In recent years, evangelicals have engaged in a vigorous debate over the doctrine of the Trinity. One group argues that the Father and the Son are equal in authority and power with the Son submitting Himself to the Father only temporarily during the incarnation. Another group argues that the Son’s submission to the Father is functional (not ontological) and eternal.
The debate has generated a great deal of discussion not only because it effects the foundational doctrine of God, but also because of its connection to evangelical debates over gender roles. Egalitarians tend to hold the first view of the Trinity while the Complementarians tend to hold to the latter. There are voices on both sides of the debate who resist the connection of intratrinitarian relations to discussions about gender roles. This reticence is curious to me since it is the apostle Paul himself who invokes the analogy (see 1 Cor. 11:3).
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