Here's an interesting article for discussion about Coed Combat from John Piper. Thanks Heather for forwarding it to me.
This is a rarity, but I don't know if I agree with everything Piper says here. I do agree with the conclusion, but not every detail of the argument. (Actually, as much as I like Piper, I do disagree with him more than people might think - like on eschatology, baptism, beer and a few other things).
4 comments:
If Piper really believes what he says why doesn't he enlist and take the place of one of the 155,00 women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan?
Are Genesis 3:9, some deductions from Ephesians 5:25-29 and a psychology book all he has to justify himself? C'mon John, make a bit of an effort to adequately convince us your position is the correct one.
Have we any place judging those outside the church? Is going to war in the defence of a nation biblical? If responsibiity for the safety of women is written on the sould of men, why are women abused, hurt and maltreated? Does this claim make sense in light of total depravity?
It seems that Dr. Piper has taken the biblical mandate from Paul (and the supporting scripture from Genesis 3 and Ephesians 5), that women not hold authority over men in a church, too far. I agree that protecting doctrine is a battle our godly men must fight. But to take that notion and impose it generally seems to cross the line of good biblical exegesis and hermeneutics.
I admit that I had never heard Dr. Piper talk about leadership outside of an ecclesiological context. The main point of his article is that women should never lead men in combat situations. Is that universally true? That is, should women never lead men in any situation? For example, should women never be CEO's? What about doctors? Should women refrain from managing a Taco Bell? To say so seems extreme.
Dr. Piper is at his weakest when he uses a very specific biblical mandate and applies it generally to all worldly contexts. Should men lead in the home? Yes. Should men lead the church? Yes. Will it be the case that men will be the better leaders in most situations (including warfare)? Yes. But does Paul's mandate regarding church leaders extend beyond that? I don't have enough evidence to say that it does. It doesn’t seem that Dr. Piper does, either.
I think I should mention that this is an almost editorial piece. If you want a more detailed explanation of his position with the exegetical work, check out the website www.cbmw.org. I know there is at least one or two articles there.
John Piper just keeps getting bizarre-er and bizarre-er.
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