Annotated Bibliography for Gender-Related Articles in 2004

In this issue of the journal we profile some of the most significant gender-related articles from 2004. Here is a brief reminder about the categories we are using and our intent in using them. By Complementarian we simply seek to designate an author who recognizes the full personal equality of the sexes, coupled with an acknowledgment of role distinctions in the home and church. By Egalitarian then, we intend to classify evangelicals who see only undifferentiated equality, i.e., affirming they see no scriptural warrant for male headship in the home or the church. Under the Non-Evangelical heading, we have classified important secular works as well as articles that broach the subject of biblical gender issues from a religious, albeit, non-evangelical point of view. This category also serves as our classification for Liberal scholars wanting to retain some sort of Christian identity. Finally, under the Undeclared heading, we have listed those articles that do not give sufficient indication of their fundamental stance for us to classify them more specifically.

Complementarian Authors/Articles 

Branch, Alan. "Radical Feminism and Abortion Rights: A Brief Summary and Critique." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 2 (2004):19-25.

Branch summarizes the radical feminist worldview and its implications for the public policy of abortion rights advocates. His assessment of radical feminism especially takes into consideration the work of Rosemary Radford Ruether, Mary Daly, and Ginette Paris. Branch then suggests that the overarching principle supplied by radical feminism is the demand for absolute autonomy. With respect to abortion rights, this demand is then inserted into public policy by way of agitating for the absolute reproductive autonomy of women. In turning to a brief critique, Branch notes that the worldview of radical feminism grows out of a key theological error, namely the embrace of pantheism. This theological mis-step then, naturally leads to sexual chaos and the intergenerational violence that is committed in the name of abortion rights.

Duncan, Ligon and Terry Johnson. "A Call to Family Worship." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 1 (2004): 6-16.

Duncan and Johnson enjoin parents—and particularly fathers—to fulfill the task of leading their families in regular worship together. In addition to marshalling the biblical directives behind such a responsibility, this article is a goldmine of wisdom concerning practical application. The authors also offer helpful advice on how to get started and how to persevere in the face of apathy or even resistance from one's family. Readers will take great encouragement at the potential long-term cumulative effect of consistent and committed family worship for fifteen minutes a day, six days a week, for the duration of a child's stay in the home.

Grudem, Wayne. "Is Evangelical Feminism the New Path to Liberalism? Some Disturbing Warning Signs." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 1 (2004): 35-84.

Grudem provides a thoroughgoing critique of egalitarian arguments and tendencies that tilt towards effectively negating the authority of Scripture for our lives. After drawing an historical connection between liberalism and evangelical feminism, Grudem first evaluates fifteen ways in which egalitarians have denied the authority of Scripture outright. Then he turns to an examination of ten additional ways in which egalitarians have indirectly nullified the Bible's authority by an appeal to untruthful or unsubstantiated claims. Finally, in several concluding sections, Grudem points out where these disturbing trends are likely to take the egalitarian movement. This article, which is an adapted excerpt from Grudem's recent book (Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth [Multnomah, 2004]), will make an excellent resource for pastors and concerned laity who would benefit from a summary-like "field manual" addressing many of the most prominent egalitarian arguments.

Grudem, Wayne. "Should We Move Beyond the New Testament to a Better Ethic?" Journal of the Evangelical The-logical Society 47 (2004): 299-346.

Grudem offers a thorough analysis and detailed criticism of William Webb's redemptive movement hermeneutic proposal in Slaves, Women and Homosexuals. He unfolds twenty-three detailed criticisms concerning Webb's argument, and then comments specifically on each of Webb's eighteen hermeneutical criteria. According to Grudem the underlying problem with the whole proposal is that it sets up a scheme that "nullifies in principle the moral authority of the entire NT and replaces it with the moral authority of a ‘better ethic.'"

Hawkins, Susie. "The Essence of the Veil: The Veil as a Metaphor for Islamic Women." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 1 (2004): 29-34.

