Can Women Be Deacons? In 1 Timothy 3:11, we read, “In the same way, women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.” In context, the word “women” (Gr. gynē) refers either to women deacons or deacons’ wives. Translations are non-committal: the NIV has “the women,” with a… Read More
Children of Elders: What Are the Requirements?
In 1 Timothy 3:4, it is stipulated that an overseer’s children must “obey him with proper respect.” In Titus 1:6, the bar appears to be raised higher when it says that “[a]n elder must be . . . a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient”… Read More
The Gospel of Judas: A Villain Rehabilitated?
The release of the text of the so-called “Gospel of Judas” has been reported with considerable enthusiasm by the media. At the center of this gospel is Judas Iscariot, known from the biblical Gospels as the betrayer of Judas. Yet from the Gospel of Judas, a different figure emerges. In private conversation, Jesus tells Judas… Read More
What Is the One Topic Virtually No Book on Marriage & the Family Is Currently Addressing?
What is the one pressing topic no book on marriage and the family is currently addressing? What is the one issue that is integral to every marriage and family but that is completely ignored by most marriage counselors and popular treatments on evangelical authorities on marriage? The answer: spiritual warfare in marriage and the family…. Read More
Is Jesus God?
From time to time scholars suggest the divinity of Jesus is a later invention of the Church. Jesus, they claim, did not believe himself to be God, nor did he claim to be. His first followers, and the early church, likewise did not believe he was God but rather thought of him as a good… Read More