Dr. Catherine Clark Kroeger: An Evangelical Legacy Mimi Haddad Friends and family mourn their loss movement, from its early usage, the word evangelical oreferred t the good news of Christ’s completed work on Calvary.1 Derived If you were blessed enough to attend one of the many memorial from the Greek word euangelion, the word was used synony- services honoring the life and legacy of Catherine Clark Kroeger mously by the early church for the gospel.2 (1925–2011), you undoubtedly caught a glimpse of a Christian During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther seized leader whose prodigious ministries touched the lives of thou- the term evangelical ot contrast the truth and power laden in the sands. Family members, foster children, friends, colleagues, and cross with the indulgences sold by the church. Inasmuch as Lu- membersf o the community remembered how Cathie’s faith di- ther represents a return to the good news of Calvary, the Refor- rected her copious talents and energy. Cathie gave of herself on mations wa also an evangelical movement, Noll suggests.3 Here, behalff o others, not only through the ministries she inaugurated, we use the word evangelical in its most basic and fundamental including Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) and Peace and sense—to connote the good news of the cross. Safetyn i the Christian Home (PASCH), but also through her Repeatedly, the term evangelical swa associated with renewal church, denomination, neighborhoods, and academic societies. movements, because it meant a return to Calvary. From Philipp At the service I attended in St. Paul, Minnesota, it was abundantly Spener’s Pia Desideria sand hi call for reform and holiness to the clear e that w were commemorating a leader who stands as part of revivals that swept the British Isles and the United States during a unique evangelical tradition. Cathie embodied the evangelical the eighteenth century, these evangelical revivals were, according belief that God speaks through Scripture, that the cross redeems to Noll, “not only intense periods of unusual response to gospel allf o life, and that we are called to live out vigorously our reconcil- preaching,”4 but were also linked with unusual efforts at godly iation with God and others in word and deed. Cathie’s utter devo- living which “marked the origin of a distinctly evangelical his- tiono t these theological ideals places her beside evangelicals such tory.”5 eTh evangelical revivals of the 1800s are a prime example. as Pandita Ramabai, Frances Willard, and Katharine Bushnell. Their leaders were laden with theological convictions which, as WhenE CB decided to dedicate this issue of Priscilla Papers ot Noll notes, directed the lives of adherents.6 oeT b touched or re- Cathie’s memory (she often reminded me that her friends call her newedy b these revivals was not merely an intellectual exercise or Cathie),t i seemed important to consider Cathie’s life and minis- an o assent t theological propositions. It signified that, of course, try within a historical context. What follows, then, is a histori- butt i also meant that, by affirming these propositions, you had cal assessment of Dr. Catherine Clark Kroeger’s contributions as crossed the sharpest line in life and were therefore expected to partf o a larger and thoroughly evangelical ethos, beginning first become a better person. You were to live out the gospel in word with a working definition of the term evangelical. From here, we and s deed. A William Marsh noted in 1850, an evangelical Chris- will observe how females pioneered and enlarged the evangelical tians i one who “will aim, desire, endeavor, by example, by exer- movement, though their leadership and initiatives were eventu- tion,y b influence, and by prayer to promote the great salvation of ally censured and restricted. Finally, we will observe how Cathie’s which [they are the] happy partaker.”7 theological convictions were parallel to those of the early evan- David Bebbington, a British historian, was the first to identify gelicalso s that she naturally gravitated to the very fields these the core qualities that characterized the early evangelical move- early evangelicals had planted. With her broad shoulders and ment and which constitute an evangelical DNA.8 They are: (1) strong mind, she lifted the Greek and Hebrew texts over which conversionism, “The belief that lives need to be changed”;9 (2) Katharine Bushnell and Pandita Ramabai had labored for years activism, advancing the gospel through effort; (3) Biblicism, a and resumed their work as an evangelist and activist. Working particular regard for the Bible, “that all spiritual truth is to be without much rest, Cathie furthered our understanding of a lov- foundn o its pages”;10 and (4) crucicentrism, a stress on the sacri- ing God who speaks on the pages of Scripture to bring healing ficef o Christ on the cross—an atonement that reconciles sinners and restoration to a creation made new through the cross. before a holy God.11 Called “Bebbington’s quadrilateral,” these An evangelical tradition four principles capture the theological concerns of early evan- gelicals—priorities advanced by both men and women. Their Whate do w mean by evangelical? According to Mark Noll, an organizations, Bible institutes, hymns, sermons, literature, hos- American historian of the evangelical pitals, and social activism on behalf of slaves, women, and chil- MIMI HADDAD (Ph.D., University of Durham) is dren were driven by these theological convictions, qualities that president of Christians for Biblical Equality. She represented God’s renewing work in history. These four charac- is a founding member of the Evangelicals and Gender Study Group at the Evangelical Theologi- teristics represent a degree of spiritual health. When one or more cal Society, an adjunct professor at North Park is t missing, i not only diminishes the good news to which the Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, and an term evangelical refers, but may also indicate a degree of spiritual adjunct associate professor at Bethel University, malnutrition—that something vital is missing. Saint Paul, Minnesota.

