EVANGELICAL WOMENS RIGHTS CONVENTION
JULY 24, 2010 IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA