by Andrew Stephens-Rennie
In light of John Piper’s most recent bout of asinine, vitriolic insanity, I’m considering exclusively subjecting myself to the authority of women for the next year. Maybe longer.
No more male theologians. No more male bloggers. There’s too many of us anyhow. We’re always going on about something, and it’s all-too-often through the lens of a dominant, patriarchal culture.
Some of us, oh we apologise for it.
We apologise for the fact that we’re whiteish, middle-classish straightish men. And then we get back to the business of being the whiteish, middle-classish straightish men who, from time to time think about women.
We get back to the business of being the whiteish, middle-classish straightish men, who from time to time read Rachel Held Evans, or Julie Clawson, or maybe tune into Jamie the Very Worst Missionary for kicks. We might respect church-planting pioneers like Karen Ward or Nadia Bolz-Weber, for what they’re doing. Just don’t ask us to go hear them speak, or change who we read. Don’t ask us to learn from them.
Let me get back to my Tom Wright and Walter Brueggemann. Sit me down with Wendell Berry or Brian McLaren or Shane Claiborne. You know, the heavyweights. Oh sure, there are some of us enlightened egalitarian dudes out there. And we’ll react negatively against Piper’s statements, not least because he’s an easy target.
The two questions I’m left with go something like this: Have we changed? Are we willing to do so?
If change means more than making a little noise and milking it for a few blog posts, I don’t know what I’ll do. Because really, in the end, I want to go back to reading the good old boys. What women are doing good theology these days anyhow?
And who the hell is Ellen Davis?
A note to all of the whiteish, middle-classish, straightish egalitarianish males out there: it’s time to come clean.
As much as we rail against Piper, many of us, when it comes to our “teachability” are functionally complementarians. Take a snapshot of your bookshelf or blogroll. What’s the ratio of male to female authorship?
The patriarchy has a deep coercive hold on you too.
Back during my first year of seminary, I sat in the back row most classes. This should not, of course, be surprising, as I have been found seated at the back of most classrooms for most of my life. As an introvert, this was a great place from which to take everything in before deciding whether or not to speak.
