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Southern Baptist seminary says woman prof can't teach men, fires her
Professor: Seminary ousted her over gender
Baptist school cited biblical ban against women teaching men, she says
AP, MSNBC, January 26, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - A theology professor at a prominent Southern Baptist seminary said officials told her to leave because women are biblically forbidden from teaching men.
Professor Sheri Klouda's departure from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is the newest source of division between opposing factions within the Southern Baptist Convention. Continue.
 Newspaper reports tenure refusal for Southwestern woman prof
Baptist Press, January 22, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)—A woman who had held a tenure-track position was denied tenure at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2004, according to a Jan. 19 Dallas Morning News story.
The professor, Sheri Klouda, was given a tenure-track position to teach Hebrew in Southwestern’s school of theology when she received her Ph.D. at the Fort Worth, Texas, campus in 2002, according to the newspaper report.
Klouda, who also is a Criswell College graduate, now teaches at Taylor University in Indiana. Continue.
Sheri Klouda surprised at fallout from her ‘removal’ at Southwestern
By Hannah Elliott, Associated Baptist Press, January 25, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) -- Sheri Klouda, a former professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said she lost her job teaching Hebrew in the seminary’s school of theology because she is a woman.
But she wasn’t prepared for the fallout that followed.
News of her story first broke on a Jan. 17 blog post by Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson. In the entry, Burleson said Klouda, who had received numerous grants and awards throughout her collegiate and seminary years, was dismissed by President Paige Patterson because of her gender.
The school didn’t want women teaching men in the theology department, Burleson asserted. Continue.
Baptist Pastor Files Complaint Over Dismissal of Female Professor
Baptist pastor filed complaints after a female professor was dismissed from her seminary job allegedly because she is a woman.
By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post, January 26, 2007
Complaints were made to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Association of Theological Schools asking them to probe into the dismissal of Sheri Klouda, now former professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The letter of complaint was written by Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. Continue.
Accrediting agencies asked to probe seminary's dismissal of female prof
By Hannah Elliott, Associated Baptist Press, January 25, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) -- A supporter of a professor who lost her job at a Southern Baptist seminary -- allegedly due to gender discrimination -- has filed complaints with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Association of Theological Schools asking them to investigate “a serious breach” of accreditation guidelines.
Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, filed the complaints. He joined Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson and prominent blogger Marty Duren in calling attention to Sheri Klouda’s case. Burleson is the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla. Duren leads New Bethany Baptist Church in Buford, Ga. Continue.
Subjugating women
Speaker Chastised Over Criticism of 'Biblical Patriarchy' at SBC Seminary
byBob Allen, Ethics Daily, April 23, 2008
A speaker at an apologetics conference at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has been rebuked for comments critical of prominent Southern Baptists who believe God ordains for wives to be subordinate to their husbands.
Cynthia Kunsman, a registered nurse who runs a Web site and blog focusing on spiritual abuse, was invited to lead a workshop critiquing "biblical patriarchy" at a March 6-8 conference sponsored by Evangelical Ministries to New Religions.
In her lecture, Kunsman defined patriarchy as an "intolerant ideology" that has arisen within circles of the Christian homeschool movement during the last decade and a half. The movement is not monolithic, she said, but "encompasses many different denominations within Christianity."
"I believe that patriarchy is a disproportionate Christian response to cultural decline, and it sees family as central to the restoration of our culture," she said. "In that sense it could be called a homeschooling special-purpose religion or an affinity group."
Among troubling aspects of so-called biblical patriarchy, Kunsman identified a doctrine of "subordinationism" that argues Jesus Christ is of lesser essence and authority in the Trinity than God the Father. Continue.
'Born-Again Virginity' in the Age of Girls Gone Wild
Born-again virginity has been debunked by research, but serious proponents of it -- from mature single women to evangelicals -- continue embrace the chastity pledge, for strikingly different reasons.
Amy DePaul, AlterNet, March 20, 2007.
Born-again virgins, usually young people with a sexual past pledging to start fresh and commit to abstinence, take endless abuse on MySpace. Here, in Web pages filled with youthful accounts of hook-ups, parties and daily minutiae, writers muse over what constitutes born-again virginity, tongue planted firmly in cheek. Is it a year without sex, or as Ramona (above) might suggest, something more short term? Continue
Christians flex a manly attitude
New trend for men rejects meek, mild, effeminate faith
By Jenny Jarvie and Stephanie Simon, The Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2006
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The strobe lights pulse, and the air vibrates to a killer rock beat. Giant screens show mayhem and gross-out pranks: a car wreck, a sucker punch, a flabby (and naked) rear end, sealed with duct tape.
Brad Stine runs onstage in ripped blue jeans, his shirt untucked, his long hair shaggy. He’s a stand-up comic by trade, but he’s here today as an evangelist, on a mission to build up a new Christian man -- one profanity at a time. "It’s the wuss-ification of America that’s getting us!" screeches Stine, 46.
A moment later he adds a fervent: "Thank you, Lord, for our testosterone!" Continue.
Many evangelicals unwittingly live as feminists, Moore says
Jeff Robinson, Baptist Press, November 28, 2005
In a presentation to an evangelical organization, Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology and senior vice president for academic administration of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, characterized household decisions made by negotiation and compromise as "feminist," rather than "complimentarian," after the "thoroughly biblical vision of male headship in which men lead their families and churches by mirroring God the Father, whom Scripture portrays as the loving, sacrificial, protective Patriarch of His people." Click here to read the report.
Does Christianity squash women? Author explores feminism
By Sara Horn, Baptist Press, Dec 27, 2005
This review of a book entitled "Does Christianity squash women?" by Rebecca Jones states approvingly that author Rebecca Jones advocates that "women should embrace their roles as helpers to the authority of their husbands." Click here to read the review on the Baptist Press website.
Seminary Magazine Describes ‘Biblical’ Womanhood
byBob Allen, Ethics Daily, January 21, 2004
“Biblical” women submit to their husbands, value homemaking oover a career and dress modestly, according to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s current issue of its alumni magazine.
The seminary in Louisville, Ky., dedicated its winter 2003 issue of Southern Seminary Magazine, also known as The Tie, to “The Beauty of Biblical Womanhood.”
“For too long, those who hold to the biblical pattern of gender distinctions have allowed themselves to be silenced, marginalized and embarrassed when confronted by new gender theories,” seminary President Albert Mohler wrote in the magazine’s opening editorial. “Now is the time to recapture the momentum, force the questions and show this generation God’s design in the biblical concept of manhood and womanhood.” Continue.
Controlling personal relationships
Marriage, divorce subject of conservatives' proposals
Kelley Shannon, Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, April 14, 2007
Deep in the heart of Texas, some state legislators are trying to lay down the law about affairs of the heart.
Proposals that would encourage couples to undergo premarital education, extend the waiting period for a divorce and provide the option of creating a "covenant marriage" are up for consideration at the Capitol.
Social conservatives pushing the measures say they want everyone who enters marriage -- or who tries to get out of it -- to think about the seriousness the union, especially for the sake of children who could grow up impoverished because of divorce. Continue.
Pampa House member pushes three pro-marriage bills
One bill has already lost much of its bite in floor debate
W. Gardner Selby, The Austin American-Statesman, April 14, 2007
A Panhandle Republican seeking to discourage hasty marriages and quick divorces said he remains hopeful of sending Gov. Rick Perry pro-marriage legislation despite a setback.
"This needs to be a nonpartisan issue," said Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa, who plans to mark his 50th wedding anniversary in October. "This is about what's good for Texas. Deep down, people don't want to be a part of separating families." Continue.
Attorney: Texas Case Will Address Court Interference in Church Matters
Liberty Legal Institute Spokesman Hopes for Precedent Establishing Pastors' Immunity
By Allie Martin, American Family Association, April 27, 2006
(AgapePress) - The Texas Supreme Court has announced it will hear a case that could determine whether courts have the authority to interfere with matters such as church discipline.
The case known as Penley v. Westbrook dates back nearly six years to when Buddy Westbrook, pastor of Crossland Community Bible Church of Fort Worth, Texas, disassociated female church member Peggy Penley over divorce and adultery. Pastor Westbrook was sued after sending a letter to church members informing them of the situation. Click for the article
No-Fault Divorce--The End of Marriage?
Albert Mohler, Mohler Commentary, January 24, 2006
"A basic dishonesty on the question of divorce pervades our political culture. [Stephen] Baskerville, [a Howard University Professor] cites Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm as referring to divorce as a couple's 'private decision' Granholm's comments came as she vetoed a bill intended to reform divorce law in her state. The danger and dishonesty of referring to divorce as a couple's 'private decision' is evident in the fact that this supposedly private decision imposes a reality, not only on the couple, but also on children and the larger society. Indeed, the 'private decision' is really not made by a couple at all--but only by any spouse demanding a divorce."
Click here to read the commentary.
Divorce can mean loss of job at university
By Susan Simpson, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City), January 11, 2006
"Staff and faculty members at Oklahoma Christian University could get fired if they get divorced, according to a policy the private school plans to implement next month." Click here to read the report.
