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Showing posts from August, 2011

Bachmann Candidacy reveals nature of "Complementarianism"

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Apparently US Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann is a card-carrying "submissive wife", an irony which is examined in this thought-provoking report , well worth a quick read for the issues it raises. The backlash against feminism is one of the defining features of contemporary evangelical Christianity. For those on the conservative end, it has become almost a point of honour to say that you are not a feminist.  Some readers may be tempted to see this as a purely American phenomenon, but it remains a hot potato for the church in this country too. Even the Church of England is affected, as conservative evangelicals join the resistance to women bishops.  The difference between here and the States is that the public clout of US evangelicals brings the debate into the main political arena. The resistance has been organised around the label of  "Complementarianism", a new label which describes a old belief. Complementarians, led by Wayne Grudem and the redoubtabl