Tried With Fire

When the Doctrines of Grace found me, life was never the same. But in my enthusiasm for my new-found theology, I became a cage-stage Calvinist. I may not have been foaming at the mouth, but I was pushy and less than respectful toward believers who differed from me. Thankfully, the symptoms have subsided, but it's ironic that I was proud of being doctrinally "right" while affirming that it was all of grace. I also wonder if "cage-staginess" transfers to other Christian doctrines? The following is quote from Timothy George regarding the gender battles that have been raging in the church. I think his words are worth considering: 1. "What do I owe to the person who differs from me?" While we are not obligated to agree with that person, we do owe him or her love. As a result, we are to be good listeners, seeking to understand the person's aims and asking whether there is anything valid in his or her position. 2. "What can I learn from those ...

Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife: My Story of Finding Hope after Domestic Abuse by Ruth A. Tucker, Zondervan, 2016, 208 pages. In 1967, Ruth Tucker was a young college student. She attended a summer camp and met the ideal Christian single man - a tall, dark, and handsome Bible whiz, who felt called to pastoral ministry. She was swept off her feet, and the relationship quickly progressed to engagement and then marriage. On the surface, it seemed straight out of a fairy tale, but there were red flags that indicated something lurking beneath the surface. Those warning signs did not lie. Ruth found herself married to an abuser who professed the name of Christ and used the Scriptures to justify his abuse, hence the title of her book - Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife.  She endured 19 years of battering and humiliation at the hands of her ex-husband, often hiding her bruises with clothing. 1  After all, who would believe her? Who would believe that a pastor ...

Sarah Flashing: As a complementarian, I am continually bothered by the lack of women in the church implementing their intellectual gifts as theologians, philosophers, apologists, ethicists, economists and so forth because I believe we have put women and their gifts, needs and interests in a box and tied it up—tightly—with a pretty lace bow. Because of the important role she plays in the family, there is often the perception that women’s gifts and needs are limited to the realm of the home. I am not suggesting that those women who abide in this realm are excluded from the community of intellectually-gifted women, many, in fact, are one and the same. But when “keeping the home” (Tit 2) is reduced to teaching women how to make pot-holders out of old socks to the exclusion of developing the life of the mind, then we run the risk of not only losing more women to theological wimpiness, but their children as well. All of this causes me to wonder if the complementarian community is losing i...

The role of women and men in the church and home is a can of worms. This topic is so emotionally charged that it's dangerous to step into the debate for fear of being verbally electrocuted. I occasionally lurk on a few egalitarian blogs (mainly for other issues), and it's interesting to get their perspective. At times I'm sympathetic to their position particularly when a complementarian spokesperson has made an insensitive, foot-in-mouth blanket statement regarding divorce or abuse, which are hot-button issues with me. But at the end of the day, these scenarios, as sad as they are, can't determine my stance on this issue.  I need to come back to the Bible. So I've been listening to the talks by D.A. Carson and Bob Yarbrough from the ECFA 2012 Conference:  Understanding the Complementarian Position: Considering Implications and Exploring Practices in the Home and the Local Church .  I'm part way through, but so far it's been very helpful. I appreciate the...