Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 29:1 (Winter 2015)
Article: Egalitarians: A New Path to Liberalism? Or Integral to Evangelical DNA?
Author: Mimi Haddad

PP 29:1 (Winter 2015) p. 14

Egalitarians: A New Path to Liberalism?
Or Integral to Evangelical DNA?

Mimi Haddad

Mimi Haddad is president of CBE. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. She holds a PhD in historical theology from the University of Durham, England. She has contributed to nine books, has authored more than one hundred articles and blog posts, and speaks frequently on issues related to faith and gender. She is an adjunct assistant professor at Bethel University and Fuller Theological Seminary. This article is updated from one of CBE’s several special journals produced for dissemination at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society.

“Nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum.”

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.”

Cicero

The claim is often made that Christians who advance the shared leadership, authority, and ministry of men and women in the church and home do so only by circumventing the authority of scripture. Because of this claim, egalitarians are accused of theological liberalism. I was inspired to write this paper after an evangelical scholar confessed candidly to me that, though he was trained in a tradition that viewed egalitarian theology as pernicious, through a series of circumstances including a positive encounter with an egalitarian leader, he determined to study egalitarian theology more thoroughly. Cicero reminds us that a fair hearing of any position must include a full grasp of the historical context. This paper briefly considers historical material often overlooked by evangelicals in assessing the theological orthodoxy of egalitarians.

Defining Terms

Egalitarianism: Egalitarians are Christians who affirm that scripture teaches the fundamental equality of men and women, both in being and service, so that gender is not a criterion by which to exclude women from public service or leadership in church, society, or home. As early as the late seventeenth century, Christians began publishing interpretations of scripture that supported women’s public preaching and teaching. By 1930, more than fifty scriptural treatises supporting women’s spiritual leadership had been circulating, from many branches of the evangelical church.1 Egalitarians today echo the exegetical methods of these early egalitarians, concluding that women may serve in any position, including senior pastor; elder; deacon; board member; professor of any discipline; or president of a Christian college, seminary, denomination, or country. The criteria for service are holiness, giftedness, and ca...