214 FEMINIST VIEWS BASED ON UNTRUTHFUL CLAIMS
This, then, has been the historic doctrine of the church. Egalitarians
may differ with this doctrine today if they wish, and they may attempt
to persuade us that they are right if they wish, but they must do this on
the basis of arguments from Scripture, and they should also have the
honesty and courtesy to explain to readers why they now feel it neces-
sary to differ with the historic doctrine of the church as expressed in its
major creeds.
The historic creeds affirm that there is an eternal difference between
the Father and the Son, not in their being (for they are equal in all
attributes, and the three persons are just one “being” or “substance”),
but in the way they relate to one another. There is an ordering of their
relationships such that the Father eternally is first, the Son second, and
the Holy Spirit third.^13 The egalitarian claim that this is not the historic
doctrine of the church is simply not true.
Why do I list Bilezikian’s claim in this book? I do so because he is
claiming that complementarians are straying from the historic doctrine
of the Trinity. But in fact it is Bilezikian who is straying from the historic
doctrine of the Trinity in his denial of any eternal difference in roles
between the Father and the Son.
Is this another step on the path toward liberalism? Not directly. But
in repeating claims about the historic doctrine of the Trinity that are not
accurate, Bilezikian “moves the boundary lines” and confuses readers
about which side is really straying from sound doctrine. In that way, his
argument constitutes another step on the path toward liberalism.
(^13) For further documentation of the history of this doctrine see Wayne Grudem, Evangelical
Feminism and Biblical Truth (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah, 2004), 415-422. Among the theolo-
gians affirming an eternal difference in role between the Father and the Son are Augustine
(354–430), Thomas Aquinas (1224–1274), John Calvin (1509–1564), Charles Hodge
(1797–1878), Augustus H. Strong (1836–1921), and Louis Berkhof (1873–1957). Specialists
in the history of Christian doctrine who see this as the historic Nicene doctrine include Philip
Schaff (1819–1893), J. N. D. Kelly, and Geoffrey Bromiley.