Mutuality | Blog + Magazine | Summer 2017
The print + digital magazine of CBE International
Mutuality offers articles from diverse writers who share egalitarian theology and explore its intersection with everyday life.
Blog + Magazine ArticlesThe opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of CBE International or its members.
Summer 2017
Volume: 24 | Number: 2
Setting the Record Straight
In this issue of Mutuality, we address common myths about egalitarian views—assumptions like “egalitarians don’t value Scripture” or “egalitarians deny any differences between men and women.”
Contents
Recently, someone asked my thoughts on racial segregation in the US church on Sunday mornings: “How will we ever move forward together, as a unified church, if people of color don’t forgive us for the past?”
Christian egalitarians love biblical submission because it is part of God’s perfect will. It reflects the love of Christ. It uplifts and honors the gifts and calling of others.
I was raised in something of a theological echo chamber where my complementarian convictions went undisputed. All diligent Bible readers would obviously conclude that men were to lead, and even more obviously, that women were not to be pastors. What could be simpler?
Most of us have heard about the Mommy Wars: the tension between mothers who stay at home and those who work.
When our egalitarian theology is intersectional, we can be confident that our whole identities matter to the God who formed and chose us. No form of oppression should escape the scrutiny of the gospel.
Egalitarians believe the Bible promotes two senses of equality: equality of nature and equality of opportunity. Neither requires or even hints that women and men are or should be identical. Egalitarians don’t deny difference, we deny that difference is destiny.
God of Hagar, Tamar, and Mary Magdalene | Of Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel
We envision a world where women receive the same dignity and opportunities as men. Like the abolitionists, we seek to expose shallow biblical scholarship.
