A word of mercy for Colin Smothers: as a Southern Baptist and Executive Director of CBMW, he needs to get this wrong. Complementarians hold on to a controversial interpretation of Genesis 1-3 to support their idea that men must rule in marriage and in the church. They have to do this, because they concede that in the new creation (the resurrection life of the age to come) men will not rule over women. To maintain male rule, they need to keep well away from the biblical idea that through the resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit God has started the new creation, which has implications for us right now (eg, 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15).
Thank you for sharing this, Dani. I may be fairly sheltered from culture where marriage is normalised as the "Christian way of life", but I still appreciate (and am often challenged by) how you point out where such teaching distorts God's revealed design for us. As someone recently divorced, I would find it quite distressing if my pastor gave a sermon along the lines of what Colin Smothers has written.
By the way, I just finished reading through The Meaning of Singleness for the second time, and I am very thankful for the challenges and encouragements it contains for everyone, whether single or married.
Dani, I agree, and thank you for saying it.
A word of mercy for Colin Smothers: as a Southern Baptist and Executive Director of CBMW, he needs to get this wrong. Complementarians hold on to a controversial interpretation of Genesis 1-3 to support their idea that men must rule in marriage and in the church. They have to do this, because they concede that in the new creation (the resurrection life of the age to come) men will not rule over women. To maintain male rule, they need to keep well away from the biblical idea that through the resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit God has started the new creation, which has implications for us right now (eg, 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15).
Hi Dani, I may have missed it, but can you concisely tell us what IS ‘the point’ of our two-ness (consistent with the whole of Scripture)? Thanks
I came to ask the same thing! Thanks for the article, Dani.
Thank you for sharing this, Dani. I may be fairly sheltered from culture where marriage is normalised as the "Christian way of life", but I still appreciate (and am often challenged by) how you point out where such teaching distorts God's revealed design for us. As someone recently divorced, I would find it quite distressing if my pastor gave a sermon along the lines of what Colin Smothers has written.
By the way, I just finished reading through The Meaning of Singleness for the second time, and I am very thankful for the challenges and encouragements it contains for everyone, whether single or married.