Founder Wayne Grudem | Founded 1987 | |
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is an evangelical Christian organization promoting a complementarian rather than egalitarian, feminist or patriarchal view of gender issues. CBMW's current president is Dr. Denny Burk, a professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, the undergraduate school of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and director for The Center for Gospel and Culture, based at the school.
Contents
History
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was organized in 1987. Its origins lie with a talk by Wayne Grudem on "Manhood and Womanhood in Biblical and Theological Perspectives" at a 1986 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), where he invited delegates to join "a new organization dedicated to upholding both equality and differences between men and women in marriage and the church." This was followed by a meeting in Dallas with Grudem, John Piper, Wayne House, and others. A subsequent meeting was held in Danvers, Massachusetts. Here the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was finalized. A full page advertisement containing the full Danvers Statement was published in Christianity Today in January 1989.
In 1991, Crossway Books published the organisation's lengthy book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. Edited by Piper and Grudem, this book included contributions by D. A. Carson, John Frame, Vern Poythress, Douglas J. Moo, Paige Patterson, Elisabeth Elliot, and several other writers. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ also supported the organisation.
The Danvers Statement has been endorsed or adopted by the Southwestern Baptist Seminary and several independent churches. Randall Balmer says that the Statement was an attempt to "staunch the spread of biblical feminism in evangelical circles." Seth Dowland suggests that the authors of the statement "framed their position as a clear and accessible reading of scripture. The Danvers Statement is included in readers such as Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism: A Documentary Reader (NYU Press, 2008) and Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim readings on Genesis and gender (Indiana University Press, 2009).
The Danvers Statement recognised the "genuine evangelical standing of many who do not agree with all of our convictions." In 1994, three leaders of CBMW met with Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) for discussions. While there was much dialog, little agreement was found.
In 1998, the organisation established a British branch, in which Terry Virgo was active.
As of December 2010, the CBMW had a funding level of around $127,000, down from $336,000 two years earlier.
Positions
The CBMW takes the position that the Bible restricts the ordination of women.
In the late '90s, CBMW published articles and papers critical of Gender-Neutral Bible translations. CBMW has drawn Christian media attention by expressing concerns about such translations. The organization's thoughts on Bible translations have had influence upon Southern Baptists, Focus on the Family, and other evangelical organizations.
The CBMW opposes same sex marriage.
Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (JBMW)
Wayne Grudem co-founded a CBMW newsletter, which became the Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, published biannually. The editor is Dr. Denny Burk.
The journal usually consists of around fifteen articles composed by various evangelical scholars who hold to complementarian views.