four views

I don’t always shop at Koorong.

But when I do, I go straight to the bargain tables and grab a ‘Four Views’ book because they’re usually reduced to $3, or even two for $5.

Apparently all the other Koorong shoppers are more interested in what Driscoll really said in Real Marriage or the latest Left Behind (I can’t judge – I used to read them too).

‘Four views on moving beyond the Bible to Theology’: not exactly a sexy title. But clear and honest. You know what you’re getting – four views – I like that.

You see at church, in PTC (Moore’s Preliminary Theological Certificate) and through most of the Matthias Media things recommended to me, I only ever get one view. That’s fine. Pastors obviously have a pastoral concern.

But it’s also good to read and be exposed to other ways of thinking. There’s a whole big world of evangelical thinkers out there and I want to learn from them too.

You can get that for free on the internet, yes. But there’s also a lot of crap out there on the interwebs.

These books are great because they get four evangelical scholars together, get them each to write a chapter outlining their view on an issue and then get them to write a response to each of the others, explaining where they agree or differ.

Sometimes I’ve changed my view. Sometimes I’ve been reassured but gained more sympathy for other perspectives. It’s humbling.

I’d love to go to Bible College. But due to various factors (a half finished PhD, finances and a biological clock) I might not get there anytime soon. For someone like me, not at College but eager to get the crumbs from the table, they introduce me to some of the main thinkers on each side of debates, so I know what to read next.

They also show us that it’s ok to disagree; we’re still united in Jesus.

There’s two series, ‘Counterpoint’ and ‘Spectrum Multiview’, but they’re much the same.

So far I’ve read ‘The Nature of the Atonement’ and ‘Moving Beyond the Bible to Theology’ but there are heaps more.

In the Counterpoints series there are ‘Four Views on:’

• The New Testament’s Use of the Old Testament
• Creation and Evolution
• God and the Canaanite Genocide
• Divine Providence
• Hell
• The Millennium
• The Apostle Paul
• Women and Ministry
• and others…

And IVP has the Spectrum series on:

• Baptism
• Divorce and remarriage
• The Historical Jesus
• Justification
• Predestination
• What about those who have never heard?
• The Nature of the Atonement
• Church, State and public justice.
• and others (you should just go to their website).

All I can say is ‘get amongst it.’

Subscribe to my blog

boy gospel girl gospel

Ladies, if you haven’t heard the news your waiting is over. Bic has, at last, released a pen just for us.

Yes, you’ve been using man pens all these years. How embarrassing.

In case you missed it, here’s Ellen’s review of the new pens.

Fortunately you men, don’t have to put up with women candles anymore. There’s ‘man candles’ now.

And if you’ve noticed the recent Christmas huggies ads, little boys and little girls are now clear on who’s who. Elf nappies are apparently masculine whereas reindeer nappies are feminine.

It’s a pretty simple trick for marketers. To set your product apart, just add gender. Consumers love to feel like a ‘real’ man or ‘real’ woman, and this way you can probably sell twice as many.

I get a little irritated by the assumption that as a woman, I should like this and that (sleek pens, woman candles and reindeer), but I’m more amused by it than offended. There’s a whole pintrest page dedicated to Pointlessly Gendered Products – enjoy!

But when it comes to gendering the Bible I get really worried. Walk into Koorong and you’ll see the pink floral ‘women of faith/grace and hope/his Princess/captivating kittens devotional Bible’ and the khaki ‘NIV MANual Bible for Men.’

Even this isn’t too bad either. Calling the Bible a ‘manual’ is probably more problematic than the need to package it as uber masculine. The gendered Bibles possibly suggest that men and women are so different that they relate to God differently and that they find different things important in the Bible so need their Bibles packaged differently.

More likely though is that it just indicates that Christian consumers are a little anxious about their masculinity or femininity and shop accordingly.

But these two really alarmed me.

In ‘Bible Stories for Girls’ and ‘Bible Stories for Boys’, it’s not just the packaging of the Bible that differs according to gender, but it’s the content too. There are different stories for boys than for girls.

Not only does this suggest that God reveals himself differently to men and women, but that he actually has a different revelation for men and women, a different message. It suggests that parts of the Bible is for men other parts are for women. Ultimately it suggests A girl gospel and a boy gospel.

Finding meaning and identity gender is fine, if that’s what you’re into. It’s fine to buy and enjoy gendered products. What’s not ok is putting gender before our identity in Christ or suggesting that God relates differently to women and men. The whole Bible is for all of us, the whole gospel is for all of us. Through the Gospel of Jesus, we are all children of God, there is neither male or female, we are all one in Jesus.

Subscribe to my blog