Complementarianism and Egalitarianism -the practical overlap and the real difference

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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

Not under compulsion:  Is submission voluntary?

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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?

Laying down your life for your friends in a pandemic

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Throughout the pandemic, pastors have found themselves under fire from two sides. For some, every decision to conform with guidelines, providing online services, introducing social distancing, asking people to wear masks has been seen as an act of compromise with the state driven by fear of death. Thy are told that they should not fear… Continue reading Laying down your life for your friends in a pandemic

Submission revisited – why the Trinity debate matters

What we believe affects how we live. This means that you can’t really just have academic debates about Theology. Recent debates about the Trinity matter for two reasons.  First because the most crucial aspect of how we live is our desire to know, love, worship, glorify and enjoy God. If we get our doctrine wrong… Continue reading Submission revisited – why the Trinity debate matters

Calvin on marriage

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

Calvin on parents and children

Having had a look at what Calvin has to say about slaves and masters based on Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5-6, I thought it would be worth having a look at his comments on the other two issues treated there, first on parents and children, then on wives and husbands. Calvin picks up on the… Continue reading Calvin on parents and children

Re-mapping the Gender Role debate

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We tend to describe the debate about gender roles in church and the family as divided between egalitarians and complementarians.  However, I have been wondering whether this properly captures the nuances of the discussion.  So, here is an attempt to remap where the agreement and disagreement is. I am starting with the assumption that the… Continue reading Re-mapping the Gender Role debate

Does the Son submit to the Father? Some further thoughts

I recently shared some thoughts about the relationship of the Son to the Father in the light of Aimee Byrd’s book “Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  My position is that it is correct to say that the Son does submit to the Father but unhelpful to describe this as Eternal Subordination.  Here are some… Continue reading Does the Son submit to the Father? Some further thoughts