Hawkins explains the "veiling" customs of women in Islamic nations, the point of which is to avoid attracting male attention because Islam essentially views the female body as the cause of sexual immorality. She further documents how certain Islamic regulations help to institutionalize the oppression of women. In her conclusion, Hawkins expands her insights to include some suggestions to keep in mind when Christian women attempt to reach out to Muslim women.

Heimbach, Daniel R. "Manhood, Womanhood and Therapeutic Morality." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 2 (2004): 30-34.

After describing therapeutic sexual morality (TSM), Heimbach provides a very interesting discussion of its psychological history and development. He then expounds seven reasons why Christians must reject the worldview of TSM. Heimbach points out that the fundamental problem with TSM is that it tragically esteems sex—not God—as the ultimate satisfier of mankind's deepest needs.

Liederbach, Mark. "Manliness and the Marital Vow: A Look at the Meaning of Marriage and its Implications for Men as They Enter Into the Covenant of Marriage." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 2 (2004): 4-9.

Liederbach makes a convincing case that the ultimate end of marriage is the "experience and expansion of the worship of God in all the earth." Therefore, he contends that if men maintain a focus on this larger purpose as they lead in marriage, then they will find a stronger fabric to their marriages when difficult times come. And, as a result, they will not only be less likely to divorce, but they will also enter more deeply into the proximate joys of marriage.

Peace, Martha. "The Influence of the World." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 2 (2004): 26-29.

Peace opens her article with a thoughtful account of the early history of American feminism and the psychological pillars undergirding it. She then turns to examine specific ways that we, in the church, have been influenced by this worldly philosophy, before finally pointing out Scripture's antidotes to these attitudes.

Scott, Stuart W. "Profiling Christian Masculinity." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no. 2 (2004): 10-18.

In this article, Scott aims to demonstrate what true biblical masculinity is and is not. The backdrop to the discussion is a brief examination of the sinful distortions of masculinity throughout the ages, and especially in the more recent trend toward relativism. Over against these failed cultural notions of masculinity, Scott evaluates six fundamental realities that are true of men and women. He then turns to an examination of key characteristics drawn from the life of Jesus as well as from the qualifications given for male leadership in the church. Scott then concludes with an analysis of four characteristics (viz., Leader, 1 Corinthians 13 Lover, Protector, Provider) in which men must excel if they are to fulfill the major roles given to them, before offering a final definition of biblical masculinity.

Walton, Mark David. "What We Shall Be: A Look at Gender and the New Creation." Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 9, no.1 (2004): 17-28.

Walton addresses himself to the question of whether or not resurrected believers in the new creation will retain their gender distinctiveness as male and female. Walton notes that such a question is of particular relevance, given the rampant gender confusion of the contemporary climate. Upon surveying three possible views, Walton makes the exegetical and theological case that our gender distinctives shall remain even in the new creation.

Egalitarian Authors/Articles 

Carlson-Thies, Christiane. "Man and Woman at Creation: A Critique of Complementarian Interpretations." Priscilla Papers 18, no. 4 (2004): 5-9.

Carlson-Ties alleges that the complementarian reading of Genesis 1-2 is plagued by a double standard and an illegitimate appeal to the Pauline interpretation of the creation narrative. Indeed, it appears to her that complementarians have begun with an extra-biblical pre-commitment to male authority, which they force on the text in an effort to "exclude" women. What emerges from this presentation, however, is Carlson-Thies's failure to recognize more than one strand of emphasis in the creation narrative, as well as in the broader scope of biblical teaching. Egalitarians, such as Carlson-Ties, often think that complementarians are trying to manipulate the text when they argue that men and women share full personal equality, but carry out different roles. Complementarians, however, point out that this formulation is born out of a reading of the dual emphases in Scripture. Finally, it is worth noting that Carlson-Ties does not think that Paul's interpretation of the creation narrative is definitive.

