…the reality is that whoever wrote this letter, whether Paul or his disciple, they (in the same fashion as Paul in 1 Corinthians) were expressing a ‘desire’, not an imperative they believed was sent from God or even official church teaching they were passing on. They were giving personal commentary. (more…) Read more
Paul, in a sense, explicitly denies that the Spirit can or would endorse anything non-rational or at the very least, superstitious. In this way, Paul allows his reason to guide him in-spite of others’ affirmations that their perspectives are endorsed by divine credence. (more…) Read more
Paul’s speech argues, from a Christian perspective to other Christians, that they as Christians currently “know only in part,” “prophecy [about Christ] in part,” and describes the Christian community as “children” who have childish reasoning and speech… though he affirms that Christ can see us clearly, he argues that Christians must await a day in the future when they can share the same divine clarity. (more…) Read more
Perhaps the stories in Matthew and Luke are indeed edifying fiction and parables as some scholars have long speculated (or perhaps they have many elements in them that stem from historical memories as others have argued), but it seems hard for me to accept how the claim of the Virgin Birth could have arisen without it truly having been believed to have historically happened. (more…) Read more
The writers of the New Testament demonstrate that it’s possible to be in communion as Christians whether or not we all agree on Jesus’ birth. The truth of all four gospels is that the story of Jesus can work fine without the Nativity, but like Matthew and Luke believed, can truly benefit and be enlarged with it. However, our faith as Christians does not ride or die on this story, but it does on Jesus who is at the center of it. (more…) Read more
What is clear to me is that we as a Church who pride ourselves on being biblical & faithful to the truth, cannot continue the same path we are currently traveling without doing harm to both. Forced celibacy inevitably leads to a heresy far worse than what most conservative churches fear about homosexuality: it leads to the belief that it is by works, and not Christ’s Grace, by which we are saved… and even worse, God’s grace transforms into a curse. (more…) Read more
It is odd that Jesus at no point in the four gospels quotes any material past chapter 39 of Isaiah as having actually come from Isaiah. Is it possible that this is because Jesus, like the Gospel of Mark, knew what the Dead Sea Scrolls knew, that there was more than one author? (more…) Read more
4,000,000+ people on YouTube… and countless others across the world are reciting a verse in Church that no longer exists in their Bibles. And most likely, almost none of them are aware of it. (more…) Read more
Did you know: Though Halloween is often berated by Ultra-Conservative Christians as a negative or even “Satanic” holiday, for much of Christian history, the day has been a staple Christian celebration. What’s more: Halloween, in its Christian tradition, stems from the Bible. (more…) Read more
“When Roy Moore voices his opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize Gay Marriage, he is unaware of the irony that his very same logic was used by Christians to defend the institution of slavery and helped to allow for the 1857 decision that he objects to.” (more…) Read more
Biblically Literate: Exploring a Radical Faith with Matthew J. Korpman
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