Trustees at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary want to be clear as to where the school stands on gender roles within both the church and family.
WAKE FOREST, N.C.-Trustees at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary want to be clear as to where the school stands on gender roles within both the church and family.
Trustees on April 19 voted to affirm the Danvers Statement on biblical manhood and womanhood, placing the seminary unashamedly in the complementarian camp on gender issues.
Southeastern's trustee board also affirmed the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy to further solidify the school's stance on Scripture. Southeastern's confessions of faith are the Abstract of Principles and the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (BF&M), both of which begin with articles asserting the inspiration and authority of Scripture. The BF&M includes an article setting forth the biblical understanding of male headship in both the home and church.
"Southeastern Seminary wants to be crystal clear as to where it stands on the Word of God and the biblical roles of men and women in the home and the church," Seminary President Daniel L. Akin said.
"The Chicago Statement on biblical inerrancy and hermeneutics and the Danvers Statement on the role of men and women in the home and church have been used informally as interpretive guidelines to our Abstract of Principles and the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Our trustees and administration believe the formal adoption of these two statements strengthens and affirms our convictions and commitments on these crucial doctrines."
Akin said adoption of both the Danvers and Chicago statements serves to clarify Southeastern's stance on the issues of gender and Scripture in the face of a culture that rejects the historic Christian views of both.
"Given the continual drift to the theological left by those who profess to be evangelical concerning the Word of God and the enormous gender confusion that is running rampant throughout our culture this very day, Southeastern Seminary wants there to be no doubt concerning its position in these two areas that are vital to the life and health of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ," Akin said.
The Council on Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) authored the Danvers Statement in 1988, establishing what is generally considered the predominant conservative evangelical statement on gender roles in both the church and home.
The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy penned the Chicago Statement in 1978. Current and former Southeastern Seminary faculty members participated in the framing of both statements.
Randy Stinson, executive director of CBMW, applauded the seminary's stance.
"CBMW is always gratified to see the visible impact that has been made by the Danvers Statement," Stinson said. "Each year we are more encouraged by the number of churches, parachurch organizations and academic institutions that adopt the principles of the Danvers Statement.
"By adopting the statement Southeastern Seminary and its trustees and faculty have highlighted the significance of the gender issue for evangelicals and reinforced the need to make a clear stand. "
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