Haddad, Mimi. "Evidence for and Significance of Feminine God-Language from the Church Fathers to the Modern Era." Priscilla Papers 18, no. 3 (2004): 3-11.

Haddad's aim in this article to demonstrate that a number of theologians throughout church history have used feminine as well as masculine metaphors to refer to God. She stresses throughout, that these feminine metaphors were a way of picturing God's immanence as well as his transcendence. Haddad is also concerned, however, that we not overestimate the significance of Jesus' masculinity. She writes, for instance, "Though gender was part of Christ's humanity, Christ's humanity is more central than his gender. To absolutize Christ's gender is to lose the universality of Christ's sacrifice. . . . The point of the incarnation is that Christ represents the flesh of all people. Thus Christ is far more often understood as human . . . than as male." What Haddad seems to suggest is that we should emphasize Jesus' generic humanity more than his maleness, lest we risk excluding women from the sphere of salvation. By way of response, I will mention just two points and then suggest a couple of resources. First, while agreeing with Haddad that God is not a physically gendered being, that is not all that needs to be said. It is true that the Bible, on a few occasions, does use feminine imagery for God, though it never uses feminine names (e.g., Mother) or pronouns (e.g., she) for God. Conversely, God has seen fit to reveal himself in Scripture with masculine names, appellatives, and pronouns. It seems then that, without identifying himself as physically male, God's purposeful self-revelation in masculine terms does intend to tell us something about his nature and character. Secondly, speaking of the incarnate Christ's male-ness as a mere historical accident fails to take into account the eternal Father-Son relationship of the first and second person of the Trinity. For more detailed interactions with these important questions see "Seven Reasons Why We Cannot Call God ‘Mother'" by Randy Stinson and Christopher W. Cowan (http://www. cbmw.org/article.php?id=99), and Bruce Ware's "Could Our Savior Have Been a Woman? The Relevance of Jesus' Gender for His Incarnational Mission," Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 8, no. 1 (2003): 31-38 (accessible online).

Kroeger, Catherine Clark. "Does Belief in Women's Equality Lead to an Acceptance of Homosexual Practice?" Priscilla Papers 18, no. 2 (2004): 3-10.

Kroeger's article attempts to demonstrate that the Scriptures endorse gender egalitarianism on the one hand and oppose homosexual behavior on the other hand. She acknowledges that the question has come to the fore because some proponents of gender egalitarian-ism have gone on to affirm homosexual practice as well. Kroeger contends that the key distinctive, however, is whether one stands under the ultimate authority of Scripture or of women's experience. Hence, she suggests that egalitarians who embrace the authority of Scripture will resist homosexuality, even while they affirm the completely undifferentiated participation of women in ministry.

Marshall, Molly T. "Engaging Gender Relations." Review and Expositor 101 (2004): 35-39.

Marshall surveys two earlier articles from the Review and Expositor, on opposite ends of the "gender debate" spectrum. The first is an article from early in the twentieth century that seemingly fears the effect of the growing women's movement, while the second is an article from the end of the twentieth century that seemingly fears the effect of what will happen if the church fails to embrace the growing women's movement. Marshall's historical assessment is that the church is inevitably moving in a thoroughly egalitarian direction.

Phelan Jr., John E. "Women and the Aims of Jesus." Priscilla Papers 18, no. 1 (2004): 7-11.

