Statement of Faith

Every Woman a Theologian exists to equip women to understand what they believe, why they believe it, and how to communicate it graciously to others. It is of utmost importance that our treatment of theological topics align with the Word of God as historically taught and upheld by the global Church.

Our approach to theology is tiered. First-tier theology is core doctrine: non-negotiable truths that must be affirmed to call oneself a follower of Christ. Changing core doctrines alters the nature of God, Christ, the Spirit, salvation, and sin/holiness. These doctrines are often called “orthodoxy” or sound teaching. G.K. Chesterton summarized them as: “The creeds and the historic conduct of those who held such a creed.”

Second-tier doctrines are questions of application: How do we baptize—infant or believer’s baptism? Open or closed communion? Women at all levels of ministry or only in certain roles? Christians may practice either and remain within orthodox teaching. On these issues, both views can be argued from Scripture. Christians tend to gather in churches that align with their secondary views. These doctrines are divisive enough to dictate where someone worships but do not remove someone from Christian orthodoxy.

One such secondary doctrine is the complementarian versus egalitarian debate. This debate impacts Every Woman a Theologian uniquely since we are a women’s ministry. We serve women on both sides of the debate, and Phylicia serves in churches all over the women-in-ministry spectrum. Within Every Woman a Theologian itself, staff members hold varied views. You will see writers, podcast guests, and book suggestions that reflect the range of opinion on this issue. You may also see Phylicia preach on Sundays—under pastoral invitation, with elder authority, in church contexts that invite women to do so. She also serves churches who do not invite women to teach the entire congregation. Both positions can be argued from Scripture.

Third-tier doctrines are matters of conviction. The Spirit applies first and second doctrines in individual lives as best fits their maturity, cultural setting, and evangelistic opportunity. Christians may differ on third-tier convictions and still attend the same church.

Every Woman a Theologian also uses the Wesleyan Quadrilateral to navigate theological issues. The Quadrilateral begins with Scripture as the solid foundation for all theological discourse. The next three parts of the Quadrilateral—used in equal measure—are reason (logic/argumentation/research), tradition (the historical behavior and priorities of the church), and experience (spiritual intimacy with God and others). These are our methods for discerning which issues to speak about and how to address them.

Following is our statement of faith regarding core doctrinal issues related to bibliology, Christology, soteriology, and Christian life. For an expanded treatment of where we stand on these issues, please see Verity podcast or the book Every Woman a Theologian.

On the Bible: Every Woman a Theologian is dedicated to the inspired Word of God, which is inerrant and infallible in its original manuscripts. The Bible is unable to deceive and remains consistent in all doctrinal truths. We believe the Bible “is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). It is “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness… so that [we] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

On the Trinity: We hold to the historically orthodox understanding of the Trinity as expressed in the Athanasian, Nicene, and Apostles’ Creeds:

That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

On Salvation: We believe all humanity is born with a predisposition toward sin that, when acted upon, leads to separation from God. This sinful nature puts all humanity in need of a Savior and Redeemer. As classical Arminians (with a Wesleyan bent), Phylicia and Josh Masonheimer (EWAT founders) hold to a salvation theology of “libertarian free will”: God knew before the foundation of the world that humanity would need a Savior and predestined Jesus Christ to be the plan of that salvation (Eph. 1). All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13). While this is Josh and Phylicia’s personal view, many staff members at EWAT hold to Reformed theology and the belief that God elects individuals to salvation. We believe there is room for both interpretations within the sound teaching of Scripture.

On Eternal Life: Those who call upon the name of the Lord and put faith in Christ (give their allegiance to Him: John 11:25-26) will inherit eternal life (John 3:16). This means a life of fullness, goodness, and purpose from present-day to eternity. Those who reject Christ by their own conscious choice will remain separated from God and experience His just wrath (Rom. 1:18, 12:19, 13:4, Matt. 10:28, Matt. 25:41, Rev. 21:8).

