Danvers Statement




  4. the widespread ambivalence regarding the values of motherhood, vocational homemaking, and the many ministries historically performed by women;
  6. the upsurge of physical and emotional abuse in the family;
  8. the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities devised to reinterpret apparently plain meanings of Biblical texts;



  1. Both Adam and Eve were created in God's image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood (Gen 1:26-272:18).
  2. Distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, and should find an echo in every human heart (Gen 2:1821-241 Cor 11:7-91 Tim 2:12-14).
  3. Adam's headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin (Gen 2:16-1821-243:1-131 Cor 11:7-9).
  4. The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women (Gen 3:1-71216).
  5. The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women (Gen 1:26-272:18Gal 3:28). Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community (Gen 2:18Eph 5:21-33Col 3:18-191 Tim 2:11-15).
    • In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands' authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands' leadership (Eph 5:21-33Col 3:18-19Tit 2:3-51 Pet 3:1-7).
    • In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (Gal 3:281 Cor 11:2-161 Tim 2:11-15).
  7. In all of life Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission-domestic, religious, or civil-ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin (Dan 3:10-18Acts 4:19-205:27-291 Pet 3:1-2).
  8. In both men and women a heartfelt sense of call to ministry should never be used to set aside Biblical criteria for particular ministries (1 Tim 2:11-153:1-13Tit 1:5-9). Rather, Biblical teaching should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God's will.