Controlling young adults' sexuality
In September 2006 an internal memo surfaced from the reelection campaign of Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline detailing his use of churches for campaign operations. Please Click here. You'll find more about Kline's attempts to prosecute abortion providers here.
Federal judge rules against Kline in juvenile sex case
Associated Press, KTKA.com, April 18, 2006
WICHITA — A federal judge ruled today that doctors, teachers and others are not required to always report underage sex between consenting youths as possible abuse.
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten granted a permanent injunction in the case filed by Aid For Women and health care providers in a constitutional challenge to Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline’s interpretation of the state’s mandatory reporting law.
Kline contended the 1982 law requiring doctors, teachers and others to alert the state and law enforcement about potential child abuse covers consensual sex between minors.
Marten ruled that a plain reading of the Kansas statute gives mandatory reporters, such as health care providers, discretion to determine whether there is reason to suspect a child has been injured as a result of sexual abuse.
Click here for the ruling
Teens’ sexual privacy upheld
Kline had sought mandatory reporting of minors’ activity as child abuse
By Ron Sylvester, Benita Y. Williams, and Melodee Hall Blobaum, The Kansas City Star, April 19, 2006
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline had overstepped the intent of lawmakers when he ordered health-care providers to report sexual activity of patients under age 16 as potential child abuse. Kline said he had not yet decided whether to appeal. Click here for the report
Judge Says Sex Between Minors Not Abuse
Focus on the Family, April 19, 2006
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline argued that sex between minors is inherently abusive and must be reported to legal authorities as potential abuse by doctors, teachers and others who care for children. U.S. District Judge Thomas Marten ruled against Kline. Click here
Trial Opens in Challenge to Law Over Teenage Sex
By Jodi Rudoren, The New York Times, January 31, 2006
 "WICHITA, Kan., Jan. 30 - A federal trial opened here Monday over whether a Kansas law prohibiting virtually all sexual activity by people under age 16 means health care professionals and educators must report such behavior to state authorities, which some say would stop many teenagers from seeking contraception or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
"The class-action lawsuit stems from a 2003 opinion by the Kansas attorney general, Phill Kline, a conservative Republican who has developed a national reputation for fighting abortion and whose pursuit of abortion clinic records is also being challenged in court." Click here to read the report.
Judge: Attorney General trying to eliminate state's injury definition of rape
By Roxana Hegeman, The Kansas City Star, February 2, 2006
"Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline interprets the Kansas reporting statute's definition of rape so that health care providers, social workers and others can no longer consider whether a child was injured before reporting suspected abuse, a federal judge said Wednesday.
"U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten said that as he reads the Kansas statute, it is injury that triggers the reporting, not the sex act itself. Kline's 2003 opinion was a reinterpretation of that statute, he said." Click here to read the report.
In The Courts: Kansas Opinion Requiring Reporting of Sexual Activity Among Minors Misunderstood, Lawyer Says
By KaiserNetwork.org, Feb 02, 2006
"Sandra Hazlett, director of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services' Child and Family Services on Tuesday testified that the department does not qualify consensual sexual activity among minors as abuse and does not follow up after such reports, according to the AP/Kansas City Star. She added that the additional workload of mandatory reporting and investigation of consensual sexual activity among minors would be a hardship on the agency, adding, 'It's a question of the capacity to handle those reports and still do timely interventions with families where abuse had occurred.'" Click here for the report.
Smells Like Teen Snogging
Kansas' wacky attorney general smells sex everywhere.
By Dahlia Lithwick, Slate, February 2, 2006
"Good places for curious adolescents to experiment with sex: backseat of dad's Volvo, under musty tarp in garage, last row of movie theater. Bad places for curious adolescents to experiment with sex: Wednesday night PTA meeting, choir practice, Kansas.
"That's right. If you're under 16 in Kansas and wondering about the costs and benefits of stealing second vs. idling at first, think again. Your attorney general has your number. Why he cares who's fumbling around to the sultry musical stylings of Aaron Carter is a mystery. And it grows odder by the day." Click here to read Slate's report.
Spin the bottle, go to jail?
Editorial, Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2006
"It's hard to imagine parents who would want their teenage children arrested for confiding in a teacher or school nurse about French-kissing. Yet, taken to its extreme - and the Kansas attorney general is about as extreme as they come - that could happen under the contested interpretation of a wrong-minded state law." Click here to read the report.
