Mother, May I? The division over women’s roles and their supposed inability to address theological issues within the Restoration churches is the impetus for this paper. Of particular importance are two concerns. If a husband’s rule over his wife is inviolable as established by the creation narrative in Genesis, why in Luke’s gospel does God... Continue Reading →
1 John 1:1-4: “We Touched Life Eternal”
Today’s devotional reflections are from 1 John 1:1-4. This letter is written by John. It sounds like he has input from others in a community of believers. They were living in or near Ephesus (but that’s for another post). I imagine Mary, the mother of Jesus, was living among that community. If you remember, before uttering... Continue Reading →
Immanuel: God With Us!
One of my favorite verses is found in Matthew's Gospel: “Lo, I am with you always!” I’ve clung to that promise from my childhood onward. I bought the small plaque (pictured above) with the verse in German when living in Nebraska nearly 20 years ago. It now hangs in my sewing studio often reminding me... Continue Reading →
“Mary, Mother May I?” Part 1 – The Hermeneutical Hurdle
A. Introduction In this series I begin sharing a good portion of my research project completed two years ago for my Masters in New Testament from Johnson University. It focused primarily upon Mary, Joseph’s wife, the mother of Jesus. These posts will expand further upon my original project, “Mary, Mother May I?: Finding Hope for Restoration... Continue Reading →
Listening to Women: How to Correct a Lopsided Theology.
A while back I did a comparison of the angelic encounters of Hagar, Manoah’s wife, and Mary, mother of Jesus. The angel Gabriel was sent by God to Mary (Luke 1:26). The angel of God appeared to only two other women in the Hebrew scriptures: Hagar and Manoah's wife (Gen 16:7-16; Gen 21:8-21; Judges 13;... Continue Reading →