COMPLEMENTARIAN SPIRITUALITY:
Reformed women and union with Christ
By Natalie Brand
WIPF & Stock. 207 pages. £15.00
ISBN 978 1 625 640 000
It is sadly true that when many Christians think of spirituality, they think of mysticism, an ineffable experience divorced from theological knowledge of what God has done in salvation.
Also, as Natalie Brand points out, in writings on spirituality there is often a theologi-cally deficient notion of a (vaguely specified) union with God, rather than what the Bible teaches of union with Christ. Both of these concerns are addressed as Brand presents the theological underpinning for her main concern, a complementarian spirituality – an exploration of the doctrine of union with Christ, and a ‘particularly feminine articulation of its significance and elegance for a contemporary Reformed spirituality, in both corporate and personal spiritual formation’ (p.2). This is not just a study in Reformed spirituality, of which there is a general shortage in contemporary theology. It is also a study in Reformed spirituality with a particular focus on spirituality for Reformed women, from a complementarian viewpoint, of which there is virtually nothing in contemporary literature. This is a very welcome piece of work.
Union with Christ
The book begins with a survey of Reformed understanding of union with Christ and what that means. This is followed by chapters exploring this from a feminine, not feminist, perspective. This is useful to both men and women, as the biblical themes of Christ as bridegroom and the church as his bride are applied to the experience of corporate spirituality. Brand also calls for a properly biblical Titus 2 ministry for women, where women minister to each other, theologically trained to do so – a call that I can only echo strongly. Thus the church is strengthened, women’s gifts are rightly utilised, women are theologically stretched and challenged and the grotesque caricatures of complementarian views as demeaning to women can be properly refuted. As Brand writes: ‘it is incumbent upon Reformed churches to encourage a church life that practically works out the belief that men and women are complementary and necessary to each other’ (p.155).
Holy Spirit spirituality
There are minor matters that I might disagree with – for instance, I would define spirituality as first to do with the Holy Spirit, with all other spiritualities as parasitic upon or idolatrous alternatives to this, rather than first defining a category of ‘spirituality’ in general and then seeing Christian spirituality as a subset. There are other theological quibbles with individual statements. However these do not detract from the usefulness of this book as a solid work of theology, addressing an important area of contemporary Reformed understanding and practice.
This is an academic work of theology, based on a PhD dissertation, and so not an easy read. It will not be for everyone. However for those with the theological background to tackle it, it is worth the effort, and I recommend pastors in particular to do so. I also look forward to future works from this author in a more popular format.
