On a special edition of 'For Argument's Sake', Michael and Megan dissect the fallout from The Gospel Coalitions' recent endorsement - and swift recant - of a controversial extract from Joshua Butler's new book
Beautiful Union, which drew parallels between the saving work of Christ, and sexual intercourse between husband and wife
. Our hosts then explore why the article was published, the dangers of applying such theology within marriage, and what structural and cultural shortcomings the saga has exposed within TGC.
Numerous theologians and academics who lent their names to the book - and by extension the article - have since withdrawn their endorsements, with some writing follow-up articles in the wake of the scandal.
Joshua Butler has since resigned as a Gospel Coalition Centre fellow, and will not be involved with planned TGC events for 2023.
Extra reading on the issue can be found below.
LINKS:
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TGC statement on the article* Check out Bethany Falker-Jones unpacking of the whole affair -
'Protestant Bodies, Protestant Bedrooms, and our furious need for a theology thereof'* Mikey Lynch, director of the Australian arm of TGC, has published a fascinating pushback on the original article - '
Don't Go Beyond What Is Written'
Help internally displaced people in Africa!
Disasters and conflicts have led to a record number of over 75 million internally displaced people, or IDPs, around the world. IDPs are people who have been forced to flee their homes but have not crossed international borders.
Almost half of all IDPs - more than the population of Australia and New Zealand combined - are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Most of the displaced have left everything behind: their homes, belongings, and livelihoods. They urgently need food, shelter, clothing, and trauma counselling. So Anglican Aid has launched a Forced to Flee Emergency Appeal to provide essential aid to IDPs in Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, and beyond. This aid will be distributed by local churches, who are sacrificially providing for the needs of the displaced, and pointing them to the God who is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
What is With All Due Respect?
Less aggro, more conversation.
Is it even possible to have a deep discussion without it descending into chaos? Michael Jensen and Megan Powell du Toit think yes, and want to show the rest of us how to do it.
There’s plenty of things they disagree on: free will, feminism, where you should send your kids to school and what type of church you should go to. But there are also plenty of other things that they have in common. They want to talk about all these things with conviction. But they also want the conversation to be constructive. Tune in to find out if that’s possible.