In Depth:  Phillip Billson

Dear Sir,

I am puzzled! I read en for its theological insight and its pastorally helpful articles. For example, in March’s issue there is Euan Dodd’s ‘Evangelical triangle’ and Linda Allcock’s article on pornography, to mention just two. (I also read en for vital news about the persecuted church, which so many Christians in the West forget about). Generally you seem to source your copy from people I would consider to be moderately Conservative Evangelical. Why then, when it comes to the issue of women preaching, do you choose a hardliner from the Southern Baptists – who relies on a single passage of Scripture for his argument? You further compound the injury by publishing a photo of Katharine Jefferts Schori – that bête noire of bishops for the vast majority of evangelicals. If you must source so much of your copy from the USA (where not only mainstream but also religious politics is so polarised) why not choose a more moderate source prepared to consider the wider counsel of Scripture? Graham Cole (Women teaching men the Bible: what’s the problem? www.cbe.org.au/ index.php/ministry/women-teaching-men) could hardly be possessed of a more illustrious evangelical provenance both in Australia and the USA. Might you be bold enough to publish a different view?