Phelan's article gives a biblical theology of the advance of the Kingdom of God. Much of his discussion of the OT backdrop and the announcement of the kingdom in the preaching of Jesus is very solid. Phelan repeatedly (and correctly) observes that in the new covenant, "All God's people are priests! All God's people have the Spirit! All God's people are holy!" But his argument breaks down near the end of the article where he overextends this insight to conclude that "any restriction on any of God's people, male or female, is contrary to the kingdom ideal. . . ." By way of response, we should note that the Pastoral Epistles, for instance, make it clear that Spirit-ness-ness is not the only criterion for ministry service. Even in the new covenant, there are limitations that affect the ministry service of all people. Just consider the following examples: A divorced man cannot serve as an elder (1 Tim 3:2), no matter how much ability he may have to teach. A fantastic teacher, who has unruly children also cannot serve as an elder (1 Tim 3:4). A heavy drinker cannot serve as a deacon (1 Tim 3:8). And, even women who are gifted to teach (e.g., Titus 2:3-5) may not "teach or exercise authority over a man" (1 Tim 2:12). For his part, Phelan suggests that the "hard passages" must be read in light of the larger limitation-exploding spirit of the kingdom reality.

Spencer, Aida Besancon. "What are the Biblical Roles of Female and Male Followers of Christ?" Priscilla Papers 18, no. 2 (2004): 11-16.

Spencer disavows the notion that men and women might be equal in essence but different in roles. In support of this thesis, she marshals many of the traditional egalitarian arguments. She contends that the sequence of creation and the act of Adam's naming do not support the complementarian view, because Gen 1:26-28 indicates that both man and woman are created in the image of God and both receive the mandate of stewardship. Spencer further argues that the Persons of the Trinity actually model mutual submission as well. Hence, "head" in 1 Cor 11:3 should only be understood to mean "source." Once again, however, this kind of reading allows one emphasis (i.e., full personal equality) in the creation narrative to silence the other emphasis (i.e., a designation of male leadership). With respect to the doctrine of the Trinity, it also overlooks a mass of biblical data in support of the eternal, functional subordination of the Son, and it introduces arbitrariness into the Godhead, with the implicit assumption that any of the members of the Godhead could have become incarnate.

Wall, Robert W. "1 Timothy 2:9-15 Reconsidered (Again)." Bulletin for Biblical Research 14 (2004): 81-103.

Wall offers a fresh analysis of 1 Tim 2:9-15 that includes some useful observations. Perhaps most helpfully, Wall is very clear in his opposition to interpretations of this passage that seek to undermine its contemporary application by appealing to highly speculative (and unwarranted) background reconstructions about especially unruly Ephesian women. And yet, Wall limits the force of this passage in his own way. He contends that the purpose of the passage is missional, not sociological. In other words, according to Wall, the prohibition in verse 12 was a concession to the social standards of decency in a pagan patriarchal culture, for the purpose of displaying the social effects of the gospel to otherwise skeptical outsiders. Since we now live in a setting, which repudiates patriarchy, the normative missional emphasis must take a different cultural shape in an on-going effort to "adorn the gospel." Wall grounds his interpretation on the "midrashic" exegesis of the creation narrative in verses 13-15. Here, Wall emphasizes that Eve's recognition of her redemption (v. 15) liberates her to live modestly. In all of this, it is interesting that Wall casually dismisses the fairly straightforward grounding of Paul's prohibition (v. 12) on an appeal to the creation order (v. 13).

Waters, Kenneth L. "Saved Through Childbearing: Virtues as Children in 1 Timothy 2:11-15." Journal of Biblical Literature 123 (2004): 703-735.

Waters argues that 1 Tim 2:11-15 is a fairly elaborate allegory, in which "Adam" stands for the male leaders of the Ephesian congregation, "Eve" stands for the wealthy and less mature female members, and "childbearing" is not meant literally, but as a metaphor for "virtues-bearing." Tat is, according to Waters, the four virtues mentioned in 2:15 are the birthed children, allegorically speaking. The perceived benefit of this approach is that it harmonizes more readily with the typical Pauline insistence on salvation by faith. Without suggesting that 2:15 is an easy verse to interpret, the problem with Waters's approach is that in making this overly complex case, he overlooks the relatively simple and historical point of male leadership behind Paul's appeal to the creation narrative. Clearly, Waters's suggested backdrop prevents the trans-cultural application of this passage.

Non-Evangelical Authors/Articles 

Baber, H. E. "Is Homosexuality Sexuality?" Theology 107 (2004): 169-183.