4 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 25, No. 3 ◆ Summer 2011 Though their names and achievements are often overlooked, unmistakable. She could not separate her evangelism—leading females not only pioneered the theological distinctives of the theto los t Christ—with her activism to rescue young girls from early evangelicals, they also came to hold astonishing places of prostitution. Booth traveled back and forth between prostitutes leadership and service within prominent evangelical initiatives. living in London’s East to the West End, where she lobbied Mem- While their leadership was contested and restricted after 1930, bersf o Parliament to raise the age of consent from seven to thir- the contributions of Catherine Kroeger not only exemplified the teen years of age.15 theological priorities of the early evangelicals, but also extended Evangelism and activism were also inseparable in the min- their biblical scholarship and social activism. istryf o Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922), a convert of a Salvation Army revival in India. Ramabai spent fifteen years translating The early evangelicals the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Marathi—a prominent Conversionism. The early evangelicals believed that, since conver- Indian dialect. Founder of the Mukti Mission in India, an in- sion marks the deepest change in life, those who are the happy terdenominational mission, Ramabai served needy women and recipientsf o Christian conversion are themselves called to evan- children and was known as the best example of Christian faith gelistic work—to leading others to the victories of Calvary. As in action. Housing more than 800 abandoned babies, the blind, Bebbington notes, because the “line between those who had un- the handicapped, unwed mothers, and the ill, Ramabai published dergone the experience and those who had not was the sharpest an account of the desperate plight of women in India:16 the child in the world,”12 the early evangelicals were pressed to engage all brides, wife burning, temple prostitutes, lack of education, and converted souls in the task of evangelism, even if it meant chal- more. She could not separate the gospel from serving the op- lenging cultural taboos such as giving women and slaves new po- pressed.s A with Catherine Booth’s perspective, evangelism and sitionsf o leadership and freedom. The priority they gave to evan- activism were inseparable in the ministry of Pandita Ramabai. gelism loosened the grip of ethnic and gender prejudice within Frances Willard, who had made such an impression on Wil- the body of Christ. liam Riley, was one of the most popular women in the United Consider William Bell Riley (1861–1947), founder of North- States in her day, second only to Queen Victoria. When she died, western College in Saint Paul and founder and president of the 30,000 gathered to mourn, while flags flew at half mast in Chi- World’s Christian Fundamentalist Association. Riley was also cago, New York, and Washington, D.C. A convert of a Methodist pastor for forty years of Minneapolis’s First Baptist Church—the revival meeting, Willard was president of the Woman’s Christian largest church in the Northern Baptist Convention. Early in his Temperance Union (WCTU), considered the largest women’s or- life, Riley heard one of the greatest evangelical leaders in our ganization in the nineteenth century. The WCTU was comprised country speak: Frances Willard (1839–1898). After hearing her ofn a army of females, northern and southern, devoted to evan- describe the desolation suffered by women and children at the gelism, abolition, temperance, and suffrage. handsf o alcoholic fathers, Riley said that every speech against it Willards wa also president of Evanston Ladies College, woulde b justified, no matter who made up their assemblies, and which became Northwestern University. She was prominent woulde b approved and applauded by that heavenly assembly of for her work against prostitution. She called for laws against saints and angels when, in defense of all that is true, a suffering rape and domestic violence; she also begged fashion design- woman feels compelled to break the silence and speak against it.13 erso t eliminate the thin waistlines that harmed women’s bod- So assured was Riley of women’s call not only to advance the ies. She encouraged women to wear baggie bloomers and to gospel, but also to address social concerns such as domestic vio- learno t ride a bicycle. Her passion for conversion and the lence,es h wa ready to release women to public ministries. In 1902, gospel, for Scripture and Christian activism, were insepa- when Riley founded his Minneapolis Bible Institute, the doors rable from her commitment to Christ—ideals that embodied were o open t women, and women graduates served in important in the mission of the WCTU and evangelicalism as a