Forget Punxsutawney; Watch Phill in Kansas! What's in the shadow? Planned Parenthood
News release, American Life League, February 2, 2006
The American Life League used the occasion of the federal trial challenging Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline's order that caregivers report all instances of teenage sex to attack Planned Parenthood. A league official "said Planned Parenthood attempts to saturate young people with sex and drive a wedge between teenagers and their parents. 'Parental rights, according to Planned Parenthood, simply do not exist. The controversial organization steadfastly refuses to cooperate with any investigation of illegal activity -- and underage sex is illegal -- by claiming that confidentiality overrides both parental interests and law enforcement interests.'" Go to the news release.
A Kansan With Conviction
Attorney General Sees Abortion Records Fight as Matter of Principle
Peter Slevin, Washington Post, March 20, 2005
"As attorney general, Kline sought to require Kansas health workers to report sexual activity of girls younger than 16, the age of consent. The workers filed suit, and a federal judge blocked the request. Kline then persuaded a state judge to back the subpoena for records of more than 80 women and girls who received abortions in 2003 at two clinics. He described it as a search for evidence of illegal late-term abortions and child rape." Click here to read the report.
Christocrats try to squelch V-Day without really talking about it
 Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues one-woman play, established the V-Day foundation in 1997 to fight violence against women. V-Day encourages campus performances of the play on Valentines Day. The V-Day website (click here). explains:
In three years, V-Day has spread to over 300 colleges, where students and faculty have performed The Vagina Monologues on V-Day, February 14th, as part of a movement to stop violence against women. V-Day has raised over 3 million dollars which it has given to organizations fighting for the rights of women in Afghanistan, to stop genital mutilation in Kenya, and rape crisis centers in Bosnia, Croatia, and Chechnya, as well as hundreds of domestic programs to combat rape and abuse. Thanks to V-Day, The Vagina Monologues has been taken to 20 countries, including China, South Africa, The Philippines, Brazil and Turkey.
The religious right's motives for trying to block the spread of V-Day could be its general hostility to sex. Or it could be the argument (as expressed in the Citizen Link article below), that a performance of the Vagina Monologues is not a good way to fight violence against women. We believe that is patriarchal.
Women's Private Sexuality Twisted into Public Show
Valentine's Day has been hijacked by a strange feminist ideology, but one women's group is seeking to take it back.
By Wendy Cloyd, Citizen Link (Focus on the Family), February 10, 2006
the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute (CBLPI) is working to counter [V-Day's] message with its own campaign — V-Day Unveiled. Exposing the truth behind the movement and the play, the institute hopes to empower students to stand against the degrading message and bring back the true meaning of Valentine's Day -- while challenging students to reject the notion that the tasteless exhibition of the "Monologues" will put an end to violence against women and girls.
"Michelle Easton, president of CBLPI, said the debasing message perpetuated by the V-day movement does not advance the cause of ending abuse. 'Simply put, (the play) is lewd, degrading and demeaning to women,' she said. 'They cause inestimable harm to both genders by encouraging women to find their identity, purpose and passion in their body parts and by trying to destroy the Valentine's Day tradition for most Americans.'" Click here for the article.
Catholic Groups Protest Church Schools Supporting V-Monologues
Jim Brown and Jenni Parker, Agape Press, February 6, 2006
Some Catholic colleges are being denounced for hosting a vulgar feminist play on their campuses. By recent counts, some 20 Catholic institutions are allowing the controversial production, The Vagina Monologues, sometimes euphemistically referred to as "The V-Monologues," to be presented on their campuses this year." Click here to read the article.
Parental Notification
Abortion law repeal on table
Lawmakers weigh partial or full rollback
By Sarah Liebowitz, Concord Monitor, February 3 2007
New Hampshire's parental-notification law will return to the spotlight next week, as lawmakers hold the first hearing on a bill to delete the controversial abortion statute. And when the hearing opens, some lawmakers will be debating an additional question: Whether state law should include notification, either through an amendment to the repeal or in separate legislation.
The repeal would end the legal dispute over the law, which has been rejected by two federal courts as unconstitutional. At issue is the fact that the law doesn't exempt minors from notifying their parents before getting an abortion, even if their health is at risk. Currently, the law is in the hands of U.S. District Court Judge Joseph DiClerico, who this week decided to postpone deciding the statute's fate until lawmakers consider the repeal. Continue.
New Hampshire AG Asks Court to Uphold Parental-Notification Law
New Hampshire's attorney general today asked a federal judge to reject a suit filed by abortion advocates that seeks to overturn the state's parental-notification law, LifeNews.com reported. Continue.
ELECTION 06: California, Oregon
consider parental notification on abortion
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press, November 3, 2006
WASHINGTON (BP)--Parental notification for an underage girl considering an abortion is a legal requirement favored by three-fourths or more of the American public, but it may not gain approval from the voters of California and Oregon in the Nov. 7 election. Continue.
