Biblical References
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages are from the NIVArchives
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Category Archives: Paul
The Special Case of Women Keeping Silent in the Church in 1 Corinthians
A few weeks ago, in Blaming Paul for Things He Never Said, I mentioned that I was aware of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 which has special issues and should be considered separately. My thought had to do with the church at … Continue reading
Posted in inerrancy, Paul
Tagged 1 corinthians 14, Interpolation, John 8, Jr., William O. Walker Jr.
28 Comments
Hopeful Universalism and a Gentle Alternative
Previously, we discussed whether God will punish anyone in eternal hell; and I concluded that the misguided idea of punishment in eternal conscious torment is inconsistent with God’s character and that the Bible does not even teach such a thing. … Continue reading
Posted in eternal life, hell, Paul, The Father
Tagged 1 Corinthians 15, 1 John 4, 2 Corinthians 5, C. S. Lewis, Colossians 1, John 12, John 3:16-17, Philippians 2, Romans 5, Romans 8, The Great Divorce, universalism
121 Comments
Dealing with the Confusion, Grief, and Existential Chaos of Leaving Fundamentalism or Traditional Evangelicalism
If you are questioning beliefs you were taught in fundamentalism or evangelicalism, your journey might be going smoothly or it might involve a lot of fear and uncertainty. It is not easy challenging beliefs we once deeply held. Over a … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, evangelicalism, fear, fundamentalism, inerrancy, Jesus, Paul
Tagged Adam, Emma Higgs
83 Comments
If God Doesn’t Speak through the Bible then How Does God Speak?
Recently, I published an article titled The Bible Clearly Says’ is Always a Seriously Misguided Statement in which I contended that the Bible does not speak in one voice (the voice of God) but in the many voices of the … Continue reading
Posted in authority, Bible, God, inerrancy, Jesus, Paul
Tagged Infallibility, Inspiration
128 Comments
The Many Women Leaders in Paul’s Circles Don’t Seem to Represent Christian Patriarchy
Those who embrace Christian patriarchy and restrictions on women in church often refer to 1 Corinthians 14 for support: Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law … Continue reading
Posted in Paul
Tagged 1 Corinthians 12, 1 corinthians 14, 1 Timothy 1, Galatians 3, Julia, patriarchy, Phoebe, Pricilla
34 Comments
Examining Passages from Genesis Used to Support Patriarchy in the Church
Last time, we discussed biblical passages from the New Testament epistles used to support Christian patriarchy; today we will look at passages from the first chapters of Genesis. I chose these passages because they are specifically referenced in the 1988 … Continue reading
Posted in authority, behavior, evangelicalism, fundamentalism, Paul
Tagged 1 Corinthians 11, 1 Timothy 2, Genesis 2, Genesis 3, patriarchy
22 Comments
The Alleged Biblical Basis for Christian Patriarchy
Untold numbers of Christians believe women are not equal to men and are subject to male leadership. This very harmful belief leads to terrible consequences such as the oppression and denigration of women and to an environment of physical, emotional, … Continue reading
Posted in authority, behavior, fundamentalism, inerrancy, legalism, Paul
Tagged 1 Peter 3, Colossians 3, Ephesians 5, patriarchy, Slavery, submit
34 Comments
Does Paul Tell Us to Bring Our Tithes to Church on Sundays? He Does Not
In the churches I attended for the first 30 years of my life, I was taught that tithing to the church was mandatory—a claim I recently refuted in 5 Reasons Why the Harmful Doctrine of Mandatory Tithing is Wrong. Often … Continue reading
Posted in legalism, New Testament, Paul
Tagged 1 Corinthians 16, 2 Corinthians 8, 2 Corinthians 9, Acts 24, giving, Jerusalem relief project, Romans 15, tithing
21 Comments
The Bible is not Open to Narcigesis: Thinking the Bible is Written to You
The Bible is a massive collection of writings, and we must investigate and interpret each passage to understand what it says. There are two primary ways of doing this. Exegesis All genuine scholars know that study of biblical passages begins … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, book of Revelation, Old Testament, Paul
Tagged eisegesis, exegesis, Gospels, narcigesis
39 Comments
The Bible is not Magically Inerrant: Exposing Inerrancy Proof-Texts
Inerrancy is perhaps the most obvious example of what the Bible is NOT, and I have written about it many times. But today I approach it from a different angle by examining common inerrancy proof-texts. I begin with the most … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, inerrancy, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament, Paul
Tagged 2 Timothy 3:16, inerrancy proof-texts, John 10, Matthew 5, Romans 15
35 Comments
The Misguided Concept of ‘Loving the Sinner and Hating the Sin’
Legalistic believers often feel it is their duty to confront sinners with their ‘sins’. This sometimes includes telling sinners how bad they are and urging them to accept Jesus. And they don’t stop there; they also confront fellow believers with … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus, judgment, legalism, love, Paul, sin, sinners, the Good News
Tagged 1 Corinthians 4, Love the sinner; hate the sin, Matthew 7, Romans 14
55 Comments
A More Realistic Alternative to Inerrancy of the Bible
Millions of believers assume the Bible is inerrant—that everything in the Bible is the absolute word of God. I believed this myself for thirty-five years, but I now think this belief is very mistaken and even harmful. It distorts the … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, inerrancy, New Testament, Old Testament, Paul
Tagged angry God, Gospels
60 Comments
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty
During the entire year of 1976 (the bicentennial), my denomination used a special logo in its publications. Recently, I came across a book mark from that campaign while cleaning out a storage space. It depicts George Washington crossing the Delaware and … Continue reading
Posted in legalism, Paul, the invitation
Tagged 2 Corinthians 3, Constantine, Matthew 11, Matthew 5, politics, Washington crossing the Delaware
22 Comments
What is the Significance of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection?
Recently, a reader asked me a question privately about Jesus’ death and resurrection. I plan to do a series in the future, but that won’t be for a while. But because it is such an important question, I decided to … Continue reading
Perspectives on Paul and Homosexuality
Believers who condemn gays often use Paul’s comment in Romans as airtight proof of their position, but there are three reasonable alternative perspectives of this passage: Paul thought homosexuality was evil Paul had in mind practices connected with idol worship … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, gays, judgment, Paul
Tagged 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Timothy 1, Arsenokoitai, clobber passages, Deuteronomy 23, homosexuality, idolatary, Malakos, Romans 1, temple prostituion
13 Comments
Reading the Bible in Context
What do we make of this? After feeding the 5,000 in John chapter 6 we read: Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. The people already had … Continue reading
Jesus Without Baggage 