Dr Paul Allen

Previously, we looked at the word “modest” in the New Testament and walked through  1 Cor. 12:23  and  1 Tim. 2:9  and ended up closing the post with a little discussion of what “ not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire ” meant.   The question arose as to what braided hair with gold and pearls indicated in ancient Roman culture , and the comment was made there is an evangelical myth that such things indicated that a woman was a  prostitute .   I suggested that such was not the case, and today’s post will be the first part of a two-part answer to that question.  In this post we’ll take a look at women’s clothing in Roman culture, and the following post will take a look at women’s hairstyles . Hopefully the next two posts will lay to rest some evangelical myths about hair and clothes in the New Testament era. In Roman culture, one didn’t find the same sort of wild variety in clothing, and little changes in style....

English: Postage stamp depicting Martin Luther, the initiator of the Protestant Reformation (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Many people might answer that question by pointing to Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. But if you were to ask Luther himself, he would not point to himself or his own writings. Instead, he would give all the credit to God and His Word. Near the end of his life, Luther declared: “All I have done is put forth, preach and write the Word of God , and apart from this I have done nothing. . . . It is the Word that has done great things. . . . I have done nothing; the Word has done and achieved everything.” Elsewhere, he exclaimed: “By the Word the earth has been subdued; by the Word the Church has been saved; and by the Word also it shall be reestablished.” Noting Scripture’s foundational place in his own heart, Luther wrote: “No matter what happens, you should say: There is God’s Word. This is my rock and anchor. On it I rely, and it remains. Where it remains, I, too,...

Portrait of Ulrich Zwingli after his death 1531 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Huldrych Zwingli . Luther and Calvin are widely known and their works widely available in English , Zwingli has not been so fortunate. The very few works of his which have been translated into English were all translated in the 19th century and exist today only in reprints of those editions. Readers unfamiliar with the First Reformer of Switzerland have a basis from which to understand him. Zwingli wrote in Latin and Swiss German (in its sixteenth century form).  ‘ Christ our Captain’ is a phrase which Zwingli used quite frequently to describe his understanding of both who Christ is and who Christians are in relation to him. Zwingli used the phrase ‘Christ our Captain’ in sermons, in letters, and in his theological books. By it he meant to imply that it is Christ who is our commander, our leader.  He issues the orders and we follow him. The Church is his ‘army’ in the sense that a...

The Promulgation of the Law in Mount Sinai (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We need to make some important distinctions about the biblical meaning of "fearing" God. These distinctions can be helpful, but they can also be a little dangerous. When Luther struggled with that, he made this distinction, which has since become somewhat famous: He distinguished between what he called a servile fear and a filial fear. The servile fear is a kind of fear that a prisoner in a torture chamber has for his tormentor, the jailer, or the executioner. It's that kind of dreadful anxiety in which someone is frightened by the clear and present danger that is represented by another person. Or it's the kind of fear that a slave would have at the hands of a malicious master who would come with the whip and torment the slave. Servile refers to a posture of servitude toward a malevolent owner. Luther distinguished between that and what he called...

Zadkiel was said to be the Angel who prevented Abraham from sacrificing his son, Isaac. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) One way in which the secular mind-set has made inroads into the Christian community is through the worldview that assumes that everything happens according to fixed natural causes, and God , if He is actually there, is above and beyond it all. He is just a spectator in heaven looking down, perhaps cheering us on but exercising no immediate control over what happens on earth. Historically, however, Christians have had an acute sense that this is our Father's world and that the affairs of men and nations, in the final analysis, are in His hands. That is what Paul is expressing in Romans  8:28 —a sure knowledge of divine providence. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Immediately thereafter, Paul moves into a predestination sequence: "For those whom he forek...

Debate between Catholics and Oriental Christians in the 13th century, Acre 1290. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Non-doctrinal Christianity is impossible. The teaching of non-doctrinal Christianity is doctrine So it is with doctrine in the Christian faith and life. Throughout Christian history, folks have proposed to do without Christian doctrine , the good and necessary inferences drawn from the implicit or explicit teaching of Scripture. Like Mike, some Christians have suspected that doctrine is just an invention, a way to control people. Such a position is just as false as Mike the mechanic's. Doctrine is inescapable because it is revealed in Scripture and necessary to Christian faith and life. Doctrine is Biblical Our English word doctrine is derived from a Latin word , doctrina, which means, "that which is taught." In Christian usage, it refers to Christian teaching about Scripture, God, man, Christ, salvation, church, and the end of all things. It is fitting that t...

Martin Luther, author of the text of Christ lag in Todes Banden, and who, with Johann Walter, also wrote the melody (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We need to make some important distinctions about the biblical meaning of “fearing” God . These distinctions can be helpful, but they can also be a little dangerous. When Luther struggled with that, he made this distinction, which has since become somewhat famous: He distinguished between what he called a servile fear and a filial fear. The servile fear is a kind of fear that a prisoner in a torture chamber has for his tormentor, the jailer, or the executioner. It’s that kind of dreadful anxiety in which someone is frightened by the clear and present danger that is represented by another person.  Or it’s the kind of fear that a slave would have at the hands of a malicious master who would come with the whip and torment the slave. Servile refers to a posture of servitude toward a malevolent owner. Luther distinguished between that ...