Category Archives: Index

Being a Comforter

John Mark Hicks has posted a series on coping with tragedy, based on his own extremely difficult losses. He concludes with this wise counsel about how to comfort people who’ve suffered a loss. And I appreciate that he has brought … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: The Balance of 1 Cor 11:2-16 (revised and corrected)

In the last post, we focused on the meaning of 11:3, dealing with the meaning of “head.” In this post, we consider the rest of the passage. Man or husband? Woman or wife? The words translated “man” and “woman” are … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: 1 Corinthians 11 (“The head of the woman is the man”) (revised and corrected)

The first part of 1 Corinthians 11, dealing with veils, hair length, and such, is a puzzlement. No, “puzzlement” is not strong enough. This chapter is a consternation. Commentator after commentator throws up his hands in frustration at trying to … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: Ephesians 5, Part 1 (“Head”) — revised and corrected

We cannot untangle the role of women in the church without also delving into the relationship of husbands and wives. After all, the Genesis accounts that we’ve already studied deal foremost with marriage, not church governance. Paul’s most thorough discussion … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: A Corrected Interpretation of “Head” — or On My Being Wrong and Having to Spend My Holiday Re-thinking Things

Alan Rouse, who frequently comments on my posts re the role of women — generally disagreeing with me — privately sent me some material which has caused me to rethink the interpretation of “head” in Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: “Women should remain silent” (Conclusion)

“Disgraceful” Doesn’t this passage remind you of the abuses of the Lord’s Supper discussed in 1 Corinthians 11? Paul commanded the Corinthians to eat “at home” (1 Cor. 11:34). We readily understand that this is a response to the local … Continue reading

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Are the Churches of Christ Declining? More Goods News and Bad News, Part 3

Christian colleges One of the most fascinating parts of Yeakley’s “Good News and Bad News” is his study of retention rates of children in the Churches of Christ. How many who graduate high school as a Church member stay in … Continue reading

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Buried Talents: “Women should remain silent” (Definitions)

With this cultural background in mind, let’s search out the meaning of a few words and phrases. “Speak” The Greek word translated “speak” throughout the chapter, lalein, takes its exact meaning from the context, and can refer to anything from … Continue reading

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Are the Churches of Christ Declining? More Good News and Bad News, Part 2

From 1980 to 2000, the fastest growing denominations, as a percentage of adherents (members plus children), are as follows: Assemblies of God 58.9% Mormons 57.3% Independent Christian Churches/churches of Christ 27.6% Catholic Church 30.6% Southern Baptists 22.1% Churches of Christ … Continue reading

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The Good and Bad of Spiritual Formation (Being Formed within God’s Mission)

As I read the material quoted in the last post, I have two reactions. First, it’s indisputably true that in many churches a portion of the membership is not particularly Christ-like. There are often very few differences between the lost … Continue reading

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