I will finally
start here!
Her book presents the power of the Gospel more than
anything else, simply by focusing on Scripture, and the doctrines
shine through in the process. Though the declared subject of the
book concerns this modern gender debate that has come to the
forefront in the Evangelical world, I think that it's really more of
a book about soteriology:
what salvation is, how it is obtained, and what it does for those who
put their faith in Jesus. I imagine that as a Christian writer, one
couldn't ask for more. Through a focus on Scripture, the book dispels
competing and idolatrous doctrines that rob God of His glory, power,
authority, and ongoing works that belong to Him alone.
I
found myself rejoicing in how Jesus atoned for my sins, how He paid
my ransom with His own life, He justified sinful me though I
don't/won't ever deserve it, and how He works in me, transforming me
through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. It was
deeply personal for me to read, for I found myself thinking about the
holiness of God, the power and authority that He has bestowed on me
through His Name, though I don't deserve it. And then, when I return
to the fact that the book was written to clarify who women are in
Christ, I feel a host of painful emotions that such a book ever
needed to be written to Evangelical Believers.
Perspective
I
was taught that to truly evaluate a book, one must “consider the
source.” Kathryn is a math teacher, and I loved how this
influences her approach and presentation of Scripture in her book.
As mathematics concerns itself with qualifying and quantifying truth
by systematically applying rules and standards, the author evaluates
what the Bible says about Believers. It just so happens that many of
those Believers happen to be female. :)
Kathryn
has been a lifelong member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of
North America, and it is clear from the book that she received
excellent doctrinal training there. The significance of that early
training that she had there carries through so strongly in the book,
I found myself confused. My own disappointing experiences within
Presbyterianism, the glorification of systematic theology to the
exclusion of nearly all else by too many, and the ideas proffered by
renowned Presbyterian teachers have made me rather pessimistic and
skeptical of Presbyterianism in general. As Jesus confronted the
Pharisees, saying that rejected the commandments and doctrines of God
so that they could follow their own traditions and the commandments
of men, I'd really lost most hope for this denomination. As I read,
I kept thinking that Kathryn must have supplemented her understanding
of gender with ideas from outside the Presbyterian Church. In
clarifying the details of her background, I found myself greatly
encouraged and my hope renewed. The book bears an even greater
witness that when one gives the Word of God it's proper place, the
truth shines through. As Christians, that should be our passion.
If
you're reading this review, you should also understand the author of
the review. I struggle with this topic, because to a great degree,
I don't even understand how or why these doctrines are even accepted.
I believe that the errors in complementarianism are so glaring that
I don't even know where to begin to address them, but Kathryn did.
In so many ways, she writes the book that delineates these basics
that I take for granted. In that sense, this is perhaps the most
powerful first book to consider reading when approaching the topic to
determine what the Bible teaches about gender.
The
Title
People
who read here come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and some of
them follow complementarianism. To encourage them to read what I had
to say about the book book itself, I've saved the mention of the
title until now. I hope that I've hooked your interest! It is
entitled The
Full Rights of Sons.
According to those who advocate for gender hierarchy, claims that
women are heirs to the same promises of God that men is a sacrilege,
blatantly reject God's Lordship. The Full
Rights of Sons argues
otherwise. I challenge those who believe this to read the book and
to look to Scripture alone, apart from systematic theologies and the
traditions of men, to discern the truth about these teachings. And I
hope that you enjoy the book as much as I did.
Please visit Kathryn's website, and join in on the discussion at her blog!
From the Book Description:The Full Rights of Sons demonstrates that
