Driscoll on "enjoying" his wife and shooting "false teachers"!

I was reading Joel Virgo's interview with Mark "so macho" Driscoll in Newfrontiers on-line magazine, in the very first answer he makes this comment, which to me just seems weird...

I pray a lot over the trips I take. With a growing church (www.MarsHillChurch.org), church planting network, five young children, book deadlines, and most of all a wife I really enjoy, time away comes at a great cost for me.

What a strange way to describe your marital relationship!  I can just imagine the wedding vows... Mrs Driscoll "I take this man to be my lawful wedded husband, to honour cherish and obey"  Mr Driscoll "I take this woman to be my lawful wedded wife, to enjoy!" ... sorry, but it really does sound like the way you might talk about an activity, a toy, an object etc.  Surely a word like "love" might be more appropriate?  I "enjoy" a nice pint of real ale, or a football match, or a good TV drama... I even enjoy the things I do with my wife... but I would never, when looking for one word to describe how I feel about my wife, choose to say I "enjoy" her!  I "love" her, She is my partner, my spouse, my soul-mate... not my plaything!

He also says, when asked "What are some of the things no one is saying but you wish would get said?"

I wish we had a functional definition of a false teacher so that some of the wingnuts, nutjobs, oddballs and wolves writing and speaking on behalf of evangelicalism could be taken out back and shot.

... no comment ;-)

Technorati Tags: theology: Wierd Christianity

Comments

[James]

It's unusual, but is it really that weird a usage of the word? I'm thinking about the first question and answer to The Westminster Shorter Catechism...

[Mark]

Interesting connection... I freely admit to having had to Google "The Westminster Shorter Catechism"! I'm not sure that it is a good example of contemporary language and it's usage ;-) I would have thought Driscoll would be acutely conscious of the importance of using language which actually says what he means, but then maybe he lives so much in the theology of the 1600's that he has started to speak the language too???

[Makeesha]

I agree with you, it is weird, esp. in light of his seeming obsession with the issue. I'll just say this, I have a friend who is a therapist and works once a week with sex offenders and ... let's just say he has DEEP concerns after listening and reading a bit from md

[LauraHD]

that's twice this week you've made me spit food/drink over my keyboard and screen, mr berry. you need to be way more responsible with the stuff you post...

re: his last comment about shooting wingnuts, nutjobs, oddballs and wloves - mr driscoll, you must already be good friends with mr pot and mr kettle?...

[Rob]

yup I agree and share your shock and level of bizarrity (!) here - be interesting to know what Mrs Driscoll feels about being an object of enjoyment?
Glad they are miles away from here!

[Greig]

I really enjoyed this post. It made me think about what we offer to others from within ourselves and how this fits in with God.

God made us 'Imag Deo' (in His image),and He is community within Himself. He exists in Trinity, and calls us to live in community too. One of the ways this can be expressed is in marriage, where two become one in unity. I believe that this is indeed to be enjoyed as an expression of who God is in the way we live our lives. Marriage is an expression of part of the infinitely majestic personality of God. God made us to enjoy life, and we do this by following His ways. Indeed, in doing this, for example marrying someone we are in long term relationship with, helps us to be more fully human as God intended.

I love this word 'enjoyed'. I must use it more!

[rodney]

I regularly read emerging blogs from the UK and USA and am saddened to find the frequent personal attacks on M Driscoll who has turned into the number one hate figure in the emergent/emerging movement. The word to 'enjoy' your wife is an unfortunate turn of phrase but does it really merit all this personal abuse? So much blogging seems to degenerate into nasty infantile name calling between pro and anti emerging church supporters.

[Mark]

Rodney, thanks for the comment. I don't "hate" Driscoll, this is not aimed at his "person" but at the things he says, I don't think his use of language is incidental or simply "unfortunate", rather I think it is illustrative of his, consistently and continually articulated views on Gender! As for infantile name calling, fair comment, but I would also say I have never heard anyone up to this point calling for people with other views to be "be taken out back and shot"!

[Will]

Are you insinuating Mark Driscoll is in some way a sex offender because he said he 'enjoyed' his wife? That is outrageous man. MD is mobilising men all around the world to love their wives and families in the most uncompromising, selfless, awesome and inspiring way. You are an idiot. Complete and utter idiot. Do you think your pretentious musings on this irreverent Jesus-mocking site make any difference? Do you even have a wife bro? You strike me as the kind of bloke who lives with his mum. Man up, repent of being such a wimp, grow a set of balls, be like Jesus and read your Bible. I recommend it. We've got a world to love: a world to change with a glorious gospel- for a glorious God- and all your doing is whingeing. If you don't have the humility to repent and change, thats your choice- but stay away from my church because I think you're doing the gospel more harm than good. You love your own ideas more than God's. Thats idolatry.
When you meet Jesus you can tell him all about your blogging. I'm sure he'll think it's cute.
ps. You're in a war. Wake up to the fact that truth is more powerful than your inane and speculative emergent musings.

[Mark]

Thanks for that Will... you made my day, I haven't laughed so much in years... but then I've always loved satire!

[P.]

Will, your post is not Christ-like. MD-like, but not Christ-like.