Day 43 Entering the Pastoral letters, I feel a shift in tone. These are directed to specific recipients and are encouragement in their faith. Only Philemon is undisputedly written by Paul in this collection. Nonetheless, they are interesting to soak up and wrestle with. Timothy presents troubling verses on women. Do they matter if Paul […]
Day 42 Whole lotta Paul today. To be honest, not all of these were written by Paul but are still attributed to him. The verses people often hate the most from Paul were either inserted at a later date by an unknown author or come from letters where his authorship is doubted. Anyway, I’m breaking […]
Day 41 Nope. Not one Corinthian. Or even two Corinthians. Second and first, thank you very much. I’m referring to former President Trump’s shameful attempt at pandering to evangelical Christians by citing a verse from “Two Corinthians.” They still supported him. Woe to you, Pharisees. Anyway, Paul takes on an interesting role here. While Romans […]
Day 40 Paul is complicated. And this is probably his least controversial letter, though it is the one that requires the most unpacking. His mastery of words, the law, and the emerging theology of Christianity is stunning. It’s no wonder his letters were copied and shared freely amongst the early churches. I’m less interested in […]
Day 39 It’s almost like the Acts of the Apostles is a fifth Gospel. It’s a series of stories about the apostles continuing the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity is born, the Holy Spirit descends, and the church rapidly spreads. It’s a fascinating read. I’ve read this book before and every time, I am […]