“Right on. There are good arguments for the complementarian position, though I don’t hold it, but Driscoll’s are hardly satisfactory. He more or less hi-jacks the American male machismo and tries to filter it through the Bible.”

Which America is that? In the America I live in young men openly push strollers beside their wives and Machisimo is far more highly strung in most countries then in America. Nothing wrong with that, quite the reverse. Nor does it make Americans unmanly. But those who talk of “American male machisimo” should read-Homer.

Thank you for your insight.

What’s the difference you ask? People. Cities are the places where great multitudes of people gather. The central story of Scripture is the story of the Creation, Fall, and Redemption of humankind by the atoning death of the incarnate God-man Jesus. Thus the New Heaven and the New Earth have at their heart — a great city, the New Jerusalem wherein the Christ is worshiped and glorified by a teeming multitude of saints who dwell in perfect and everlasting communion with the triune God. To be sure there is a garden in the city, but it is a very different kind of garden than is depicted in Genesis — it is a garden contained within a city…

I hope this does not seem too fanciful, but I think this places a profound emphasis on the human-centeredness of Christ’s mission of redemption. The effects of the atonement are universal across Creation, of course, but are almost in a way ancillary to the central work of restoring the fallen bearers of the imago dei. Thus to characterize Revelation 22 (as some Bibles would have it, I presume, (mine does not) as “Eden Restored” is in fact to somewhat mis-characterize (at least by my lights) what the actual text says — eg. the crystal river flows down a “street in the middle of the city”. It may seem a small point but to my mind it is a vital one. If the beatific vision were one of a great and grand grove or garden, teeming with natural life of every kind, then one could (rightly I think) argue that God’s intention in the atonement was an Edenic restoration of all creation including man. It seems to me rather, that the order is reversed — the atonement is for the restoration of humankind and all creation benefits (just as all creation groans and suffers under the effects of Adam’s Fall)…

Revelation 22

Eden Restored

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
—————————–

Scripture continuously points to Christ as being our redeemer and healer, even our sustainer. The Tree of Life, too, uniquely sustained Adam and Eve, which is why I believe they were barred from the Garden. After all, if the Tree of Life could give them eternal life, living eternally in sin would be Hell. The Tree of Life (as shown in the above passage) heals the nations. That sounds like Christ. I also believe that the Tree of Life was essentially a sacrament. In the Eucharist Christ is sacramentally present in bread and wine. We follow Christ’s command to eat His flesh and drink His blood.

I suppose it could all be imagery, but the existence of sacraments leads me to conclude that while it is indeed imagery, it is also a reality, mysterious though it is.

I don’t agree with that interpretation of Genesis. I don’t think the notion of male headship is present in the Garden.

I’m not sure about Christ as the Tree of Life analogy however. Christ as the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed for sin, Christ as Living Water, Christ as the Bread of Life, Christ as the Light of the World, etc., but I cannot find a Scripture reference for Christ as the Tree of Life. Perhaps you can point me to one?

Right on. There are good arguments for the complementarian position, though I don’t hold it, but Driscoll’s are hardly satisfactory. He more or less hi-jacks the American male machismo and tries to filter it through the Bible.

The Gospel is about surrending one’s life to Christ. It is not about baptizing worldly ways in order to justify them. The lust for power and domination is a sinful twisting of man’s original and royal purpose. The way back into the Garden is through the Tree of Life: Jesus. Any other attempt is simply another Tower of Babel.

Wisely said. Although I’m not too sure of the analogy of Jesus with the Tree of Life. Have to think a bit on that one. Otherwise, great comments Ortho.