Review of The Journey Back to Eden by Glen G. Scorgie
Oren Martin and Barak Tjader
This book review appears in the Annotated Bibliography for Gender-Related Books in 2005, JBMW Volume 11 No. 2.
Category: Egalitarian - classifies evangelicals who see undifferentiated equality (i.e., they see no scriptural warrant for affirming male headship in the home or the church).
Scorgie argues that the Holy Spirit is moving the church toward a model of complete gender "equality, freedom, and mutuality" (20). He asserts that while God created gender relations as good, the Fall initiated a pattern of gender oppression and dominance. Scorgie asserts that the key to understanding the biblical teaching on gender requires one to discern the "trajectory of the Spirit" present in Scripture. According to Scorgie, just as NT authors no longer advocate OT practices such as the slaughter of unbelievers, the gender ethic presented in the NT is culturally conditioned. One must acknowledge then, argues Scorgie, that at times the New Testament does not present a finalized ethic for all believers. Rather, NT passages such as 1 Timothy 2 and Ephesians 5 make temporary accommodations for a persistent hierarchal view of gender in the societies that the apostles were trying to reach with the gospel.
