Most Protestants, especially evangelicals, talk about being biblical. The problem is, the bible is contained in language, and language requires interpretation into meaning. While any given language has a generally agreed upon set of meanings for various words, phrases, and sentence structures, there is some play in the interpretation from the language into the overall
Is Your Basis for Truth the Bible or Jesus? Is the Bible Your God?
It seems to me that some Christians have fallen into the trap of idolizing the bible, making it the central and sole substance, as if that the bible was all there is to Christianity. To these people, studying and believing the bible is everything. What I’m attempting to communicate is a fairly subtle difference; while
Book Review: The Resignation of Eve, Part 5 – Misinterpretations
This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 As I’ve been thinking over this topic, I imagined the push-back I might receive from some people. This brought me to a revelation: When someone argues against complementarianism and says
Book Review: The Resignation of Eve, Part 4 – Reasons for Gender Bias
This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Where does the belief that women must be subordinate to men come from? My distinct impression is that tradition is by far the primary reason for this belief. People use bible to
Book Review: The Resignation of Eve, Part 3 – Submission
This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson. Part 1 Part 2 There are three passages which instruct wives to submit to their husbands: Ephesians 5:21-6:9, Colossians 3:18-25, and 1 Peter 2:11-3:7. I am including whole sections rather than just individual verses, because I believe the
Book Review: The Resignation of Eve, Part 2 – Women Leaders
This is a continuation of my review of the book “The Resignation of Eve” by Jim Henderson. Click here to read Part 1. Henderson holds that the difference in views regarding the relationship of men to women comes in large part from whether one holds to a pre-Fall or post-Fall paradigm (p. 257). Part of
Book Review: The Resignation of Eve, Part 1
In “The Resignation of Eve“, Jim Henderson explores women’s opinions about women’s place in church primarily through a series of interviews. The book is in one sense a challenging one to read. The writing itself is quite accessible and the stories are easy to follow. Yet no matter one’s perspective, many of the stories shared
Friendship Between Men and Women: Sacred Friendship Gathering, Part 4
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Another main theme of the gathering was what a great witness it would be to the world if they saw Christians have healthy, loving friendships between women and men. As Jim Henderson later commented, “It would be powerful for the church to actually ‘lead’ this conversation but I don’t
Friendship Between Men and Women: Sacred Friendship Gathering, Part 3
Part 1 Part 2 One woman at the gathering shared that virtually all the men she spoke to, including some respectable guys, said that “all men are alley cats”. (I take “alley cat” to mean that the person can’t control their sexual desire and will always indulge themselves when the opportunity presents itself.) This was
Do You Vote Out of Fear?
Fortunately in this country, we can vote without fear of being shot for selecting the wrong candidate. However it’s still possible to vote in fear. Do you vote for something, or against something else? I get the impression that many people vote based on a fear of the “other team” winning more than on supporting