from: Crossway Books
Regular marked price: $15.99Discount Price: $10.87
Cost Savings: $5.12 (32%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.845
EAN num: 9781581343823
ISBN number: 1581343825
Label: Crossway Books
Manufacturer: Crossway Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 240
Printing Date: June 27, 2002
Publishing house: Crossway Books
Sale Popularity Level: 148719
Studio: Crossway Books
Accessories:
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
Out of eleven pastors, theologians, mentors, and a preacher's wife contributing to the thirteen articles (or addresses from "Building Strong Families in Your Church" conference in 2000) in this book, no one comes close to the depth, weight, intensity and wealth of anthroposensitive theology of Prof. Wayne Grudem's article. Even though his is the longest paper (62 pages), it is worth spending your time on, as he systematically explains the theology of man and woman. He begins with Genesis to come to the conclusion that men and women are created with equal value and dignity, yet different roles. Grudem gives then ten evidences of God-ordained headship of man at the Creation, which means that this headship is not a result of the Fall, but God's design; as we note the order of creation, the representation of humanity (humanity is often referred to as mankind, not womankind), the naming of the woman, the naming of creatures, the accountability (God called Adam, not Eve after both sinned), the purpose (woman is called to be a helper, not in a pejorative but honorable sense), the conflict (as a result of the Fall that introduces distortions of roles), the restoration (the reversal of the curse, through the New Testaments directives as those found in Col 3:18-19 or 1 Pet 3:1-8), the mystery of the complementary union of man and woman in marriage, and finally, in the parallel with the Trinity that Grudem later elaborates further brilliantly.
Next, Grudem warns about the dangers of the distortions that seem to be prevalent not only in the West, but in many parts of the world, where man, instead of being responsible in his humble, loving role as the leader, is drawn into the extreme left of passivity; which Grudem calls "wimp", or the extreme right of tyranny. Similarly, women face the risk of resigning to the extreme left into what Grudem calls "doormat" or the extreme right as usurper, instead of the God-ordained role as a joyful-intelligent helper with equal value and dignity, who serves their husband with glad submission. Despite the biblical God-ordained headship of man, Grudem openly denounces the abuse of women, not only in marriages or relationships in general, but also in the abominable practice of female infanticide, of which he commented,
"This is a tragedy of unspeakable proportions. In addition to the harm of these lost lives, we must think of the destructive consequences in the lives of those women who survive. Form their earliest age they receive the message from their families, and indeed from their whole society, "Boys are better than girls," and "I wish you were a boy." The devastation on their own self-worth must be immense. Yet all of this comes about as a result of a failure to realize that men and women, boys and girls, have equal value in God's sight and should have equal value in our sight as well. The very first chapter of the Bible corrects this practice, and corrects any lurking sense in our own hearts that boys are more valuable than girls, when it says we are both created in the image of God" (p.79-80).
From here, Grudem launches a counter-argument, that to me sounds like a check-mate to the feminists' propositions that often argue that first; in Gal 3:28, the role distinctions in man and woman are abolished, second; that "be subject to" (hypotasso) spoken of in Eph 5:21 nullifies male headship in marriage and family because the word means "mutual submission", and third; the word "head" (kephale) in Eph 5:23 does not mean leader or imply authority, but "source". The counter argument against the very first one is that the context of "one" means, "... that we are united, that there should be no factions, or division among us, and, that there should be no sense of pride and superiority or jealousy and inferiority between these groups, ... men should no longer thing themselves as superior to women... when the Bible says that several things are one, it never joins things that are exactly the same. Rather, it says that things that are different, things that are diverse, share some kind of unity (e.g, in purpose)" (p.50).
In regard to the argument that male headship is nullified in Eph 5:21 as implied in the words "be subject to," Grudem refutes it, not only by using the commentary from Daniel Doriani who pointed out that the words mean, "that those in authority should govern wisely and with sacrificial concern for those under their authority," but also through an extensive analysis on the root of the Greek word "hypotasso" and its uses at different passages of the Bible, all of which indicate a uni-directional, not bi-directional or reciprocal submission, as evident from (p.53):
- Jesus was "subject to" the authority of his parents (Luke 2:15)
- Angels and other spiritual beings are "subject to" Christ (1 Cor 15:27, Eph 1:22)
- Christ is "subjected to" God the Father (1 Cor 15:28)
- Wives are told to be "subject to" their ... Read More
Rated by buyers 
-
Dennis Rainey's compilation of Christian authors is brought together very well. The content is so needed for the Christian who wants to make a difference in their home and in their marriage.
With a penchant for honesty and thorough research, this book delivers, in each chapter, a feast for thought and self evaluation. The intellectual approach to challeneging the Christian reader makes this book work better than 90% of the books I have read on this topic. The blending of the intellectual challenge, the practical application, and bibical foundation makes this book.
He starts by assessing the greatest challenges facing the family and then leads the reader to a biblical explanation for these challenges. The remainder of the book provides specifics for the husband and the wife in strengthening the marriage and raising masculine sons and feminine daughters.
If you do not have a Christ-centered life, you might feel as though this book is like climbing Mt. Everest without training for the climb. With that said, it is a "must" read in my opinion, but is suited best for matured Christians.
Find other books like this one:
