Fall 2019 Issue Introduction

Eikon is now into its second issue, and I continue to be grateful for what the beginnings of this journal have offered. Our first issue was greeted with success. In particular, Joe Rigney’s essay on the relationship between general revelation and special revelation put down an important marker for what Eikon is seeking to establish, namely, an evangelical account of anthropology that is firmly rooted in both general revelation and special revelation and a proper account of how the two relate to one another.

The Fall 2019 issue of Eikon is our most substantive to date. That may seem insignificant considering this is only our second issue, but nonetheless, the question of a journal’s success is often determined by the volume and quality of its content, and this second issue surpasses the first in terms of volume. 

At a time where complementarian thought is deeply misunderstood and often purposefully maligned, CBMW president Denny Burk has written what I hope will be an important signpost for complementarianism’s future. With much uncertainty as to what defines complementarianism qua complementarianism, Burk has sought to clarify what the school of complementarianism consists of, what it should debate “in house,” and what should be considered outside the pale of complementarianism.

We are pleased to announce that Professor Michael Haykin of Southern Seminary will offer a column for each subsequent issue of Eikon titled “Ancient Paths.” His introductory column appears in this issue.

Southwestern Seminary professor Katie McCoy has put together an incredibly thoughtful essay on how complementarianism should be understood more through Hebraic understandings, and less through Aristotelian lenses.

Australian scholar Robert Smith has written a very thorough essay on what discipleship means for a transgender convert. Josh Wester and I engage an important debate among religious conservatives — how to respond to the preponderance of “Drag Queen Story Hour” and what, if anything, the government can do to offset this immoral conduct aimed at children. CBMW Executive Director Colin Smothers has written an essay on what “discrimination” means in the context of sex difference, in terms of how we judge and assess the designed differences between males and females. Smothers’s essay helps us understand that sex difference is not discriminatory — in the contemporary sense of that term — but that natural difference is tied to what it means to be male or female.

Lastly, we have an important interview with Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., one of today’s most important complementarian voices. Please pay particular attention to this interview, as Dr. Mohler’s comments on the state and future of complementarianism need broad purchase. In our reviews section, Steven Wedgeworth has written an in-depth review of a noteworthy book that is seeking to challenge complementarianism by appealing to complementarianism’s foundations. On a parting note, in this issue is CBMW’s formal statement against the United States military’s consideration on whether to conscript women into military service. And of course, there’s a lot more I’m not mentioning in this introduction because, well, you’ll have to read on to see what’s there.

Andrew T. Walker,

Psalm 119:45

Andrew T. Walker is the Executive Editor of Eikon and Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary