While here in San Diego at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, I attended a luncheon today sponsored by CBMW at which Wayne Grudem, founder of the organization, spoke a bit about where the debate stands these days.

Men versus women--should we make role distinctions or not? The question is hotly debated in the church today. At issue is whether the Bible indicates male headship in the home and in the church. Some argue that the New Testament teaching on male headship, culturally acceptable in the apostle Paul's day, is no longer applicable. Times have changed, and the church must reinterpret Scripture for the current culture. This is called the egalitarian view. Others believe that the New Testament mandate must be applied today the same way it was in Paul's day. They base their belief on what the Bible in its entirety indicates about gender. From Genesis to Revelation, gender distinctions are marked out for the glory of God. This is the view, called the complementarian view, upheld by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW).

In simplest terms, egalitarians believe that men and women are biblically free to carry equal authority in the home and in the church; complementarians believe that, while men and women are certainly created equally in the image of God, there are clearly defined, biblical distinctions in how each gender has been designed to function in the home and church. According to this position, men and women have been created to complement one another in living out their gender distinctions rather than to divide and share an identical workload.

Where do you stand on this issue? If you want to understand more about the current debate and what's at stake, check out the CBMW website by clicking here.

Labels: women's issues