Eight Senate Democrats Flip, Kill Parental Notification Bill
National Right to Life Committee, News release via Christian Newswire, September 30, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- A bill to generally require notification of one parent before a minor obtains an out-of-state abortion died Friday when Senate Democrats voted overwhelmingly to block it.
Hours before Congress adjourned for pre-election campaigning, 57 senators voted to remove the final procedural obstacle to S. 403, which would have cleared the bill for transmission to President Bush for his signature. But 57 was three votes short of the 60 required under Senate rules to break through a procedural roadblock erected by the Senate Democratic leadership. Continue.
 Stop Senate Action to Restrict Young Women's Abortion Access
National Council of Jewish Women urges action on S 403, September 28, 2006
NCJW says: "Determined to finalize action before the election on a bill that severely restricts young women's access to abortion, Senate leadership plans to consider the House-passed "Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act" (S 403) later this week. In July 2006, the Senate approved a similar measure, the "Child Custody Protection Act" and then, on September 26, the House amended that bill, passing a more restrictive version. This week, the Senate will consider the House-passed version in an attempt to move the legislation to the President's desk before the election. As it is written, this bill would create what amounts to a nationwide parental notification system. In effect, it would make it a crime for anyone other than a parent to accompany a minor across state lines for an abortion to avoid parental notice laws in their own state -- and even further, it would hold doctors criminally liable for enforcement. This measure endangers the lives of young women who might seek an unsafe alternative to legal abortion in order to avoid involving their parents." Click here to take action from the NCJW website.
Texas: New rules will require written parental consent for abortions
Forms, which must be notarized, also warn teens of medical risks
Polly Ross Hughes, The Houson Chronicle, Sept. 1, 2006
AUSTIN - After 13 months of intense pressure from opposing factions, the state has adopted rules requiring written - and notarized - parental consent forms for girls under age 18 to get abortions.
The new forms span six pages, warn of medical risks and tout "women's right to know" brochures backed by abortion opponents, said those on opposite sides of the issue. Continue.
Parent-notification bill pushed in Senate
By Amy Fagan, The Washington Times, July 21, 2006
Senate Republicans are pushing forward with legislation, which lawmakers likely will start debating today, that would protect parents' right to be involved in their teenage daughter's abortion decision.
Republican leaders hope to vote on the bill next week. They're trying to work out an agreement with Democrats on how long debate will last and how many amendments Democrats will be able to offer. Continue
Oregon Signatures Turned in for Parental Notification on Abortion Ballot Prop
Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com, July 7, 2006
Pro-life campaigners who are working to put an initiative on the November ballot to allow Oregon residents to vote on the issue of parental notification turned in their signatures a day early. Only needing 75,630 to qualify, organizers of the campaign submitted 115,845 signatures to the secretary of state's office Thursday.
According to the National Right to Life Committee, 22 states have parental consent laws in effect that require a parent to sign off on a teen's abortion before it can be done. Another seven states have notification laws in place that require abortion facilities to notify a parent of a potential abortion beforehand. Condition
CALIFORNIA: Should Docs Snitch on Their Clients?
A measure to notify parents when teens seek abortions might reduce state abortion rates, but probably not in the way its backers intended.
Kara Platoni, East Bay Express, July 6, 2005
One doctor says: "I have no idea what kind of risk I'd be exposing a woman to -- if she's going to go home and be beaten within an inch of her life when I tell her father. Is she going to be put out of her home? I do not want to be the doctor who has to make that call." The leading medical associations advocate encouraging girls to involve their parents, not mandating it. Click here to read the article.
UTAH: Abortions for minors would need parent OK under law
By Rebecca Walsh, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 10, 2006
Utah already has a parental notification law, but a Republican legislator wants to require parental permission 24 hours before an abortion procecure. Click here to read the report.
Texas becomes 19th state with marriage amendment
Parental notification loses in California
By Michael Foust, Baptist Press, November 9, 2005
"Ron Prentice, director of the conservative California Family Council,
said opponents succeeded in making voters focus less on parents' rights
and more on instances when a teenage girl may come from an abusive home
and fear telling her parents she's pregnant." Click here to read the report
California Voters Reject Parental Notification Law On Abortion
Inside Traditional Values Coalition, November 10, 2005
"After the defeat, Rev. Sheldon observed: 'This is a sad day for parental rights and the safety of unborn children. It is clear that Planned Parenthood's scare tactics and love affair with the killing of unborn babies energized its pro-abortion base.'" Click here to read the report.
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