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In: Bible, Hermeneutics, Mutualist, Review, Theology

Icons of Christ: A Biblical and Systematic Theology for Women’s Ordination is a compelling and capable defense of women sharing the full sweep of responsibilities for leadership in the Church. Despite the contention this topic breeds and the heat it generates, each chapter fairly and charitably rehearses arguments for and against women serving in church leadership. Author William G. Witt rigorously engages all the relevant biblical texts, along with traditional and contemporary testimony from Catholic and Protestant opposing voices. With philosophical and theological acumen, Witt applies careful historical, theological, literary, and exegetical analyses throughout, while keeping a practical focus on the Church.

Since the breadth and depth of this book is large, …[ continue reading ]

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In: Bible, Culture, Hermeneutics, Review

To say Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley is large would be an understatement. No less than 10 days after its initial release (September 1, 2020) the publisher’s site notifies customers that shipments will be delayed due to high demand. The author has appeared on countless virtual interviews and is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times (see here). Already there have been numerous ratings given and reviews written;[ continue reading ]

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Or, why it’s important to listen to Scripture and not import our own ideas into the text. The first rule in interpreting any text, ancient or contemporary, is listen to the author and learn what is being communicated. Enjoy this short video, then check out this post, “Interpreting the Bible, Nursery Rhymes, or Just About Anything Else“.[ continue reading ]

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Once in church we had been attending a financial person of the church stated that, after 30 years of studying God’s Word, he has found Scripture “never calls on us to give to a cause; instead we are called to give to God.” He then quoted something from 2 Cor 9. Hum…. The context of 2 Corinthians, starting in chapter 8 running through chapter 9, indicates the giving Paul had[ continue reading ]

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In: Bible, Hermeneutics, Mutualist

This paragraph not only sums up much of I. Howard Marshall‘s masterful contribution to Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity Without Hierarchy, but has profound hermeneutical and pastoral implications. You’ll have to read the entire essay (pp 27ff) to feel the weight of what I’m getting at (hint: it’s not just about egalitarianism, either). A recognition of the fully egalitarian implications of scriptural teaching thus takes place at the level of the[ continue reading ]

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In: Bible, Hermeneutics, Mutualist, Review

Matthew Richard Schlimm‘s This Strange and Sacred Scripture: Wrestling with the Old Testament and Its Oddities clears the fog and answers common questions and concerns raised by believers struggling to find relevance in the first 39 books of the Bible. There are many valuable lessons here and Schlimm offers some important insights around interpreting the Old Testament in a responsible way. I wanted to highlight some key points from  chapter 6, “Male and[ continue reading ]