We highly recommend our ministry partner Denny Burk's new book,
Mere
Complementarianism: Male and Female in the
Image of God, It's a comprehensive guide
to understanding the biblical doctrine of gender roles. It emphasizes the
distinct yet complementary roles of men and women, aiming to clarify
misconceptions surrounding complementarianism.
Denny opens his book with an excellent definition of
complementarianism and what’s at stake in the debate that has surrounded it in
recent decades:
“Complementarianism is a biblical doctrine defining the
reality of, and relationship between, man and woman. It presupposes that a man
is an image-bearer whose body is organized for reproducing as a father, and
that a woman is an image-bearer whose body is organized for reproducing as a
mother. A man has a body designed for siring. A woman has a body designed for
bearing. They are the same in terms of their image-bearing, but they are
different in terms of their reproductive design. Their sameness and their
difference have necessary consequences for how they fulfill the respective
callings that God puts upon their lives—necessary consequences for how they
should relate to one another in marriage, in the church, and in the wider
world. God calls the husband to be the head of his wife—a calling that requires
leadership, protection, and provision. He calls the wife to be a helper who
submits to the authority of her husband and who comes alongside him to assist
in their mutual calling of ruling and subduing creation. While men and women
are both gifted for ministry, God calls qualified men to be leaders in the
church. These different callings do not make male and female contrary to one
another. Rather, God designed our differences to make us complementary to one
another. Our job as disciples of Christ requires us to understand these
realities, to celebrate and affirm them, and to order our lives according to
what God has revealed.
The counterpoint to this view is egalitarianism, and
while egalitarians affirm that both men and women are created in God’s image
and have equal dignity and worth, they deny that a husband is called to lead
his wife and that the church is to be led solely by qualified men.
Burk’s goal in the book is to present a “mere”
complementarianism, which is to say, “to explain and commend … what has been
common to all complementarians at all times.” He also develops what he
understands as the essential entailments of mere complementarianism while
distinguishing them from what is merely optional or interpretive. Why? “There
is a need for this today because critics of the teaching often confuse the
essence with the accidents and, as a consequence, cause a good deal of
confusion among those who are new to this teaching. If we could distinguish the
essence of the teaching from that which is only incidental to it, we would be
in a much better place to examine the teaching in light of the criticism that
is sometimes leveled against it.”
He goes about his task in five chapters. In the first, he
makes the case for complementarianism from Natural Law, showing that we can
discover it through simply observing what God has created.
In the second, he
looks to Scripture to make the argument from Genesis’ account of God’s creative
work.
In the third chapter, he turns to the New Testament and the various texts
there related to men’s and women’s distinct and complementary roles within
marriage,
In the fourth he does the same with the church.
In the fifth and
final chapter, he draws out some practical applications of the doctrine and
answers questions like these:
Who can preach on Sunday morning? Who can teach
Sunday school? Can women be deacons? Who can teach at seminary? Does
complementarianism foster abuse? He answers each of these contemporary
questions thoroughly, but not exhaustively.
Burk does many things very well in this
book, but two stand out.
First, he explains and defends the complementarian
position from both Natural Law and Scripture. If you are new to the discussion
or want to better understand the different positions, this will be a helpful
resource.
Second, he brings the discussion up to date by addressing some of the
most recent challenges, such as whether a woman can speak from the pulpit on
Mother’s Day or whether women can have the title of “pastor” even if they do
not have authority over men. He remains firm in his positions, but charitable
toward those who disagree with him, presenting their viewpoints with the
accuracy they deserve. He insists rightly that this is a discussion between
believers and not one that divides Christians from non-Christians.
Mere
Complementarianism is a solid defense of a very defensible position.
But more than that, it lays out a positive vision for complementarianism that
will help Christians navigate issues in the home, the church, and far beyond.
THX to Tim Challies
