John Piper recently made a number of statements about the nature of Christianity and its necessary masculinity. A summary of what he said can be found here. There have been many responses to Piper’s provocative claims. See Jesus Creed, Christian Piatt on redletterchristians.org and Rachel Held Evans (a collection of responses) .
Read More'Just some women' A full church on Easter Sunday. Reading: John 19:38-20:20 The preacher said, 'Jesus appeared after His crucifixion on eleven recorded occasions to multiple different groups of people. To just some women, initially, and then to many disciples, sometimes in groups, sometimes in very large groups, and on one occasion to a group of well over 500 people'. The preacher could have meant or could have said, 'He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and other women with her.' But he didn't say...
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by Bree Mills | November 01, 2020 This article originally appeared in Priscilla Papers, CBE International's academic journal, on November 1, 2020. It is re-printed with permission. After reading the introduction to Aimee Byrd’s Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood,1 I admit I put her book down to go and read The Yellow Wallpaper, a book that sparked Byrd’s thinking and prompted her to write. Only then did I return to reading Byrd's book. The Yellow Wallpaper is a profoundly disturbing novella by American social reformer and feminist, Charlotte Perkins Gilman,...
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by Erica Hamence I can remember the first time I heard the word ‘vagina’ spoken on stage at church because, as soon as it happened, one of my trainees turned to me with wonder in her eyes and whispered to me, reflecting my own thoughts, ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever heard “vagina†in church.’ It was during a presentation by one of our members, a prominent doctor, who was preparing to deliver medical supplies (including various period-related apparatuses) as part...
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by Jennifer Lumsden My parents met in China after travelling from opposite ends of the world for language study in preparation for mission work. Mum from Toronto and Dad from Melbourne. After clandestine ‘dates’ in the cemetery, the only place with any privacy, they married and left for Malaysia, as the Communists closed in.The challenge of village life was formative for Ewan and Priscilla. They countered the isolation by establishing a foundation of love, service and respect for each other and...
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By Julie-Anne Laird One morning, 19 years ago, I frantically rang Andrew as I stepped out of the lift at Latrobe Uni. “Andrew, are you still here? I think the baby’s coming.†Andrew had driven me to work that day, as I was 40 weeks pregnant with our 4th child (although not sure why I went to work!!). We both worked for Latrobe Christian Union. I worked one day a week and Andrew 4 days and this was my day to...
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By Elizabeth Devlin “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all;hold on to what is good, reject whatever is harmful.†1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 Sometimes, the “gender debate†in our churches is viewed as being of lesser importance – i.e. not a "salvation issue" – and therefore the outcome will not have any serious consequences. And while it's true that the core message of God's gracious gift of salvation transcends all other issues, the...
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Naomi Chua I currently have the privilege of serving as team leader for Pioneers Refugee and Asylum seeker ministry here in Victoria. I am passionate about working amongst the vulnerable and displaced and am especially committed to empowering women to embrace their roles as change makers in their communities. I have worked amongst refugees and asylum seekers for the past 20 years here in Melbourne in a local church outreach setting and for a mission organisation. I also spent several years...
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By Denise Cooper-Clarke This was the title I was given, but it is one I am uneasy with, for two reasons. First, it implies that women are a separate category of reader from the normative reader, who is, of course a man. It is not helpful to think of a woman’s perspective as if this were distinct from an “objective†perspective (understood as a male perspective). This is to assume the priority of the male. Was any man ever invited to...
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The Gospel According to Eve: A History of Women’s InterpretationIVP Academic (29 October 2019) by Amanda Benckhuysen Reviewed by Barbara Deutschmann We often hear that the push for women’s inclusion in all aspects of church ministry is a response to modern “feminismâ€. This book puts paid to that notion. Amanda Benckhuysen has researched the many women from the Middle Ages to the present day who found in the first few chapters of Genesis inspiration and resources for countering patriarchy. They had...
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How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadershipby Alan F JohnsonZondervan Academic 2010 Alan F. Johnson's compilation of narratives entitled How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories from Prominent Evangelicals is a particularly fresh, honest, and persuasive resource in the growing collection of books on gender equality and women in leadership. The recognizable evangelicals in this book speak humbly and clearly about how their theological convictions and understanding of Scripture, with reference to women in leadership, were...
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