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Thoughts on an Easily Misunderstood Passage in 1 Thessalonians
What did Paul mean when he told these Ancient Greeks to not cheat a brother by Pornea?
Paul’s Letter to the Colossians
When Paul said to “put to death your members”, what did he mean? Did he believe the Kingdom of Heaven teachings of Jesus?
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians
This powerful Letter from Paul teaches us to have confidence in the Love of God.
Teaching in Parallel
Parallels. There are parallels everywhere. What can we learn from parallels in teachings?
Ethics – Paul’s Conceptual Basis in the Kingdom of Heaven
Is life a constant struggle of good and against evil, even within ourselves?
Paul’s Letter to the Galatians
In this ancient Letter, a murderer promotes a way of living based on Love instead of Law. It should either be really good, or simply insane.
Paul’s Ethics Teachings to the Greco-Roman Churches
The wisdom of this world demands recompense – retribution. The Gospel changes the subject. To the person carrying the Kingdom of Heaven concepts, the focus of life is not behavior: to focus on behavior is to focus on death. The focus of life is Love.
The Early Church Life
The 1st Century Church style of living has influence on our understanding of Paul’s Letters. Did Paul command them to expel hated sinners while Jesus was proud of associating with hated sinners?
Inside vs. Outside
The concept of inside and outside is important. It is not a difficult concept, but is easy to confuse context.
Am I in or out?
Greek And Roman Law
In this continuing series of essays seeking to understand the Measure of Acceptability, this essay provides some limited information to build a more complete concept of the Greek and Roman mindset. These concepts help us understand the letters Paul sent to the newly formed churches. The Greeks were a loose federation of city/states, each with …
The Sexual Ethics of Ancient Greece and Rome
In this section, I will review the pertinent findings of my extensive research into the subject of the ethics of the society into which the Letters of Paul were sent. This is of vital significance to the quest for understanding those Letters. Paul knew the language and their culture very well, he spent his life …
Continue reading “The Sexual Ethics of Ancient Greece and Rome”
The Measure of Acceptability
This quest, this desire to know the truth, drives on the desperate pilgrims – us. Beliefs that lead to a misunderstanding of Paul’s statements lead the pilgrim, inescapably, to a universe without hope. The pilgrim strives to find hope, fervently desiring to believe in the Hope offered by Jesus, yet comes to teachings of Paul that indicate that for some classes of sin there is no forgiveness, no love, no family, and no hope. For the pilgrim that ponders the depths of meaning, this becomes the ultimate nightmare – an unavoidable eternal collision with terrible and empty fate.
No Copyright
I wrote this material, following the Spirit of God through exceeding difficulty. It is nothing more than the carefully considered thoughts of someone trying to understand, really understand. And through that understanding know God. I release all claim to rights of ownership. Copy, quote, use, change and make it your own. My only request is …
Spending Spiritual Resources
In the middle of the book of Luke, there are some teachings from Jesus that foster very widely divergent concepts. Among these is a parable that has been given many names: “unjust steward”, “shrewd manager”, “dishonest manager”, etc. Many acknowledge the difficulty of understanding this parable. And the reason for the divergent views is plain: …
The Difficult Case of David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Nathan, and the Baby Boy
In 2 Samuel 11 and 12, we find the story of David and Bathsheba and Uriah, a story of sex, conspiracy, betrayal and murder. Bathsheba gets pregnant, Uriah carries his own death sentence from one friend to another, then gets murdered by his friends, and the baby dies. If the story itself is not enough …
Continue reading “The Difficult Case of David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Nathan, and the Baby Boy”
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