Thoughts from My Corner of the World
We know so little about Mary - the mother of Jesus - the woman who carried the Son of God for nine months in her womb. Years ago, I spent months reading and researching all things Mary for my final graduate project at Johnson University. Protestants were beginning to examine and expound on the Biblical... Continue Reading →
Recently this book, "The Representative Women of the Bible," published in 1907 caught my eye. It was high on the top shelf in the library - tucked between numerous modern and post-modern works about women. I've read so many books about women - written by women and written by men. The concept of woman, her... Continue Reading →
This post is about the insidious ways we silence others. While scrolling through my FB feed a few weeks ago, an ad for a new movie, Women Talking, popped up. The movie is based off the earlier book written by Miriam Toews. I watched the trailer, did some research, and quickly ordered the book from... Continue Reading →
PAUL'S LETTER: PERSONAL OR PASTORAL? Most of Paul’s letters were written to churches. That is not the case with the letters to Timothy and Titus. These letters – long identified as Pastoral Epistles – serve as a quasi-church manual for ministers in a local church setting. I am becoming more and more convinced that this... Continue Reading →
It has been a while since I posted. Family and holiday events have filled the last couple months. Plus, I enjoyed a trip south with my DIL to attend January Adventure held at the spectacular Epworth Retreat Center on St. Simon's Island in Georgia featuring guest speakers Brian McLaren and Wil Gafney. I plan to... Continue Reading →
STILL A LACK OF CONSENSUS Biblical scholars have yet to agree on what actually took place in the church at Ephesus that motivated Paul to write his first letter to Timothy. What issues or false teachings did Paul address? Since Paul did not state the problem clearly many speculate about the trouble in Ephesus. In... Continue Reading →
HAVE WE LOST OUR WAY? In “Cherry-Picking & Breadcrumbs, Part 1,” available here, I claimed that using a cherry-picking methodology to study through the letters of Timothy and Titus – mis/identified as church-manuals centuries ago – in order to solve the women-in-leadership issues in the church is undoubtedly one of the reasons we are unable... Continue Reading →
HOW “CHERRY-PICKING” MISSES PAUL’S MESSAGE IN 1 TIMOTHY Ever since the early 1700s three short books in the Bible – 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus – have been classified as Pastoral Epistles (PE), with 1 Timothy relied upon as the premier church manual for churches everywhere. Is this a misclassification that obscures Paul's message... Continue Reading →
I relate to Onesimus in an odd way. I too was a runaway, drowning emotionally and spiritually, with my identity lost beneath the heavy load of responsibility. Running wasn’t an act of rebellion on my part. It was a last-ditch effort to be seen, to be heard, to survive. My running ultimately resulted in my... Continue Reading →
This essay examines the theme of reconciliation through three of Paul’s letters: Philemon, Colossians and Philippians. By tracing Paul’s concept of unity and reconciliation as they flow through these letters, I hope to gain insight into how the reconciliation demonstrated by Christ’s submission to God unto death, developed into the ethical practice for Christians. The... Continue Reading →