As a follow-up to our discussion about interpreting and applying the Bible to a changing world, let’s look at the way the church has re-focused its view of the Bible and slavery. Looking back, we now see the inhumane and horrendous nature of the abduction-and-racially-based slave trade supported by many church members for a significant […]
Have been working with our team to revisit a booklet answering the question, “What Does God Expect of Men and Women?” Together we want to be faithful to the intent and wisdom of Scriptures while applying its timeless principles to the changing circumstances of our lives. One of the things some of us have noticed […]
The conversation we began yesterday about women and the Bible shows how many of us are trying to understand the intent of God for gender-based roles in the home and church. Together we have seen how followers of Christ divide over the interpretation and application of statements made by the Apostles Paul and Peter in […]
Over the years I’ve concluded that seeing “headship” in marriage as a basis for the authority of a husband to tell his wife what to do says more about the customs of fallen culture than it does about what the God of the Bible wants for us. My last post is an attempt to explain […]
Seems to me that “headship in marriage” remains one of the most misunderstood principles of the Bible. On one hand, the Bible predicts that along with the curse of weeds, burdensome work, multiplied pain in childbirth, and death– husbands will dominate their wives (Gen 3:15). The same Bible acknowledges that under the fallen conditions of […]
Los Angeles Lakers’ star, Kobe Bryant, is claiming today that his hyperdunk jump over a pool of snakes is for real. His stunt, that recently hit the internet, echoes a television series that aired for six years from 2001 to 2006. “Fear Factor” was the first reality show to be syndicated by a television network. […]
In first century Greek, Roman, and Jewish society, a man was the master of his house. Wives lived under the rule of their husbands and were expected to submit to them. So when the Apostle Paul, in his New Testament letters, encouraged wives to submit to their husbands, those words would not have been unusual. […]
I started thinking about envy the other day when one of the wives of a polygamous community was asked whether she ever envies her husband’s other wives. Her response seemed honest. She admitted that it happens but is sure that those who don’t practice polygamy aren’t above such problems. She’s right isn’t she. None of […]
In 2004 an article in USA Today raised a question about whether modern polygamy law exposes our hypocrisy. In that article Jonathan Turley writes, “For polygamists, it is simply a matter of unequal treatment under the law. Individuals have a recognized constitutional right to engage in any form of consensual sexual relationship with any number […]
I’m on edge today. Here’s what’s happening. I’ve agreed to make a presentation to a group of church leaders on the subject of marital abuse. The invitation came as a result of materials and programs we have done on the subject. As I prepare for the presentation, I find myself with mixed feelings. I’m not […]