whole. ministries such as the China Inland Mission. Newspaper report- Activism, like conversionism, was the responsibility of all those ers were fond of documenting the work of female graduates who who had crossed that sharp line that marks the deepest change were pastors over congregations around the country and who, in life. For the early evangelicals, the response to conversion was despite many challenges, received the unequaled affection and the pursuit of holiness personally and corporately, keenly noted appreciation of their communities. Riley was prepared to oppose in f the lives o Catherine Booth, Frances Willard, and Pandita Ra- gender bias in order to support their education and ministries. mabai. Activism. Because conversion leads to the clearest change in Biblicism. During the evangelical awakening of the 1800s and life, a converted person is one whose newness of life is exhibited 1900s, which included successful ministries of women and slaves, in word and deed. As Bebbington notes, “A converted charac- Christians began to question the presumed inferiority of these two ter would work hard, save money and assist [one’s] neighbor.”14 groups. They did so through a Biblicism that comprised the third Consider the ministry of Catherine Booth (1829–1890), a power- ideal precious to evangelicals—for evangelicals love Scripture. ful preacher and a tenacious inner-city missionary. Together with The early evangelicals were Biblicists of the highest order, and her husband, William, she worked among the poverty-stricken itso wa t Scripture that they appealed when considering the so- peoplef o London’s East End. Booth’s evangelical priorities are cial f issues o their day. Scripture guided their faith, their lives,

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 25, No. 3 ◆ Summer 2011 • 5 and their social engagement. Their high view of Scripture made do s what i right in God’s sight, regardless of their gender, birth the f issues o slavery and women’s preaching extremely challeng- order, nationality, or class.23 ing. For years, evangelicals engaged one another in a debate over In assessing the teachings of Paul, Bushnell determined that Bible words and over methods of interpreting Scripture. Though the apostle affirmed the authority and leadership of women, pro- divisive, this biblical exchange was also enormously productive vided that their leadership was neither domineering nor abusive in developing the first whole-Bible approach that viewed women (1 Tim 2:12); that those who teach must advance the gospel (1 Tim as fully human and equal to men in being as well as in function 2:11–12; Acts 18:26; Rom 16:1–5, 7, 12–13, 15); and that, when wom- or service. Thus, between 1808 and en pray and prophesy in public, they 1930, evangelicals published at least hose who have died with Christ on Calvary are must e not b disruptive, either by forty-six biblical treatises on gender Tgrafted into Christ’s body where hostilities that their clothing or through their chat- and service from different branches had formerly separated Christians were overcome ter (1 Cor 11:5, 14:34).24 Ultimately, of the church.17 These documents by the sanctifying power of the cross. Bushnell locates her understanding signify the emergence of the first of women’s ontological status not wavef o feminism—a deeply biblical movement and one that in the fall, but in Christ’s completed work on Calvary. A correct drove the evangelical causes that included suffrage and abolition. interpretation of Scripture as it relates to “women’s social and Their belief that God speaks to each generation through spiritual status”25 eshould b determined in the same manner as Scriptured le to a whole new assessment of human ontology. “man’s social and spiritual status,” based on the atonement of Je- They asked: How does our rebirth in Christ, as male, female, sus. Bushnell said that we “cannot, for women, put the ‘new wine’ slave, and free, impact our service as Christians in the world? As of the Gospel into the old wine-skins of ‘condemnation.’”26 For they answered this question biblically, they also developed not Bushnell, both men and women are renewed by the cross, an em- only a whole-Bible approach, but also a Christian worldview that powering that equips both for ministry. extendedo t women and slaves positions of service and leader- Crucicentrism. A fourth and final distinctive of the early evan- ship.y B expanding their vision, they represent a radical depar- gelicalss wa their crucicentrism—a vibrant passion for the cross ture from previous generations of Christians whose patriarchal and all that Christ accomplished on Calvary. The early evan- and racist assumptions went unchallenged. The exegetical work gelicals were, as Bebbington observes, some of the most cross- of the early evangelicals inaugurated an egalitarian theology that centered Christians in all of