While the early decades of the church’s history were hardly easy, they were nevertheless filled with optimism: Jesus was risen, the Spirit at work in and through the community of faith, and the body of Christ was growing as the gospel spread across the Mediterranean world. Local opposition – even to the point of violence...
Tag: how to read the bible
Understanding the Bible 44: The Apocalypse – Starring Christopher Walken, Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
No biblical book inspires a broader spectrum of interpretation than the book of Revelation. Filled with symbols that range from multi-headed dragon to streets of gold, from doomsday battles and the mark of the beast to the New Jerusalem, the Apocalypse (literally the “revealing”) is meant to guide the church in the last act of...
Understanding the Bible 43: Submissive Wives & Obedient Slaves???
Paul’s teaching on the role of wives and slaves in the Christian household are among the most (tragically!) misinterpreted passages in scripture. In this episode we examine the tension between ideals and reality, between what is ultimately true and how close (or not) we can approximate it at any particular moment in time. As...