8

IS IT JUST A MATTER OF CHOOSING

OUR FAVORITE VERSES?

Some evangelical feminists claim that our position on

gender roles just depends on which Bible passages

we choose to prioritize

Adifferent kind of movement toward liberalism is found when schol-

ars such as R. T. France, Stanley Grenz, and Sarah Sumner assert that
our position on the roles of men and women simply depends on which
Bible verses we choose to emphasize. As I mentioned in an earlier chap-
ter, R. T. France is the former principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and a
member of the Committee on Bible Translation for the NIV Bible. Sarah
Sumner is a theology professor at Azusa Pacific University. Stanley
Grenz, prior to his untimely death in 2005, was professor of theology
at Carey Theological College, Vancouver, Canada, and had previously
taught for many years at Regent College, Vancouver.
One example of this approach is found when R. T. France says,

We have seen that fundamental to this issue has been the question of

which among differing biblical texts or themes is considered to be

basic.... Once we choose to begin at a given point, everything else

will be viewed and interpreted in the light of that starting point....

There is no rule of thumb—that is precisely our problem. A judgment

has to be made, and not all will make it in the same way. Probably

we all have our “canon within the canon” (by which we mean those

parts of Scripture with which we feel comfortable, and which say