history.27 Writing and preaching opposed centuries of teaching presuming the inferiority of wom- on Galatians 2:20,28 the early evangelicals more than any other en and slaves. group “aimed at bringing back, and by an aggressive movement, The most extensive biblical assessment of gender was put the Cross, and all that the Cross essentially implies.”29 Perhaps forwardy b Katharine Bushnell (1856–1946), a prominent evan- the most prominent crucicentrist was the Welsh revivalist Jes- gelical missionary, medical doctor, scholar, and leader in the sie Penn-Lewis (1861–1927). It was her understanding of Calvary WCTU. Working with the British evangelical Josephine Butler that offered women and those marginalized by society the full- (1828–1906), Bushnell traveled to India and infiltrated brothels est benefits through the cross. For Penn-Lewis, Calvary was a established by the British military. Bushnell and Butler aimed to placef o blessing and also reconciliation not only between men bring back firsthand accounts to Parliament and so end the sex- and women, but also between all ethnic groups and social class- ual slavery of women in India. While their work was successful, es.30 Those who have died with Christ on Calvary are grafted Butler eventually realized that, unless Christians come to see that into Christ’s body where hostilities that had formerly separated God values women just as much as men, women will continue Christians were overcome by the sanctifying power of the cross. toe b marginalized and abused. On her deathbed, Butler begged The cross was the source of both salvation and also sanctifica- Bushnello t provide the world with a biblical understanding of tion.31 Penn-Lewis wrote: the nature, value, and authority of women. Acquiring Greek and The “old creation,” in its form of “Jew and Gentile,” must die to Hebrew, Bushnell studied every passage in Scripture that referred makey wa for a new creation “after the image of Him” that cre- to gender—more than three hundred passages. Publishing her ated them; where . . . there can be neither Jew nor Greek, there findings in a book entitled God’s Word to Women, completed in cane b neither bond nor free, there can be no male and fe- 1919, Bushnell notes that the whole of Scripture views both males male; e for w are one in Christ Jesus. In the face of these words and females as equal in being and also in service, an observa- we cannot wonder that the Cross is a stumbling-block, and its tion frequently noted in the early chapters of Genesis. Beginning message likened to a sword or knife, for it cuts deep into the here, Bushnell concluded that both Adam and Eve were equally very f core o the pride of the old creation. God’s cure . . . is not created in God’s image,18 and both were equally called to be fruit- a superficial one. . . . Nothing but the Cross will bring about ful o and t exercise a shared dominion in Eden.19 sEve wa not the unity He desires.32 the f source o sin,20 and God does not curse women because of Eve.21 tRather, i was Satan, not God, who inspired the domina- Penn-Lewis’s cross theology not only captured a pivotal theo- tionf o men over women.22 God extends leadership to those who logical distinctive of the early evangelicals—that conversion represents a crossing of the sharpest line in life—but also shows

6 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 25, No. 3 ◆ Summer 2011 how their soteriology (what they understood about salvation) Its i a plain as anything could possibly be, that a woman is informed their ecclesiology (what they understood about the noto t take the oversight of the church, or publicly teach or church).33 eTh fruit of Calvary opposes prejudices and self- preach in the man’s appointed place.35 centeredness and creates a rebirth, a taking on of God’s perspec- While work outside the home opened to women during World tive now active in people. This was the vision of the early evan- War II, once men returned from war, women were pressured back gelicals: that the cross changes everything. to home and hearth. Less familiar now with the leadership of evan- A contested and restricted leadership gelicals such as Pandita Ramabai and Frances Willard, evangeli- cals s were a fearful of women preachers from mainline churches Few today realize the number of women who founded, preached, who were influenced by higher criticism as they were of women or t taught a the Bible institutes, mission organizations, or pulpits who pursued professional goals over marriage and family.36 Evan- of the early evangelicals, despite the sweeping achievements they gelicals whose feminism grew from Scripture were nearly eclipsed accomplished biblically and socially. Just this year, for example, by second-wave feminists, rising out of the same cultural waters, I preached on the history of women at a prominent evangelical but who placed their feminist ideas above Scripture.37 university. As is often the case, many students were delighted to Today’s egalitarians, like the early evangelicals, are Biblicists learnf o the historic women who shaped their own denomination of the highest order. Raised in thoroughly evangelical homes, or university, though some consider women’s preaching a rejec- and many now approaching their ninth decade, remember their tionf o biblical authority. Yet, as I have noted, the early egalitar- parents urging them to discover, develop, and exercise their God- ians were the theological conservatives of their day. Obedient to given gifts with complete devotion. Once adults, and after their Scripture, they went “into all the world” and preached “the good children had grown, they began to notice a distinctly different newso t the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). In fact, they were so message coming from evangelical churches. No longer did they obedient that they outnumbered men in Bible institutes and on hear o a call t use one’s gifts vigorously for God’s glory regard- mission fields two to one. Though often single, evangelical wom- lessf o gender. Now, the message was, if you are female, these are en were frequently denied a place of leadership within their mis- the ministries available to you, and, if you are male, these are sion organizations. As a result, they founded their own mission the spheres in which you may serve. Where once all hands had organizations, funded their own work, and occupied all levels of been welcomed in the task of evangelism, churches and institu- service and leadership—efforts that led to the largest expansion tions had become places of gendered service. Concerned with of faith in all of history. However, by the 1930s, their own suc- such a truncated view of vocation and gifting, today’s egalitarian cessful organizations were absorbed under traditional denomi- pioneers began meeting and discussing how to respond to new national missionary societies. As their service came under male gender limitations being set by such a view—none more than control, they were frequently denied the positions of leadership Cathie Kroeger. they had previous enjoyed. As a result, younger women had few- er role models to emulate. The vision of Catherine Kroeger: a new organization Removing women from prominent positions of leadership The autumn 1987 headline in Priscilla Papers announced, “New happened concurrently with a modernist and enlightenment Organization Incorporated.” It was initially organized as “Men, challengeo t Scripture’s accounts of the miraculous. Fearful of Women, and God: Christians for Biblical Equality” because of the encroachment of higher critical thought and its seculariz- its early affiliation with Men, Women, and God, International, ing impact on culture and theological education, Bible institutes basedt a the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. retrenched on their earlier support of female students.34 After The group shortened its name to Christians for Biblical Equality 1930, evangelicals placed less emphasis on an academic pursuit of (CBE) in 1988, after incorporating as a nonprofit charitable orga- Scripture. Therefore, fewer evangelicals were inclined to examine nization.38 eOn year later, CBE joined the National Association passages such as 1 Corinthians 14:33–34 and 1 Timothy 2:11–15 of Evangelicals. in their historical contexts or in their original languages, relying As the 1991 summer issue of Priscilla Papers stated: instead upon the “plain reading of Scripture.” Despite earlier sup- port for women preachers, teachers, and evangelists, C. W. Foley, The national organization of Christians for Biblical Equality a professor at the Bible institute founded by William Bell Riley, began in the summer of 1987 when Catherine Clark Kroeger argued that called together a group of people to pray and examine the need for evangelicals to be informed about the basic biblical The position of teacher or preacher, in the public congrega- teachings regarding equality of men and women of all races, tion, in itself implies superiority or authority over those who ages, and economic classes.39 are taught; and the functions of this office, are, therefore, for- bidden a woman, as inconsistent with the subordinate posi- After electing a board of directors, with Cathie serving as presi- tion that God assigned her. . . . [T]his does not bar her from dent, CBE’s first project was to develop a position statement, en- the Sunday School class, daily Vacation Bible School, etc. but titled “Men, Women and Biblical Equality,” which established a certainly closes the door of the public ministry of the church. biblical rationale for the shared leadership of men and women in

