Readings in Complementarity | Grimké Books Vol. I

The Grimké Podcast

Feb 04, 2026•1 hr 22 min

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Episode description

In this inaugural episode of The Grimké Review of Books, we discuss a few important works foundational to our modern complementarian debates. Most notably, we engage with Gregg Allison’s recent book, Complementarity (2025), and Stephen B. Clark’s Man and Woman in Christ (1980).

SKIP AHEAD.

(00:00) Coming Up…
(00:36) Loving Books through a Digital Revolution
Pt. I — Clark & The Precomplementraian Era (1980s)
(04:13) Dust Jackets: Yea or Nay?
(06:23) Clark Anticipates the Complementarian Debate
(11:07) Betty Friedan, the Pill, and Evangelical Feminism
(16:52) Social Sciences & the Weight of Biblical Evidence
Pt. II — CBMW & The Complementarian Era (1990s–2020s)
(22:33) Danvers against “Honest Perspectives”
(29:08) Proper Science: Hermeneutics and Beyond
(38:57) Egalitarians Hate Hierarchy
Pt. III — Allison & Post-Complementarian Drift (Present Day)
(46:23) Allison’s Complementarity and Missing the Point
(51:24) A Tragic Thesis
(57:08) Critical Theory, Blindness, and “My Sex Identity”
(01:01:10) Does Allison Prescribe a “Third Way” Approach?
(01:08:11) Who Is Prudence Allen?
(01:12:06) Buckling to Cultural Pressures
(01:16:46) For the Sake of Pastors

MAJOR WORKS DISCUSSED.

Allison, Gregg R. Complementarity: Dignity, Difference, and Interdependence. Brentwood: B&H Academic, 2025.
✧ Hardcover: https://a.co/d/fQkwxsd
Clark, Stephen B. Man and Woman in Christ: An Examination of the Roles of Men and Women in Light of Scripture and the Social Sciences. Bloomington: Warhorn Media, 2021.
✧ Hardcover: https://a.co/d/hozASVX
✧ Free PDF: https://mwc.warhornmedia.com/Man-and-Woman-in-Christ.pdf

WORKS ALSO MENTIONED.

Pierce, Ronald W., Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, and Gordon D. Fee eds. Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity Without Hierarchy. Second edition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
✧ Paperback (2nd ed.): https://a.co/d/6VdJ6br
Piper, John, and Wayne Grudem eds. Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. Revised edition. Wheaton: Crossway, 2021.
✧ Paperback: https://a.co/d/1kpZpcE
✧ Free PDF: https://cbmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/9781433573460_EPDF.pdf
Wedgeworth, Steven. “Man, Woman, Bridges, and Boundaries: A Review Essay of Gregg Allison’s Complementarity: Dignity, Difference, and Interdependence.” Eikon 7, no. 11 (Fall 2025).
✧ Article: https://shorturl.at/8tbie

THE GRIMKÉ PODCAST.

All Episodes: https://grimke.org/podcast

IN THIS VIDEO.

Dr. Doug Ponder — Academic Dean (Grimké Seminary)
✧ Bio: https://grimkeseminary.org/doug-ponder
Joe Holland — Dean (Grimké College)
✧ Bio: https://grimkeseminary.org/joe-holland
Bryan Laughlin — Chancellor & CEO (Grimké)
✧ Bio: https://grimkeseminary.org/bryan-laughlin