The  Christ-Sophia of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Christians for Biblical Equality<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
The message of the "evangelical" feminists at Christians for Biblical Equality apparently fits in perfectly at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco. ELCA is described as "a reconciling in Christ congregation", "a house of prayer for all people", "a home for women's spirituality".It is "Her Church".Hymns are being re-written in such churches to banish patriarchy, so I thought I would re-write a few lines of an old hymn to better suit the feminists:Stand up, stand up for Her ChurchAnd redefine the crossLift up the royal FemaleShe shall not suffer loss!At Her Church hymns are sung with this disclaimer:"Lutheran sisters and brothers: if you are visiting our website for the first time and read or see something that seems incongruent with our theological heritage please be sure you note the whole picture of our ministry and GOSPEL proclamation by looking at each page. Especially reflect on our mission statement on our home page or the info about us or the brief article about language for God. Including masculine and feminine references to God/dess in worship lays the foundation for including women and men as equal leaders in the church and in society (sic) and embraces the priesthood of all believers initiated in our baptisms. God/dess is beyond gender and at the same time inclusive of both genders. Using exclusively masculine terms and systems of domination is contrary to the Gospel and the heart of the risen Christ and the mission of the church." [emphasis added]Right beside an article on the "goddess rosary" at Her Church we find a quote from evangelical feminist and promoted author of Christians for Biblical Equality, Jann Aldredge-Clanton. [Note: CBE ironically attempts to distance itself from goddess worship by claiming their status as "evangelical", yet all the while they teach to call God "mother."On the Her Church web site, we read about the "Jesus" of Christians for Biblical Equality teacher Jann Aldredge-Clanton. To quote Jann:"It is a fact that the Christian tradition has overemphasized masculine images of Christ to the detriment of both men and women. Men still bear a disproportionate burden of leadership in both church and society, and women still lack equal decision-making power and opportunities to develop fully their gifts. Adding CHRIST-SOPHIA and SHE to the language of Christian belief and worship brings home Jesus' message of good news for the poor and oppressed in a new and powerful way. These feminine references also serve as a vivid reminder to Christian men to model their lives on the feminist Jesus, who overcame the temptation to exercise male domination so that he might liberate and empower women and men and enable them to work as equal partners toward the reign of God." -- Jann Aldredge-Clanton, CBE author and teacher; In Search of the Christ-Sophia, An Inclusive Christology for Liberating Christians. p. 53 [emphasis added]"Exclusively masculine God-language is oppressive and idolatrous. It undermines the human equality of women made in the divine image, resulting in social and economic injustice. We also create an idol when we worship only a masculine deity, breaking the commandment against idolatry (Exodus 20:4). If we look closely at the worship language and the visual images in most churches, we see that we worship a white male God. Although the Bible pictures God as Father, it gives a wide variety of other pictures. It is thus unbiblical, idolatrous, and oppressive to use only masculine images..." Jann Aldredge-Clanton, CBE author and teacher, In Whose Image, God and Gender (introduction). [emphasis added]Testing the spirit of the Evangelical Feminist movement exposes a spirit teaching to call God "mother", a spirit whose "Jesus" is "Christ-Sophia", and a spirit which would have us believe that referring to God in "masculine images" is idolatrous. Here we see another Jesus being preached another spirit. (2 Cor. 11:4)"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether or not they are from God..." 1 John 4:1"This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you." Galatians 5:8
 
Dwayna Litz
www.ltwinternational.org