Where Do Biblical Egalitarians Go from Here?

October 01, 2004 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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Since the early 1990s, the evangelical gender debate has become polarized and unproductive. We have learned much, solidified our arguments, and encouraged one another; but public discourse on the basic question of the relationship between gender and spiritual authority rarely informs and often offends.

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Strange Bedfellows: Strategies Shared by Darwinists and Traditionalists

June 04, 2004 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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It all began with a dinner table conversation that my husband and I enjoyed with Phillip Johnson and his wife a few years ago.¹ In listening to Johnson’s quiet complaints of how the prejudices and presuppositions of Darwinists have shaped public discourse on the question of life’s origin, I recognized a familiar pattern. Much of what Johnson had observed concerning the contours of the debate between Darwinists and creationists, I also had observed in the debate between evangelical traditionalists and egalitarians.²

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Questions That Mislead the Gender Debate

November 30, 2003 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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Political polls unnerve me. The questions are carefully phrased such that one’s answer must support the perspective of the pollster (not unlike the classic question, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?”). When those who set the agenda also pose the questions, the debate easily veers off into conceptual territory that is favorable to those who are framing it. We need to keep an eye out for questions that serve more as assertions than genuine queries.

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Inclusive Language Bible Translations

November 15, 1997 by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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Despite their concern to translate the Bible accurately, many opponents of inclusive-language Bible translations use words that offer more emotional impact than accuracy. Bible translations that do not use “man” or “men” or “brothers” to indicate people in general—but rather use terms such as “person,” “people” or “brothers and sisters”—are accused of being “unisex” translations that “neuter” the Bible and “obliterate gender distinctions.”

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