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 25, No. 3 ◆ Summer 2011 • 7 church, home, and society.40 “Men, Women, and Biblical Equal- formsf o feminism that developed in the latter half of the past ity”s wa published in 1990 on the pages of Christianity Today, century.”45 Though prominent liberal feminist scholars cannot Today’s Christian Woman, the Reformed Journal, World Christian, proclaim passages they find oppressive to women “as the Word and Faith Today.41 As a result, 1,500 people became members of of God,” 46 Cathie believed “that in the Bible God has truly spo- CBE while 4,000 more were added to CBE’s mailing list. CBE’s ac- keno f t us. I it appears oppressive, contradictory, and unjust, then ademic journal, Priscilla Papers, first published in 1987, had with- there are questions that need to be asked, alternatives which need in two years a circulation of 1,540. By 1990, CBE chapters were toe b pursued; but it is still the Word of God, still to be heeded as growing in five locations around the globe, the f words o life.”47 Without hesitation or n indomitable scholar and activist, and more than three hundred individu- embarrassment, Cathie worked, as Katha- als registered for CBE’s first international A Cathie could not separate her rine Bushnell did, to harmonize passages conference at Bethel University in 1989. passion for the gospel with her devotion of Scripture that appear to subjugate wom- Cathie Kroeger not only gave leadership to to rescue the abused. en with those that reveal women’s equal these and other efforts, but her vision rare- dignity, service, leadership, and authority. ly strayed from those who are victims of abuse. She believed that Like Bushnell, Cathie’s ease with the ancient languages made this the s gospel i not the means of oppressing women, but constitutes task all the richer, and her publications, like Bushnell’s, have un- the f path o their liberation. Her commitment to conversionism, dergone numerous reprintings—a testimony to their usefulness Biblicism, and activism permeated Cathie’s work and restored, in and enduring qualities. significant ways, an evangelical faith that advanced the gospel in Activism: e Finally, w turn to activism—advancing the gospel word and deed. Let us consider a few examples. through effort—in word and deed. Here, more clearly, Cathie’s Conversion:e Th belief that lives need to be changed was as es- connection to the early evangelicals is seen. An indomitable sentialo t the founders of CBE as it was to the early evangelicals. scholar and activist, Cathie could not separate her passion for While meeting in the home of Cathie and Dick Kroeger in 1987, the gospel with her devotion to rescue the abused. From the early a core group developed CBE’s first mission statement, which not articles published in Priscilla Papers, Cathie continually directed only affirmed Scripture as “the inspired word of God,” but also CBE’s attention to women who had been abused. From CBE’s emphasized the teaching of Scripture—that all persons are sin- incorporation as a nonprofit organization, Cathie endeavored ful. Because of human sin, all people experience “shattered rela- to understand why so many Christian women have encoun- tionships with God, others, and self.” Yet, through Jesus, not only tered violence and abuse and how we as the church might be- is eternal salvation available, but restored relationships are also come agents of healing and reconciliation. As president of CBE, “possible through faith in Christ.”42 CBE’s “Statement on Men, Cathie directed a significant portion of the organization’s ener- Women, and Biblical Equality” explains further that man and gieso t this challenge. In 1994, CBE held a conference with the woman were “co-participants in the Fall.”43 eOn consequence of theme “Women, Abuse, and the Bible.” There was an overwhelm- sins wa the “rulership of Adam over Eve.” Yet, through Christ, ing response to this conference by women who had experienced “we all become children of God, one in Christ and heirs of the abuse in a Christian marriage, family, or church. Within several blessingsf o salvation. . . .” Declaring that lives are ruptured by sin yearsf o this conference, Cathie had enough material to publish but also redeemed in Christ was among the first projects under three separate volumes on abuse, gender, and faith.48 Ultimately, Cathie’s leadership. This deeply held evangelical proposition per- when Catherine Kroeger retired as the first president of CBE in sisted throughout her writings. 