In recent years, evangelicals have engaged in a vigorous debate over the doctrine of the Trinity. One group argues that the Father and the Son are equal in authority and power with the Son submitting Himself to the Father only temporarily during the incarnation. Another group argues that the Son’s submission to the Father is functional (not ontological) and eternal. The debate has generated a great deal of discussion not only because it effects the foundational doctrine of God, but also because of its connection to evangelical debates over gender roles. Egalitarians tend to hold the first view of the Trinity while some (though not all) Complementarians hold to the…
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Publications
Male and Female He Created Them: A Study on Gender, Sexuality, & Marriage by Denny Burk, David Closson, Colin Smothers This book is a study on gender, sexuality, and marriage. It presents a biblical vision for contested issues such as homosexuality, transgenderism, and marriage. By the completion of this book, readers will have a better grasp on the Bible’s teaching about our identities as male and female, created in the image of God, and know how to apply Scripture to these issues in their ministries at church, home, and work. God’s Glory Revealed in Christ: Essays on Biblical Theology in Honor of Thomas R. Schreiner Edited by Denny Burk, James…
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CBMW Studies on the Gender Language of the NIV
The CBMW website had been a tremendous source for complementarian resources over the years, and we are working to make it even better. As the website has been undergoing a massive update, readers have requested access to the two studies on the gender language of the NIV that were published last year. Both of those articles are now available on the temporary site. The links are below: Denny Burk, et al., “The Translation of Gender Terminology in the NIV 2011? Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 16.1 (2011): 17-33. “An Evaluation of Gender Language in the 2011 Edition of the NIV Bible,” A report from the Council on Biblical Manhood…
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Horton and Wilson Spar over “Muscular Christianity”
Michael Horton and Doug Wilson have begun a conversation about gender roles that is not to be missed. Horton began the discussion last week in a short article in Modern Reformation titled “Muscular Christianity.” Doug Wilson responded on his blog just today in a post titled, “Michael Horton, Gender Stereotypes, and Me.”
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My Review of Mark Driscoll’s “Real Marriage”
Mark and Grace Driscoll. Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship & Life Together. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012. 249pp. $22.99 (hardback). [Download PDF version of this review.] I am no connoisseur of marriage manuals, but Mark and Grace Driscoll’s recent contribution to the genre has to be one of the most provocative treatments ever penned for and by evangelicals. In Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship & Life Together, Mark and Grace share candidly about the significant sexual brokenness that afflicted the early years of their own marriage and about how the Lord delivered them from it. They also discuss in graphic detail the questions that couples frequently ask…
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Rachel Held Evans’ Year of Living Unbiblically
Rachel Held Evans is an egalitarian and has set aside the last year to obey every command in scripture pertaining to women. Her aim is to show what “biblical womanhood” really looks like when it is practiced consistently. She has been blogging about her year at her website, and Thomas Nelson has agreed to publish her narrative for a book set to be released in 2012. When I first heard about this, I was skeptical about the usefulness of such a project. Sarah Flashing is also skeptical, and she has a hard-hitting piece about it over at the First Things blog. She writes:
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Should Wives Submit to Their Husbands?
The front page of The Nashville Tennessean has an article by Bob Smietana titled “Should wives submit? Debate resurges.” Though Michele Bachmann’s candidacy for president is the catalyst for this piece, the article is not really about her. It’s about how American Evangelicals approach the question of gender roles in the home, in the church, and in society at large. Smietana interviews folks on both sides of this question and even deals briefly with the various interpretations of Ephesians 5 and how those readings play out in the lives of real families. Smietana even uses the proper theological designations for each view, complementarianism and egalitarianism. This is an unusual article,…
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Michele Bachmann and Wifely Submission
The Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog is hosting a discussion of Lisa Miller’s column on evangelical “feminism.” But don’t confuse this “feminism” with egalitarianism. Here’s what Miller means by “feminism” of the evangelical stripe: A “feminist” is a fiscally conservative, pro-life butt-kicker in public, a cooperative helpmate at home, and a Christian wife and mother, above all. Rep. Michele Bachmann is Exhibit A. With her relentless attacks on big government and a widely circulated 2006 video in which she credits her professional success to the submission of her will to Jesus and her husband, Bachmann represents “a new definition of feminism.” The roundtable discussion that follows includes three other women…
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Brief Response to Darrell Bock
Darrell Bock has weighed-in on the discussion about the 2011 NIV. In general, he thinks the negative responses to the new translation are unwarranted. There are several remarks he makes that I think are worth responding to. Readers need to read Bock’s post for themselves, but I will try to summarize his concerns here and respond to each briefly.
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A Response to the NIV Translators
I just saw yesterday that the translators of the 2011 NIV have posted a response to CBMW’s review of the new NIV’s gender language (note also their response to the SBC resolution). If you are following this discussion, you will want to read the whole letter from the translators, but I will summarize their concerns here and offer a brief response to each.