Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism: Biblical Responses to the Key Questions [Paperback]

Wayne Grudem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2006

Can She Do What He Can Do?

Everyday people are considering the roles of men and women in the home and church. Evangelical feminists consider these roles interchangeable. In this helpful book, Wayne Grudem offers fifty biblical responses to feminists’ arguments. While the Bible teaches that God values men and women equally, their roles in home and church are complementary to each other, not interchangeable. Arguing against both feminism on the left and male chauvinism on the right, this to-the-point handbook is a valuable resource.

Men and Women.

Church and Home.

What are their roles in each?

Can the lines be crossed?

Evangelical feminists boldly assert that male and female roles are interchangeable. Society reflects the argument. But what does the Bible have to say?

Wayne Grudem offers more than forty biblical responses to the most crucial questions on this topic, showing God’s equal value in men and women and why their roles are complementary, not interchangeable. This to-the-point handbook is a valuable resource enabling every Christian to grasp the issues, including: What the Bible says about the roles of men and women in marriage Women in the church and in church leadership Theology and the concepts of equality, fairness, and justice Claims that a complementarian view is harmful

Praise for Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth, the exhaustive volume of this work:

“No one will be able to deny the cumulative strength of the case this author makes.” — J. I. Packer

“This is the most thorough, balanced, and biblically accurate treatment of feminism and the Bible I have seen.” — Stu Weber

“After the Bible, I cannot imagine a more useful book for finding reliable help in understanding God’s will for manhood and womanhood in the church and the home.” — John Piper

Story Behind the Book

“I would like to see this book as the ‘final answer’ to the question of feminism in the church today. There has been a lot of controversy and debate in the church on this subject and I have used the Bible exclusively to answer the question of feminism in the church. This book must not be portrayed as anti-women, or as putting women down in any way. This book will seek throughout to elevate and honor women, to regard them as equal in value to men yet with different God-given roles. This book fairly presents arguments and facts, leading people to conclude for themselves that evangelical feminism is clearly contrary to Scripture.” —Wayne Grudem

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Wayne Grudem, research professor of Bible and theology at Phoenix Seminary, received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is a board member of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society, and the author of more than a dozen books. He and his wife, Margaret, have three grown sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (October 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590525183
• ISBN-13: 978-1590525180
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.6 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wayne Grudem, research professor of theology and biblical studies at Phoenix Seminary, received his A.B. from Harvard, M.Div. from Westminster Seminary (Philadelphia), and Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. He is a board member of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society, and the author of more than a dozen books. He was the general editor of the ESV Study Bible, and is a member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard Version Bible. He and his wife, Margaret, have been married since 1969, and they have three grown sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timely Response, August 18, 2007

By 

Joshua V. Schneider (Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism: Biblical Responses to the Key Questions (Paperback)

When I purchased this ~300 page book, I did not realize that it was a condensation and slight updating of a much larger work by the same author, titled: "Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth: An Analysis of More Than 100 Disputed Questions." This book is reduced to about 40 key questions, and it covered most if not all the main arguments that I have heard put forward. Even at 300 pages, this book is really not very intimidating, and the format of the book is one of its most useful features. It can easily be used as a reference book and read selectively, as most of the topics are divided up into short chapters ranging from a couple of pages to ten or fifteen.

The real strength of the book in my opinion is how charitably Grudem presents the case for the complementarian view, and yet remains firmly Biblical. The opening chapters on the Biblical view of manhood and womanhood as created by God and in the church are an excellent positive statement of God's design and purpose. The egalitarian or "evangelical feminist" position presents male and female as being not merely as equal, but as virtually interchangeable in their roles and purposes in the family and church. However, the complementarian view shows that male and female were equally made in the image of God, and also have unique roles and purposes in the family and church. The complementarian view does not see male and female as interchangeable, but as two working parts crafted carefully by God to "complement" one another by each supplying unique abilities and responsibilities to the opposite sex.

The crux of the argument is whether it is the egalitarian or complementarian view that more faithfully represents the Scriptures. Grudem assiduously lays out the case for the complementarian view from Scripture, and fairly but briefly presents the egalitarian viewpoint. This reader is convinced that the complementarian view is most faithful, and does not deprive or lessen the import of women either in the church or in the home in any way. Rather, it delivers them from a false view of equality that finds fairness only in having women fulfill every duty or office given by God to men, and by reversing the good order that He has established. In a godly marriage and in a godly church, the "headship" is given to the men, not in a way to be domineering or abusive of authority, but rather to lead and love as Christ Himself loved the church. In the sacrificial love that male headship must demonstrate, there is found a safe and delightful place for women to submit willingly out of love.

Grudem proposes some delineations for the church to consider about what roles should be given exclusively to men and which to women, based on the Scriptural instruction that a women is not permitted to teach or exercise authority over a man. While the delineations he has made are subject for discussion, it provides some groundwork, as well as alerting us to the many ways in which the church might make greater use of the talents and abilities of women. There really is a strongly positive view of women in this book, which some may find hard to believe because of the heavy conditioning of our society. Altogether the book provides a valuable response to this issue that is dividing the church and has been for many decades. May God grant that the work of theologians like Grudem may help to pave the way toward a godly consensus on these Biblical truths.

P.S. Another reviewer asserts that Grudem does not give a fair representation of the egalitarian viewpoint. However, it should be noted that due to the condensed nature of the book, his aim was not to give a detailed rendering of their viewpoint. For those considering a fuller study of the issue, the "Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth" book would probably be more helpful, or as the reviewer suggests, to read books from a egalitarian perspective. Either way, the book and its arguments stand compellingly in their own right.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Contribution To Correct Liberalism, September 27, 2007

By 

Jacques Schoeman (SA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism: Biblical Responses to the Key Questions (Paperback)

'Women were able to prophesy in both the Old Testament and the New (see 1 Cor 11:5). They could deliver messages from God to His people. But women could not assume the role of teacher over God's people in either the Old or the New Testament (see 1 Tim 2:12; 3:2; Titus 1:6 on New Testament teachers being only men, including the elders who did most of the teaching).' p 86

Grudem unfortunately subordinates and ranks as less important the NT office of prophet to that of teacher, which is antithetical to Scripture: (Eph 2: 20; Eph 3: 5; Eph 4: 11) - a flaw with immense implications for church structures. A better view would be that the gift of prophecy has, in fact, ceased, whilst the office of teacher is still in effect.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creased cover on new book, April 6, 2011

By 

David F. Dafoe - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism: Biblical Responses to the Key Questions (Paperback)

Purchased Evangelical Feminism by Wayne Grudem. This dook is difficult to find. It was new as advertised and unmarked, but the cover was creased.