The Complementarian Position is the Harder One to Hold

I have been following the posts and video debate of my fellow Advent Christians Catherine Rybicki, Luke Copeland and Robert Mayer concerning egalitarianism and complementarianism. By now I am sure all those who are regulars at Advent Christian Voices have no need for these terms to be defined or explained. Of these two positions I do believe that the complementarian one is the harder of the two to hold.

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A Question of Accuracy

Some time ago an article was brought to my attention that charges modern Bible translation with changing the meaning of the original text of the Bible. These questions, of course, come up from time to time. There are often those, from inside and outside of the church, who question translation accuracy in order to support a particular agenda. The problem for many Christians is that we generally do not know the original languages. So when one of these challenges arises, it can cause us to question not only the teaching of our own church, but the very teaching of the Bible itself. And so, I have written this article to reassure you that yes, our modern Bible translations are accurate to the original languages.

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"Biblical Womanhood" in the Crossfire

The writer Dorothy Sayers authored a short book in the first half of the 20th century with a simple question as the title. Are Women Human? You would think that the answer is simple and clear, but Sayers had noticed all of the overt and covert messages in church and society that appeared to scream out, “No, they are not!” She lived in a society where patriarchy was still the order of the day.

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THE CASE FOR COMPLEMENTARIANISM

In roughly two weeks, Catherine Rybicki and I will have a public dialogue on the complementarianism vs. egalitarianism controversy. It will be livestreamed on the Advent Christian Voices Facebook page as a special episode of Bible & Banter before the end of July. Below is my presentation of the positive Biblical case for complementarianism, specifically in regards to positions of spiritual authority in the Church.

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Would the Real High Priest Please Stand Up?

In Matthew 12, Mark 2, and Luke 6, we have an event recorded of Jesus’ disciples rubbing wheat grains in their hands and eating them. The Pharisees who were with them at the time accused them of performing work on the sabbath, as it seems was their custom. In response, Jesus recounts the time in David’s life when he and his men were fleeing from king Saul and came to the high priest who gave them the bread of the presence and you can read the rest if you so desire, but the focus of this article is what some skeptics take to be a contradiction regarding the high priest in particular…

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Under Construction: Damascus Road

It was legendary. When I think about dramatic conversions, the story of Saul of Tarsus tops the list. No one expected it or saw it coming. Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus radically changed his life. A primary persecutor of Christians becomes “The Way's” most proficient proclaimer! I've always thought it would be amazing to have a conversion story like that. (I often forget how everyone who turns towards Christ is an incredible, miraculous conversion.) But the more I think about it; I'm not sure if I would want that to happen to me - and how often I fight it when it does.

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On the Importance of Questions

I believe that questions are important. Incredibly important.

I’ve said it before – I am a question asker. I like questions. I like to ask questions. I like being asked questions. I like thinking about questions that come up in my mind throughout the day. I like contemplating the hard questions in life.

Perhaps the reason I love questions is because I love research. And questions are certainly the foundation of research.

But, I like questions primarily because they are relational in so many ways.

For Christians in particular, questions can sometimes be or provide an open door for us to share the love of Christ in unique ways.

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Resisting CRT

There’s an ideology sweeping our society that is a major obstacle to the gospel and to the witness of Christ’s bride. It has infiltrated how we educate our children and poses a significant issue for people of faith. If we don’t present a united front against it, it has the potential to damage our nation in ways that will affect generations to come. We’ve already been experiencing its effect. You might have heard of it, it’s known as CRT.

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