General posts that are not about any topic in particular.
The early church celebrated a very different liturgy of the eucharist than that created by the Roman Catholic church. The original liturgy consisted of two parts: the Eucharist (a sacrifice) and the Lord’s Supper (a consecrated memorial meal). Usually the Eucharist was immediately used in the Lord’s Supper, but as …
This series on Christian Eschatology discusses the aspects of Daniel and Revelation least affected by speculation. The most significant problem with Christian Eschatology is arbitrary interpretation, rooted in writer’s opinions or church traditions. This series derives conclusions from only two things: scripture and the historical record. No tradition is permitted. The complete …
The Bible metaphorically speaks of the head and body on a number of occasions. In English, Latin, and ancient Hebrew idiomatic use, the head of a body may be interpreted as someone in a place of authority over another person or group, as the head and body are separate parts …
There is tension between unity and authority in marriage. But which is primary? For no one can serve two masters. You must love one and treat the other as of no consequence whatsoever. Let’s say that spouses are in unity in nearly everything, but occasionally they cannot come to an agreement. …
Ephesians 5:22-33 has a chiastic structure. Structure A: submission and respect together refer to honor B: head-body metaphor refers to unity, not authority C: Christ is savior of both men and women, who are both equal members of one body: “For as woman came from man, so also man is born …
(see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4) I concluded Headship: Authority or Preeminence? by saying: The focus on strict hierarchical, unidirectional, non-mutual authority structure is fundamentally wrong. It’s like tithing anise and cumin, while neglecting the higher matters. Headship authority can never sanctify. Half an hour after I made that post, …
In part 1 and part 2 of this series, I laid out a number of reasons why DNA is evidence for God, in response to this article by atheist Bob Seidensticker. One of his key criticisms is that life appears to be poorly designed: “If God designed software, we’d expect it to look like elegant, minimalistic, people-designed …
Five years ago, I posted a comment at the Dalrock blog about Paul’s instructions regarding the supposed authority of men over women in the church. I said this: The grammar of 1 Tim 2:12 is highly ambiguous. [..] The proper interpretation rests on the rendering of authentein, a word only used once in …
During my recent series on sanctification in marriage, I touched on the topic of ‘headship’. The modern way of thinking has diverged from the Ancient Near East mindset where authority derived from status, not the converse. Review In Sanctified Marriage: Part 2, I noted that ‘head’ in Ephesians 5 means ‘preeminence’, …
I just read something unexpected today. Ed Hurst at Radix Fidem had this to say (although you should read the whole thing, it isn’t too long): But if the political and economic chaos is not enough by itself, God is also moving to enhance the chaos and destruction of man-made structures. …