On the Body of Christ: The Body of Christ is His Church. The Church is not made up of one denomination or building. It is made of believers from all denominations adhering to the fundamental truths of our faith, giving allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord. The Body of Christ is a diverse gathering of individuals from all nations, all ethnicities, all ages, and all stages of life unified in allegiance to Christ and love for one another.

On Christian Life: The natural outworking of an authentic faith is sanctification, which is growing more like Christ. Those justified in Christ will receive the Holy Spirit to sanctify, convict, and comfort them (John 14-15). Christian life should reflect the fruit of God’s Spirit (Gal. 6) and the values of God’s law (Deut. 20). Such virtues include love, faith, purity, generosity, restraint, honor for the poor and weaker brother, faithfulness in marriage, and grace for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. EWAT holds to the fundamental truths of Scripture as expressed in the creeds (Apostles’ and Nicene), the model of the early church as outlined in the Didache, and the moral values of God’s Law as expressed in the Ten Commandments (upheld by Jesus Christ Himself: John 10, Matt. 5-7). In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council decided upon fundamental virtues taught to new converts at the outset of his/her faith:

“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.” (Acts 15:19-20).

According to this early church model, new converts were taught an ethic that included sanctity of worship (abstaining from idols), sanctity of life (abstaining from blood), and sanctity of sex (abstaining from all sexual behavior outside of covenantal, heterosexual marriage). These basic virtues align with the Ten Commandments (Deut 20) and the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5) outlined in Scripture.

On abstaining from idols:

• Any good thing that shifts our allegiance from Christ to self is an idol: money, success, sex, motherhood, marriage, power, admiration, or fame may all tempt us to place Christ second in our lives. Seldom does the enemy tempt with things we easily reject. He appears as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14)
• We should remain aware of the culturally-accepted idols in our cities, consciously standing apart and pointing the way out of bondage to freedom in Christ. These idols may be political, social, sexual, or fiscal. For Christians, Christ alone is Savior and King.

On sanctity of life:

• Just as God’s love is free, total, faithful, and fruitful, so should the sexual act be in marriage. Sex is both pleasure and procreation. God grants wisdom and self-control to couples who attempt not to conceive. But the heart toward children should be one of openness, recognizing that procreation is one of the designs of the sexual act. This recognition should cultivate restraint, compassion, self-control, and understanding on the part of the husbands, who should seek to understand and respect the inherent design of their wives’ bodies.
• As image-bearers of God, we should be moved to love and honor for unborn human lives. Christians should uphold a consistent ethic of life, not just regarding abortion but regarding all reproductive technologies. This is consistent with the position of first-century Christians who opposed both abortion and infanticide.
• As image-bearers of God, we should be moved to a love for aged an disabled human lives. Christians should stand against assisted suicide and eugenics in any form.
• As image-bearers of God, we should be moved to a love and honor for people of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This does not equal religious agreement (especially when agreement compromised Christian doctrine) but will require grace and truth. True believers do not speak about other ethnicities with degrading, corrupt talk that imitates the world, nor do they silently participate in jokes, conversations, or events where hatred for other ethnicities is normalized.

On sanctity of sex:

• The commandment against adultery applies to all sexual acts outside of covenant marriage between a man and a woman.
• Marriage is a sacred union and covenant before God, breakable only in instances of unfaithfulness or abuse.
• Pornography in any form—visual or written—damages men and women physically, emotionally, spiritually, and sexually. We actively work to expose the lies of pornography and help men and women find freedom from its hold.
• Because procreation is a fundamental design of marriage, marriage between two women or two men (and the suggestion of more than two genders) is evidence not of godly love but of the depravity of human minds (Roman 1). Those who practice these relationships or affirm them participate in this depravity and are in need of both truth and love.
• The end goal of all such sanctification is our glorification as image bearers of God and to be united with Him as His unstained Bride: “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27).