The Bible in Context
In the past thirty years the doctrine of hell has been the subject of much controversy. According to the dominant historic Christian view, hell is a place of eternal conscious torment for rebellious, unbelieving humans (and demons and Satan). Notice that there are five necessary elements to the traditional view of hell: a place in … Read more
In a previous post, I gave an overview of how elements of the Christian faith led to slavery’s demise in the western world. Here are a few key references to slavery in the New Testament along with a brief analysis below each reference. (Biblical quotations are from the NIV, 1984.) Mark and John Jesus said, … Read more
I’m upset. How could I have been reading the Bible for so long and missed something so obvious? I think I know how. I read Protestant commentaries. Some of those commentaries are especially good at listing various interpretations of a passage but never coming to a decisive conclusion. The passage I’m talking about is 1 … Read more
As I read through Colossians, I found myself fastened on the word mystery. Paul says God commissioned him to present “the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people” (Col. 1:25b-26, NIV). Prior to reading those words, I had … Read more
Slavery is evil. It is wrong for one person to own another person. While people argue in favor of various moral issues, no one is arguing in favor of slavery. The issue is clear-cut: slavery is wrong. That brings up a problem for readers of the New Testament. Why is slavery mentioned in several places … Read more