Tim Ellsworth

Are evangelical feminists (or egalitarians) liberals who don’t believe the Bible? Not necessarily, says Wayne Grudem in his new book, “Evangelical Feminism: A New Path to Liberalism?” (Crossway Books)

However, Grudem argues, the nature of the arguments evangelical feminists use to support their position inevitably leads to an erosion of belief in the authority of the Bible — to liberalism, in short.

Here’s what Grudem says he attempts to show in the book:

1. that liberal Protestant denominations were the pioneers of evangelical feminism, and that evangelical feminists today have adopted many of the arguments earlier used by theological liberals to advocate the ordination of women and to reject male headship in marriage

2. that many prominent evangelical feminist writers today advocate positions that deny or undermine the authority of Scripture, and many other egalitarian leaders endorse their books and take no public stand against those who deny the authority of Scripture.

3. that recent trends now show that evangelical feminists are heading toward the denial of anything uniquely masculine, and some already endorse calling God “our Mother in heaven”

4. that the history of others who have adopted these positions shows that the next step is the endorsement of the moral legitimacy of homosexuality

5. that the common thread running through all of these trends is a rejection of the effective authority of Scripture in people’s lives, and that this is the bedrock principle of theological liberalism

Albert Mohler recently wrote about the new Grudem book: “This new book is one of the most urgently needed resources for evangelical Christianity, and it represents one of the most insightful and courageous theological works of our times.”