Dr Paul Allen

It is often assumed that the Holy Spirit ’s witness to a believer is not very helpful in a study of apologetics. After all, this testimony is given only to Christians and it is not verified or falsified by evidences. So does it follow that this witness is no more than a subjective conviction? In the few NT passages that address this subject, we are told that, at a minimum, the witness of the Holy Spirit is a personal word to believers that they are children of God (Rm 8:15–17). The Holy Spirit testifies to believers as family members (Gl 4:6–7). So the believer will experience the presence of the Holy Spirit ( Jn 14:16–17). This is one way to know that we are truly believers (1 Jn 3:24; 4:13). Since the unbeliever cannot understand things pertaining to salvation (Jn 14:17; 1 Co 2:14), one might question the value of the Holy Spirit’s witness in an apologetic context. But this seems to assume that dealing with unbelievers is the only purpose for defending the faith. Apologetics may...

Quoting (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Does Paul really believe that “I have the right to do anything” ( 1 Cor 6:12)? Really? Anything? Of course not. Paul does not have the right to sin. He doesn’t have the right to walk away from his ministry. So what is happening in v 12? And why does the NASB and KJV write, “All things are lawful for me” when we know they are not? What do the other translations tell you? Many translations put the phrase in quotation marks . “’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful” ( ESV , also HCSB , NRSV , NET). What would be the point? If you have done your homework, you know what Paul is doing. He is quoting what his Corinthians opponents are saying. He doesn’t agree with them, but he is citing them. So how do you indicate that in English? The ESV and others put the sentence in quotation marks. This explains where the extra “you say” comes from in the NIV . “‘I have the right to do anything,” you say.” The CBT obviously felt tha...

Slave . What is it about this word that merits a whole book? Sometimes one word can make an enormous difference. For example, the Latin Vulgate ’s translation of  metanoia  (repentance) as  paenitentia  (penance) in places like Acts 2:38 led to all sorts of problems in the Roman Catholic Church . The  slave  concept is a major theme in Scripture. In fact, believers are referred to as “slaves” hundreds of times throughout the Old and New Testaments . Yet, the American church is blind to this critical theme because most English versions translate the word as “ servant ” instead. While it is true that the duties of  slave  and  servant  may overlap to some degree, there is a key distinction between the two: servants are  hired ; slaves are  owned . Servants have an element of freedom in choosing whom they work for and what they do. The idea of servanthood maintains some level of self-autonomy and personal ri...