1995, she became founder and president of Peace and Safety in Biblicism. When interviewed by Lola Scobey in 2000, Cathie the Christian Home (PASCH), a nonprofit organization devoted explored the core values upon which she based her life, the first to addressing domestic violence and abuse. PASCH provides re- of s which wa an “adherence to the Scriptures.”44 Cathie advanced sourceso t individuals, churches, and secular groups. More re- Biblicisms a a key priority of CBE and one to which she held cently, many city- and state-run entities have turned to PASCH throughout her life. CBE’s mission statement and the “Statement for assistance in addressing the rising challenge of gender abuse. on Men, Women and Biblical Equality” give ample space in af- WhileE CB was established largely by academics to explore firming the authority of Scripture. CBE’s mission statement de- the biblical, theological, and historical material on gender, we clares that the Bible “is the inspired word of God, is reliable, and were inevitably faced with the challenge of addressing abuse as is the final authority for faith and practice,” while the “Statement well, simply by the sheer number of individuals who called upon on Men, Women and Biblical Equality” begins with: “The Bible us for help. Cathie knew, as did early evangelicals like Josephine teaches that God has revealed Himself in the totality of Scripture, Butler, that the challenge of abuse within the Christian home is the authoritative Word of God (Matt 5:18; John 10:35; 2 Tim 3:16; often related to matters of biblical interpretation—discerning 2 Peter 1:20–21).” whats i descriptive from that which is prescriptive in the Bible. As with the early evangelicals, Cathie’s publications and min- After years of working to free abused women around the world, istry initiatives were more closely “aligned with the evangelical Josephine Butler and Katharine Bushnell began to see that the activists and women preachers of the nineteenth and early twen- global abuse of women was inseparable from a devaluation of fe- tieth centuries than with the various non-Christian and liberal males that led to male dominance and female submission. Writ-

8 • Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 25, No. 3 ◆ Summer 2011 ing about her understanding of abuse, Bushnell argued that the 7. William Marsh, as quoted by David Bebbington, Evangelicalism abusef o women will not be overcome as long as “the subordi- in Modern Britain: A History from 1730s to the 1980s (Grand Rapids, MI: nationf o woman to man was taught within the body of Chris- Baker, 1989), 3. 8. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, 3. See also Noll, tians.”49 Butler and Bushnell agreed that The Rise of Evangelicalism, 19. we must have the whole-hearted backing of the Christian 9. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 19. 10. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 19. church in our [work], and that we would not have it until men 11. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 19. cameo t understand that a woman is of as much value as a 12. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, 5. man; and they will not believe this until they see it plainly 13. Riley Bell, quoted by Janette Hassey, No Time for Silence (Min- taught in the Bible. neapolis, MN: Christians for Biblical Equality, 1986), 23–24. 14. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, 5. Justo s long as men imagine that a system of caste is taught 15. . Roger J Green, “Catherine Booth, the Salvation Army, and the in the Word of God, and that they belong to the upper caste Purity Crusade of 1885,” Priscilla Papers 22, no. 3 (2008): 9–18. while women are of the lower caste; and just so long as they 16. Pandita Ramabai, The High Caste Hindu Woman (1888, repr. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger, 2007). believe that mere flesh—fate—determines the caste to which 17. Charles O. Knowles, Let Her Be: Right Relationships and the one belongs; and just so long as they believe that . . . Genesis Southern Baptist Conundrum over Women’s Role (Columbia, MO: 3:16 [teaches] “thy desire shall be for thy husband, and he shall KnoWell, 2002), 85. rule over you” . . . the destruction of young women into a 18. Katharine Bushnell, God’s Word to Women: One Hundred Bible prostitute class [will] continue. Studies on Women’s Place in the Divine Economy (1919; repr. Minneapo- lis, MN: Christians for Biblical Equality, 2003), 9ff. But place Christian women where God intends them to stand, 19. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 10. on f a plane o full equality with men in the church and home, 20. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 39ff. 21. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, s 39, 48. Thi observation alone where their faculties, their will, their consciences are con- challenges more than fourteen centuries of biblical scholarship. trolled only by the God who made man and woman equal by 22. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 75. creation . . . then the world will become a much purer [place] 23. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 68, 75. than it is today. . . .50 24. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 81–177. 25. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 169. Like Katharine Bushnell, Catherine Kroeger offered an indomi- 26. Bushnell, God’s Word to Women, 169. table challenge to the hegemony of male authority which, when 27. