Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

complementarianism

Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15

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womenCrossway recently released this book’s third edition:

Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner, eds. Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15. 3rd ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.

In 2009 I reviewed the book’s second edition. [Read more…] about Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15

When people are skittish over complementarianism, apologizing for it, I know they are probably thinking about authority in a wrong way.

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deverBelow is an insightful excerpt from Mark Dever, Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus, 9Marks (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 101–3. I bolded the most punchy paragraph and underlined the sentence that made me laugh out loud. So true.

7. Encourage Godly Authority [Read more…] about When people are skittish over complementarianism, apologizing for it, I know they are probably thinking about authority in a wrong way.

Do Complementarians Consistently Apply How Paul Argues from Creation in 1 Cor 11:8–10 and 1 Tim 2:13–14?

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In 1 Cor 11:2–16 Paul says that a wife should wear a head covering when praying or prophesying when the church gathers to worship, and in 1 Tim 2:9–15 he says that a woman should not teach or exercise authority over a man.

Most complementarians today do not insist that women in all cultures must wear head coverings, but they do argue that women should not teach or exercise authority over a man. Yet in both passages Paul argues from creation:

  • 1 Cor 11:8–10 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
  • 1 Tim 2:13–14 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Do complementarians consistently apply how Paul argues from creation in 1 Cor 11:8–10 and 1 Tim 2:13–14?  [Read more…] about Do Complementarians Consistently Apply How Paul Argues from Creation in 1 Cor 11:8–10 and 1 Tim 2:13–14?

One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life

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In 2008 I live-blogged a debate at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School between (a) Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem and (b) Tom McCall and Keith Yandell. They debated this question: “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?”

TrinityThis week Crossway is releasing a book on that issue:

Bruce A. Ware and John Starke, eds. One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015.

This 49-page sample PDF includes the front matter and Wayne Grudem’s opening chapter.

Phil Gons and I coauthored chapter 9: “An Examination of Three Recent Philosophical Arguments against Hierarchy in the Immanent Trinity” (pp. 197–215).

Update on 5/22/2015: Crossway gave me permission to share a PDF of the Gons-Naselli chapter.

Update on 2/6/2019: In this panel on the Triune God, I state that I do not hold to EFS (but neither do I think it is heresy).

Critiquing William Webb’s Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic

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Reaoch - coverFive months ago I highlighted Don Carson’s critique of William Webb’s trajectory hermeneutic (copied at the end of this post).

Now there’s a more comprehensive, book-length critique:

Benjamin Reaoch. Women, Slaves, and the Gender Debate: A Complementarian Response to the Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012.

It revises Reaoch’s PhD dissertation at Southern Seminary under Tom Schreiner, who writes the foreword.

Reaoch makes several arguments:

  • Slavery and the role of women are two critically different issues.
  • The NT neither condemns nor commends slavery.
  • Gender passages apply transculturally because they are rooted in creation.

[Read more…] about Critiquing William Webb’s Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic

The Shepherd Leader at Home: Knowing, Leading, Protecting, and Providing for Your Family

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witmerIn 2010, P&R published Timothy Witmer’s The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church.

He’s written a corresponding volume for husbands and fathers:

Timothy Z. Witmer. The Shepherd Leader at Home: Knowing, Leading, Protecting, and Providing for Your Family. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.

Witmer shares practical advice for husbands and fathers using the shepherd-model as the governing metaphor. It’s a good reminder and motivator.

(The galley I read doesn’t include all the indexes, hence the question marks in the TOC below.) [Read more…] about The Shepherd Leader at Home: Knowing, Leading, Protecting, and Providing for Your Family

D. A. Carson on William Webb

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In January, Bob Yarbrough and Don Carson spoke at the EFCA’s theology conference: “Understanding the Complementarian Position: Considering Implications and Exploring Practices in the Home and the Local Church” (TGC report). The MP3s are well worth listening to.

In a Q&A someone asked Don Carson about William Webb’s redemptive-movement hermeneutic, and Carson replied that it is unconvincing. Carson followed up with an email (which the EFCA made available but that isn’t online now): “As for bibliography,” writes Carson, “the literature is pretty extensive, but the two most substantive review articles evaluating Webb’s book are” these: [Read more…] about D. A. Carson on William Webb