As I mentioned in my last post, some people balk at the language in Song of Songs as too sensual or sexual even to be appropriate to describing Christ’s love for us. Here’s one response: Perhaps they have in mind such lines as: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!For your love is… Continue reading Song of Songs: Appropriate language for describing our relationship with Christ?
Tag: marriage
Who is Song of Songs About?
Earlier this week, I wrote about a tweet by Beth Moore that had caused some controversy and then suggested at the end of my article that perhaps a read of Song of Songs might be helpful to give us a sense of the kind of language employed in Scripture to describe our love for Christ.… Continue reading Who is Song of Songs About?
Complementarianism – provision, protection and life before The Fall
I’ve argued that headship is not meant to be about power and hierarchy but rather, authority is about being authorised to do what we are responsible for. In the case of husbands and fathers (as well as elders -spiritually in the church) this is about provision and protection. I take this from Genesis 2:18 15 The Lord God… Continue reading Complementarianism – provision, protection and life before The Fall
Complementarianism and Egalitarianism -the practical overlap and the real difference
There’s been another flurry of conversation about complementarianism on social media recently. I think this has been prompted a little by this article in Premier Christianity. As a side note, I think that the article doesn’t do a bad job of trying to reflect the different views and provide balance. However, I am not convinced… Continue reading Complementarianism and Egalitarianism -the practical overlap and the real difference
Is it time for the State to get out of marriage?
The Government have recently reported on proposals to further liberalise the rules about marriage in terms of where, when and by whom you can be married. The National Secular Society have come out broadly in support of the proposals. Actually there’s much to like about them (with some quibbles) although we’d have a very different… Continue reading Is it time for the State to get out of marriage?
Not under compulsion: Is submission voluntary?
One of the key tenants of complementarianism is that submission, especially the wife’s submission to the husband is voluntary. In other words, she is not under compulsion to submit to her husband but rather, she may willingly choose to do so. Primarily when making the point, complementarians are seeking to address two groups of people.… Continue reading Not under compulsion: Is submission voluntary?
Headship – what are husbands meant to do?
I mentioned the other day a friend who was asking challenging questions about headship, submission, complementarianism and headship. Here’s another of their questions. If the core characteristic of male headship in marriage is love not leadership, why do we focus on submission to a husband’s leadership instead of his love? They are thinking primarily of… Continue reading Headship – what are husbands meant to do?
If I stopped being a complementarian, what would I lose?
A friend asked this searching question the other day – not specifically of me. Rather, they asked men who hold to complementarianism what they would lose if they walked away from that position. It’s an interesting one. In a sense, there might be something to lose. You see, for some pastors/leaders, it would involve losing… Continue reading If I stopped being a complementarian, what would I lose?
God, gender, pronouns and the church
If you check someone’s social media profile these days, then you are likely to find that they’ll tell you their preferred pronouns. The point is that we are not to assume that they want to identify with a particular gender. It is considered respectful to allow another person to let you know how they want… Continue reading God, gender, pronouns and the church
It’s time to scrap Marriage preparation courses
If you are married, did you have marriage preparation classes? What were they like? Any good? I know of some people that were given a very intensive programme of instruction with lots of reading homework in between each meet up. We on the other hand were given two compulsory sessions, one where we watched a… Continue reading It’s time to scrap Marriage preparation courses
Faithroots 