On explicitly utilitarian grounds, Baber argues that "homosexuality does not count as sexuality," and so is morally permissible. While utilitarian benefits may accrue from retaining traditional constraints on heterosexual activity, Baber argues that this is not so in the case of homosexuality. It is interesting, therefore, to find that she does not think the Church should bless same-sex unions or ordain homosexuals. Baber acknowledges that while this may be ironic, the same utilitarian ethic leads her to these apparently conflicting conclusions, for she maintains that such changes in church policy are likely to help only a few but to damage many more.

de Mingo, Alberto. "Saint Paul and Women." Theology Digest 51 (2004): 9-18.

de Mingo maintains that the Pauline literature does not prohibit women from any roles in ministry. His case is fairly easy to argue, since he does not accept Pauline authorship of Colossians, Ephesians, or the Pastorals. In accepting 1 Corinthians as authentic, he avoids the difficulty of 1 Cor 14:33-35 by dismissing it as a later insertion. According to de Mingo, the "deutero-Pauline texts" (e.g. the Pastorals) reflect a backlash in the Pauline communities after his death that reasserted the culturally normative subjection of women.

Mack-Canty, Colleen and Sue Wright. "Family Values as Practiced by Feminist Parents: Bridging Third-Wave Feminism and Family Pluralism." Journal of Family Issues 25 (2004): 851-880.

The authors contend that contemporary feminist families are raising their children in ways that are commensurate with the broader aims of third-wave feminism. Their findings derive from a set of interviews with twenty self-identified feminist families, including two-parent and single-parent families, as well as gay and lesbian families. Mack-Canty and Wright appear implicitly to endorse this new wave of parenting that challenges "unnecessary parental authority," practices democratic decision making, and undermines the morality of Christian family values. Indeed, they suggest that the children from these feminist homes are better equipped for their adult responsibilities in society.

Martin, Troy W. "Paul's Argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: A Thesticle Instead of a Head Covering." Journal of Biblical Literature 123 (2004): 75-84.

Martin makes the very unique argument that in the ancient world, a post-pubescent woman's hair was thought to be part of the female genitalia corresponding to the male testicle. This, in turn, is thought to make sense of the requirement of female head-coverings when praying or prophesying, since it would be inappropriate for women to display their genitalia in worship.

Undeclared Authors/Articles 

Briggs, Richard S. "Gender and God-Talk: Can We Call God ‘Mother'?" Themelios 29 (2004): 15-25.

Briggs provides an evaluation of the various levels of conceptual dialogue in the debate over gender and God-Talk. In his analysis, he traces the standard argumentation of both camps, and suggests that, in many cases, the two sides talk past one another because they are engaging at different levels. He then proposes that dialogue proceed self-consciously on three levels: the biblical, the historical, and the philosophical. According to Briggs, the upper-most level of this debate involves the philosophical assessment of how language (and especially metaphor) works. Those who favor calling God "Mother" often insist that since God-language is metaphorical, we therefore have license to seek new ways of speaking of God. On the other hand, Briggs notes that opponents of "mother language" for God often respond that we are not at liberty to refashion the revealed language (including the revealed metaphors) of Scripture, especially when it indicates that in the "order of being" God's fatherhood has primacy (e.g., Eph 3:14-15). Unfortunately, following some very cogent analysis of the nature of the debate, Briggs finally concludes that since there is no clear right answer to the question, the matter should best be left up to individual preference.

Dowling, Elizabeth. "Rise and Fall: the Changing Status of Peter and Women Disciples in John 21." Australian Biblical Review 52 (2004): 48-63.

Dowling argues that in John 21, Peter's status rises all of sudden, whereas the status of women disciples falls all of a sudden. She then contends that the shift in the respective portrayals of Peter and female disciples that John 21 may have been written by a later author with conscientious intentions of supporting male leadership in the early Christian community.