Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Rebecca Merrill Groothuis's Comments on Feminism
Christians for Biblical Equality has published some excerpts from Rebecca Merrill Groothuis's 1995 booklet, The Feminist Boogeywoman. This summarizes some of the arguments made in her first book, Women Caught in the Conflict. If carefully considered, these comments deflect about 90% of the worries about what is now called "Evangelical Egalitarianism." The essay can be found here: http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/E-Journal/2005/05fall/05fallgroothuis.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Thank you for posting the link. I've been busy and had blown off reading the latest E-Quality newsletter.
Lately, I been participating in an online forum for the Evangelical wing of my denomination (ABCUSA). As the issue of Welcoming and Affirming homosexual practice has pushed us to the point of schism, many on this forum have been discussing what it will be like for us when we leave. Some of us evangelical egalitarians are a little nervous when our hierarchialist allies equate a desire for biblically-based gender equality with denial of biblical authority with regard to homosexual practice.
We gently remind them that those of us who promote gender equality do so not by denying biblical authority, but by embracing it. Your wife's writings (and others from CBE) have always given me good fuel for debate!
My only major question for Rebecca Merrill Groothuis is related to her assertion that evangelical feminism has a different history than modern secular forms of feminism. I think she makes this point too strongly (out of a desire to be clearly removed from other forms of feminism?). The feminism in the 1960s (second wave) was premised upon the earlier more evangelical forms of feminism (first wave). To me this actually suggests that contemporary evangelical feminists and the more radical wings of secular feminism (both would be considered third wave) do, in fact, share a common history -- even if their paths parted somewhere along the way.
That said, I'm glad more evangelicals are willing to embrace feminism. It's long overdue.
Peace,
Dan
You may want to "pop over" to the "View from Her" blog. Things are starting to heat up in the discussion of Biblical Equality.
Post a Comment