FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

Mimi Haddad, President
Christians for Biblical Equality
(612) 872-6898
cbe@cbeinternational.org
www.cbeinternational.org

Christian Marriage Conference Addresses Equality of Men and Women

MINNEAPOLIS – June 10, 2002 – Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) will present a refreshing view of Christian marriage at its conference held September 27-29 in Portland, Ore.  Instead of upholding predetermined gender roles, CBE emphasizes a couple’s freedom to form a relationship based on each person’s strengths.

“Many people are surprised to find support for a marriage based on mutual respect and shared authority in the Bible,” says President Mimi Haddad. “But Scripture tells all Christians to submit to ‘one another,’ not just wives to their husbands.”

John Temple Bristow, a conference speaker and author of What Paul Really Said About Women, notes that many Christians prescribe a marriage relationship that is hierarchical, like that of Adam and Eve after the fall (Genesis 3:16-19), rather than one that is a partnership, like that of Adam and Eve before the fall (Genesis 2:18).

“Somehow these Christian leaders assume that marital relationships today must conform to God’s curse of Adam and Eve, as if Christ has redeemed our souls but not our marriages,” Bristow says. “A closer look at the Scriptures provides a different promise, that marriages can, in many ways, restore Eden.”      

Couples who embrace this redemptive model of marriage are marked by authentic intimacy, says Haddad, who notes that this oneness cannot be experienced when one partner dominates the other in a marriage. 

The “Marriage and the Family of God” conference will address a theology of marriage, but will also include sessions designed to help couples in day-to-day living. Workshops will focus on issues such as resolving conflicts, raising children and how to successfully apply principles of equality to a marriage.

Additional speakers include Jon Trott, editor-in-chief of Cornerstone magazine, Carol Trott, co-coordinator of a second-stage housing program for homeless women and children, John R. Kohlenberger III, an expert in Bible reference works, and Carolyn Kohlenberger, co-author of Raising Wise Children. 

Christians for Biblical Equality is a non-profit organization of Christian men and women from nearly 100 denominations who believe that the Bible, properly interpreted, teaches the fundamental equality of men and women of all racial and ethnic groups, all economic classes, and all age groups.  For more information on the organization and its marriage conference, visit its Web site at http://www.cbeinternational.org or call 612-872-6898.

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