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I put this one on my Amazon wishlist after reading a few posts on Scot McKnight’s blog about it. Shortly thereafter my Mom bought it for me for my birthday. Thanks Mom!

I appreciate the direction Dr. John Stackhouse takes with Partners in Christ. He wants to maintain a faithful, high view of Scripture; not to dismiss difficult passages or write them off, but to look at the Scripture as a whole and try to come to a position on male/female roles/dynamics in the church.

The title gives his conclusion away: Stackhouse comes down on the side of egalitarianism - in other words, that men and women should have equal standing and ability to have leadership roles in the church. But wait, the reader will say, what about 1 Timothy 2 (“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet”) or 3 (“an Elder shall be the husband of one wife”)? Well, Stackhouse counters, what about 1 Cor 11 which assumes that women will be praying and prophesying? Or about Priscilla, who with her husband Aquila taught Apollos? Or Junia, who is mentioned among “the apostles” in Romans 16?

Stackhouse has an interesting approach here, which on first read makes a lot of sense - that God has an ideal end state in mind, and that at each era through history he has revealed himself and his will in ways that would stretch his people toward that end state without snapping them past the breaking point.

So, in the Old Testament, God reveals himself to the Israelites as a god in many ways different, though in many ways similar to the gods of the countries around them. He establishes a sacrificial system that is different, not but that different. When Jesus comes, he chooses men as his apostles, because choosing any women would’ve been a challenge past the stretching point of the culture. Still, he challenged the status quo by treating women more as equals than anyone in that culture would have.

So, Stackhouse argues, while Paul writes directing how men would be leaders in the church, that direction isn’t intended to be fixed for all time, but was the accommodation of the church to the culture at the time.

Stackhouse acknowledges that some will want to take this argument and run with it down other controversial paths, e.g. the debate over homosexuality. He differentiates that case by saying that the Bible appears to be progressively loosening on the gender equality issue, while staying consistent in its position regarding homosexuality.

I’m gonna need to do a re-read and think through it some more, but I appreciated Dr. Stackhouse’s take here. Worth a read if you’re interested in the subject.

I picked up The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 2: The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600-1700) (Volume 2) from an online recommendation, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. Sure, I was diving into Volume 2 of a 5-volume set, but hey, why not?

I’d heard Pelikan’s name before but really knew nothing about him. But it didn’t take long after starting the book to realize the immense brilliance of the author. The book starts with a list of primary sources, texts from the 7th - 17th centuries… that list is several pages long. (The list of secondary sources at the end is probably twice as long. Goodness.) Pelikan blessedly eschews footnotes in favor of a wide margin design where all the references are annotated in the margin, aligned with the relevant text. And goodness, there are references.

Pelikan manages pull together these sources to overview the development of Christian thought in the Eastern Church that is both detailed and accessible. In my terms, that means I couldn’t skim - had to pay attention - but it kept me interested and engaged. Which is awesome. I enjoyed it enough that I ordered Volume 1… wouldn’t be surprised if I end up with all of them by the time I’m done.

I had three books going in parallel before finishing these two, which was making me twitchy. (Now I’m back to one at a time. Ahhhhh.)

The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins

Random selection off the library shelf. Apparently this is number 11 in a series, but read fine as a stand-alone thriller. The writing itself was good, though the story was sort of a disappointing Michael Crichton / DaVinci Code mashup. Quick, reasonably entertaining read, but I find myself unlikely to pick up another one by Rollins.

Man Enough: How Jesus Redefines Manhood by Nate Pyle

In a generation of Wild at Heart-esque books on Christian manhood, where wilderness adventure and military activity are primary examples pushed as “how to be more like a man”, pastor Nate Pyle’s book is a breath of fresh air. Pyle emphasizes gentleness, vulnerability, and a focus on the example of Jesus as better qualities to pursue. This is a short, easy read that I’d enjoy sneaking into a pastor’s hand the next time they’re pushing men’s small groups.

I picked The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis off the library shelf on a whim. Well, more accurately, I picked up the second book in this series on a whim, saw that it was book 2, and then went and tracked down book 1, The Mechanical. It was time for some sci-fi/fantasy.

This story is set in an alternate past wherein the Dutch have invented “mechanicals” - sentient robot humanoids that are governed (or enslaved, depending on your perspective) by Asimovian rules of behavior that all work just great until one of them develops free will.

On the other side of the equation are the French who lack the mechanical alchemy and have retreated to Canada where they work on chemical solutions to fight the Dutch “Clackers”.

It’s a good concept and Tregillis writes brisk prose and keeps it interesting. I enjoyed this one, and now need to go find Book 2 in the series again. I wonder what are the odds that it’s still on the library shelf?

I’ve been finishing books faster than I’ve been able to blog about them… so here’s a catch-up post.

Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser

Schlosser’s book alternates chapters between telling the story of an accident at a nuclear missile site in Damascus, Arkansas, and telling the history of the development of nuclear weapons, with a focus on the accidents and risks involved. Though it’s not his point, one can quickly conclude that it’s only by the grace of God we haven’t had a major nuclear incident in the past 70 years. A fairly thick volume, but quite readable.

*Deadly Assets (Badge of Honor, #12) by W.E.B. Griffin

Ah, W.E.B. Griffin, falling into the ‘hey, they keep giving me money when the books have my name on them’ trap. A decade ago his books were still involved and engaging; today the plot lines are thin and the margins are wide. Remind me not to bother the next time I see one of his volumes on the library shelf.

The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity by Pedro G. Ferreira

A fun, popular-level overview of the study of General Relativity from Einstein to the present. I finished this on an airplane earlier this week and any sense of nerdiness I might’ve had from the topic quickly slipped away as the guy in the seat next to me was reading some treatise on string theory. Nevertheless, a good survey of the topic.

A reminder that current events can make even recent books seem a bit out of date: the chapter on gravity waves talked about LIGO but was still in the “maybe someday” stage about actual detection of gravity waves… which LIGO announced earlier this month.

Water to Wine: Some of My Story by Brian Zahnd

Brian Zahnd is a beautiful conundrum of a pastor and writer. Got fired up for Jesus as a kid in the 70s, planted and led a Pentecostal church. In this book he tells, as he says, some of his story as he hit a mid-life crisis of sorts, asked himself “is this all there is to Christianity?” and then had his eyes opened to a broader, deeper, richer view of the faith.

This is a guy who on one hand sounds like a mystic - he tells here of God speaking to him through dreams where he met with and got messages from Abraham, Mother Teresa, and Karl Barth - but in the next breath is championing formal liturgy, weekly Eucharist, and use of the Book of Common Prayer. He loves the land of Israel and can speak of it in great detail, but doesn’t hold to the dispensational eschatology that traditionally accompanies that love.

Regardless, his sermons have been a great encouragement to me over the past couple years. This book rehearses familiar themes from his messages, but that’s not a bad thing.