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, 14ff. coupled with female submission, too often leads to abuse. Like 28. Galatians 2:20 reads, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no Bushnell, Cathie worked to oppose the subjugation and abuse of longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (NIV). women and to teach the biblical basis for the equal value, dignity, 29. Gladstone as quoted by Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern and worth of humans, male and female, in her more than ten Britain, 14. published volumes and hundreds of articles. 30. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, 14. 31. Jessie Penn-Lewis, The Climax of the Risen Life (Bournemouth, Conclusion England: The Overcomer Room, circa 1909), 32. 32. Penn-Lewis, The Climax of the Risen Life, 37. Like the early evangelicals, Catherine Clark Kroeger searched 33. Gordon Fee, Listening to the Spirit in the Text (Grand Rapids, MI: the depths of Scripture to read what appears to restrict women Eerdmans, 2000), 59. through the more than one hundred passages that teach women’s 34. William Vance Trollinger, Jr., God’s Empire: William Bell Riley equal authority and service beside men. Like Ramabai, Bushnell, and Midwestern Fundamentalism (Madison, WI: University of Wiscon- and Butler, Cathie showed in word, in deed, and through her sin Press, 1990), 105ff. biblical scholarship that authentic Christian faith truly is good 35. Trollinger, God’s Empire, 105. See also Janette Hassey, “Evangeli- cal Women in Ministry a Century Ago,” in Discovering Biblical Equality: news for women, liberating them from abuse through the mes- Complementarity without Hierarchy, ed. Ronald W. Pierce and Rebecca sagef o Christ, to which all of Scripture points. May we stand on Merrill Groothuis, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005), 56. the shoulders of the early evangelicals and of Catherine Clark 36. Hassey observes how John R. Rice’s popular Bobbed Hair, Bossy Kroeger, may we respect their service, and may we extend their Wives, and Women Preachers portrayed women leaders as liberal and as important ministries for the sake of the whole church, and, in- fundamentally opposed to an orthodox reading of Scripture. See Hassey, “Evangelical Women in Ministry a Century Ago,” 55. deed, the whole world. 37. For a profound exploration of this topic, see Gretchen Gaebelein Notes Hull’s Equal to Serve: Women and Men Working Together Revealing the Gospel (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998). 1. Mark Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, White- 38.s Thi material was based on interviews with CBE founders Cathie field, and the Wesleys (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2003), 16. Kroeger, Alvera Mickelsen, and Gretchen Gaebelein Hull and was com- 2. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 16. piledy b Lola Scobey and published by Sara Robertson in CBE’s Board 3. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 16–18. of Directors Manual. 4. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 18. 39. Susan McCoubrie, “Happy Birthday: Now We Are Four! A Brief 5. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 18. Historyf o Christians for Biblical Equality,” Priscilla Papers ,5 no. 3 (1991): 14. 6. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, 19. 40. “Men, Women and Biblical Equality,” written by Gilbert

Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 25, No. 3 ◆ Summer 2011 • 9 Bilezikian, W. Ward Gasque, Stanley N. Gundry, Gretchen Gaebelein 44. Lola Scobey, interview with Cathie Kroeger (2000), published in Hull, Catherine Clark Kroeger, Jo Anne Lyon, and Roger Nicole, has CBE’s Board of Directors Manual, 9–10. been published in twenty-six languages and has shaped gender policies 45. Ronald W. Pierce, “Contemporary Evangelicals for Gender and practices in hundreds of churches and several prominent evangeli- Equality,” in Discovering Biblical Equality, 59. cal organizations and denominations. 46. Catherine Clark Kroeger, “Toward an Egalitarian Hermeneutic 41. McCoubrie, “Happy Birthday,” 15. of Faith,” Priscilla Papers 12, no 1 (1998): 2. 42. For the most recent version of CBE’s mission statement, see 47. Kroeger, “Toward an Egalitarian Hermeneutic of Faith,” 2. www.cbeinternational.org/?q=content/statement-faith. 48. For titles dealing with abuse written by Cathie Kroeger and her 43.o T read CBE’s statement “Men, Women and Biblical Equality,” colleagues, see equalitydepot.com/abuse.aspx. see www.cbeinternational.org/files/u1/smwbe/english.pdf . 49. Katharine Bushnell, Dr. Katharine Bushnell: A Brief Sketch of her Life Work (Hertford, England: Rose and Sons, n.d.), 13.

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