I’ve been sharing Calvin’s thoughts on the relationships between slaves and masters, parents and children and, wives and husbands with a little bit of commentary. I’ve been doing this because despite presumptions that the concept of mutual submission is a modern egalitarian idea, we find that Calvin writing 500 years early understood Ephesians 5:21 to… Continue reading Calvin on marriage
Category: pastoral-care
Is it impossible to learn from the Trinity?
One of the bones of contention in the debate between EFS advocates and neo-classical theists is whether or not we can apply things from the inner relationships of the Trinity to life today. EFS has predominated amongst theologians and pastors from a complementarian background. The idea that the Father and Son are equal in nature… Continue reading Is it impossible to learn from the Trinity?
Marriage at work (10) Conclusions
III. 1. Summary of Findings In Part 1, we argued for what might be described as a “Soft-Complementarian” interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33. We argued that:
Marriage at work (9) Protection and abuse
8.1. The Problem So far, our scenarios have assumed a reasonably positive family situation. We have considered to some extent the husband’s responsibility when his wife is unwilling to submit to his leadership in decision making, but what happens when the context turns more sinister?
Pastoral care of the COVID-19 anxious
What should we be doing about those people who are still extremely anxious about COVID and it is having a significant affect on their ability to participate in the life of the church and indeed other aspects of family and community life? My view is that we are now moving into a season when a… Continue reading Pastoral care of the COVID-19 anxious
Marriage at work (8) Decision making
How do we couples make decisions in the light of Ephesians 5:21-33? If wives submit to their husbands, does that mean that, as the head, he is responsible for all decision making? Must she give in to him when there is an argument?
Marriage at Work (2) A conversation in context
It may seem obvious to suggest that we should start with context, but despite our best evangelical intentions, there are two temptations which can distract us from this. We might describe them as the temptation to play “Proof Text Trumps” and the temptation to treat all the Household Codes the same.
Marriage at work (1) Introduction
I. 1. Why This Question? This dissertation arises from personal circumstances. Sarah and I both grew up in what might be termed traditional households; dad worked while mum looked after the children and the home. Our own circumstances when we got married were different to what we had experienced growing up; whilst I studied Theology,… Continue reading Marriage at work (1) Introduction
The unhappy narcissist
Yesterday I wrote about the happy narcissist. We can assume that narcissists will be happy people, so caught up in the wonder of their own beauty and brilliance and enjoying the good things that come their way. However, not all narcissists are happy. Indeed, yesterday we saw that they are not truly happy because true… Continue reading The unhappy narcissist
The happy narcissist
It’s not too difficult to spot a narcissist. They are the ones who believe that the world revolves around them. They have an excessively high view of their own importance and abilities. Now, to be clear narcissism should not be confused with confidence. It is possible to have a natural confidence and awareness of your… Continue reading The happy narcissist
