Discovering

 

I finally finished the book Discovering Biblical Equality. It works as a valuable compilation of current issues and debates within the topic of Christian egalitarianism. If you have not delved into the debate, this book is a good reference that speaks for the egalitarian perspective.

It contains contributions in areas of history, biblical interpretation (from the perspective of a high view of scripture, by the way), theology, hermeneutics and church community.

This text is probably now out of print as it is replaced by the update (Third Edition, copyright 2001, IVP). The update reprints several of the better and still-relevant articles from the previous edition, updates at least one (Kevin Giles, "The Trinity Argument for Women's Subordination") and offers new chapters that address more recent sectarian attacks against Christian egalitarianism. The update is on my self-assigned reading list.

Probably the best, most refreshing and also frustrating article that appears in both editions is by Alice P. Mathews "Toward Reconciliation: Healing the Schism." Mathews explains why it is so difficult to change one's mind about any conviction one has held for a long time. It is actually difficult to even understand the perspective of someone who thinks differently. In my humble opinion, if you want to argue persuasively for your perspective and against someone else's perspective, it would pay dividends to invest a lot of time to understand your opponent well enough to be able to effectively argue FOR his/her perspective to his/her satisfaction. But I digress.

Some quotes from Mathews:

Those who have spent their lives in service to Jesus Christ bring theological assumptions from their early training that continue to determine what they can and cannot see. Moreover, they are convinced that their assumptions are grounded in Scripture. Yet the history of the church should serve as a cautionary tale about assumptions that in fact were based at times more in political or social realities than in the core teachings of Scripture.

Whether we are egalitarians or hierarchicalists, there are people who hold things against us. In the process of acting to defend their paradigm, people hurt other people within the body of Christ. In the pursuit of truth we demonstrate an un-Christian priority system when the idea becomes more important than the people holding the idea.

All Christians defending or forwarding one of the competing paradigms face the temptation of devoting their time to shoring up their own arguments while giving little attention or respect to the arguments of their opponents. We must adamantly resist this temptation.

Every paradigm has its anomalies. Until we have explored the anomalies threatening both paradigms, we have not completed our task.

Does this begin to explain how something that is intuitively obvious to one remains opaque to another? In view of this tendency, how can we maintain an awareness of the chasm between the two paradigms even as we embrace those whose ideas we reject?

The pursuit of truth con never be a substitute for nurturing relationships within the body of Christ.

The book is outstanding and Mathews' article is especially outstanding. But it is also frustrating. Two people cannot find reconciliation unless both agree to try (Amos 3:2; Matthew 18:15-20). I know of two congregations that have successfully handled a division regarding a different issue: Women covering their heads in worship. Most often, churches just divide over these kinds of issues; but in two cases, churches actually organized open forums, with articles and verbal presentations, arguing for both sides of the dispute. Everything was documented and available for church members to reference in the future. Once everyone understood the perspective of their issue opponents, they respected the other perspective to the degree that they continue to worship together as church families. Some women covered their heads. Others didn't. Everyone respected everyone else's convictions on the head-covering issue.

Those two stories―two different churches on the same issue―give me positive feelings for the future of the church populated with people who hold differing convictions on the egalitarian/complementarian question. Unfortunately, churches most often censor one side of the debate and proclaim their own side as the official narrative. That method just drives away everyone who has questions. And church members wonder why all the Millennial and Zoomer generations have left the church.

The church is a long story of division over issues. Through a major part of its history, Christians executed their brothers and sisters in Christ for having different answers to doctrinal questions that church leaders wanted to consider settled issues.

Even in the first century, with all of Paul's preaching about Jew and Gentile Christians keeping their own convictions but still respecting the convictions of others in the interest of Christian fellowship, the Jewish and Gentile Christians formed their own homogeneous churches and no longer fellowshipped across the divide. This divide was complete before the end of the first century! This long history combined with my own experiences of division and character assassination of God-loving Christians over piddly issues that should not divide Christians, turns my optimism into pessimism. Nobody likes a change agent. That is what hung the Lord on a cross. That is what got most of the great believers in history killed.

At my age, it is probably time for me to step aside and let the next generation figure it out. It probably won't be in the churches of Christ. That little denomination (yes, denomination) is trying really hard to die.

My copy of Discovering Biblical Equality is an OliveTree e-book.