Dr Paul Allen

SAMUEL G. PARKISON “It’s a shame he was an adulterous and unfaithful husband, but he sure was a great theologian and a gift to the church.” Is this sentence intelligible? Might it be regarded as capturing the complex reality of indwelling and ongoing sin for theologians, or is it simply oxymoronic? Part of how we answer the question depends on additional information. Was this adultery a single occasion or a persistent reality? Does this theologian out himself in broken and contrite confession and repentance, or does he justify his actions and remain habitually unrepentant? I’d imagine most of us would instinctively conclude that if the “theologian” in our thought experiment engaged in high-handed and unrepentant habitual adultery, the descriptor “adulterous and unfaithful husband but splendid theologian” is nothing more than an oxymoron. And we haven’t been thinking about a hypothetical figure; we’ve been thinking about Karl Barth, who is regarded by many as one of the most important t...

I imagine the tears really came once he could finally get the words out. How many times had he and his wife sat and cried together in silence? How many times had they had the same aching conversations? How many times had they talked about names? How many times had they held someone else’s newborn? How many times had they thought she might be pregnant? How many times had they asked for a child? And here he was, buried in their arms. The dream they had stopped dreaming. The son they thought they’d never meet. Like many first-time fathers (myself included), the man couldn’t find the words. In this case, however, he literally couldn’t speak. When Zechariah finally met his son, he could only ask for something to write on. He didn’t get to taste the boy’s name on his lips for eight whole days. I vividly remember meeting our firstborn. I can’t imagine feeling all I felt those days in silence. It might have killed me to try. So why had God held Zechariah’s tongue? When the angel Gabriel came t...

English: Araucanian (Mapuche) husband and wife. Español: Marido y mujer Mapuche (Araucana) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18 Wife , do you understand the needs of your husband? Let’s face it, a man’s career is usually extremely important to his self‐esteem. He is made that way. Many women complain about their husbands ’ “ workaholism ,” which may be valid, and yet husbands deserve thanks for the effort they invest. Compared to the man who sits around the house doing little or nothing, the hard worker is an honorable man. God has assigned two key tasks to men: to provide for and to protect their families. If your husband meets those two requirements, you need to let him know that you appreciate how hard he works. Several years ago a survey was taken to determine what men wanted in their homes. The result was surprising: It was tranquility. Is your home a peaceful haven for your husband and your...

" Husbands , love your wives and do not be bitter toward them."  (Col.  3:19 , NKJV )  When God says, "Husbands, love your wives," he speaks of the woman as a complex being. He calls every man to love his whole wife just as every man loves his whole self (Eph.   5:29 ). This means that a husband must do all he can to understand his wife's world. What follows are eight admonitions to love our wives with respect to their various facets. 1. Love Her Heart—Emotional Love The Bible uses the word "love" over 350 times. Almost 10% of these times are in the Song of Solomon (which comprises less than 0.5 percent of Scripture). One thing we learn from this is that a husband should use words to express his love for his wife. "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away! O my dove…let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely" (Song  2:10 ). I know of no woman who wouldn't love to hear her...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia [O]f the three embryos that were implanted, all three took. We were faced with the news of triplets. I was shocked, knowing the burden that would entail, but since G-d gave us three, I was prepared to do whatever I needed to do to help, manage, and provide. My wife ? Something snapped. She insisted that we do a " selective reduction " from three to one, or else she would have a full abortion. She was adamant. She would not carry three. She would not carry two. I was presented with a Coventry -esque decision: save one, or save none. I chose the former, though I tried on several occasions to convince her to at least keep twins. I failed…. My mantra became "Save one, or save none." Before the procedure, my wife's eyes teared up; she asked the doctor over and over if they would feel pain, and was assured they would not. I asked again if my wife was sure about this because once done, it could not be undone. She said she...

Image via Wikipedia " Husbands , love your wives , even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." ( Ephesians 5:25 )   Much has been said in recent years regarding family roles and responsibilities. Suffice it to say that many either misapply or ignore what the Bible has to say. Perhaps the clearest passage on this subject is that surrounding our text ( vv. 21-33 ). Here we see, in a setting of "submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God " ( v. 21 ), that the primary role of the wife is that of submission to her husband's headship ( v. 22 ), and that of the husband is self- sacrificial love for his wife ( v. 25 ). Here we have the only formula for a marriage fulfilling to both.   Family relationships were given special attention at the time of the universal curse on mankind ( Genesis 3:16 ); thus the God -given family roles, while not impossible to achieve, run contrary to our natures. Obviously, we can't succeed on our own....