What2Say2Day? Let me first say that seminary is not an easy thing to get through, especially if you were raised to believe the bible says what it says and there's no changing its meaning. You see, in seminary we actually learn the meaning which may or may not be the same as what one has been told to believe.
The Apostle Paul has always been my favorite writer. I found his letters full of passion and an understanding of what "church" is supposed to be like. There were problems in my understanding some of the things Paul said because there were a few phrases that didn't go along with his overall message of acceptance without restrictions. So imagine my surprising sense of comfort when it was suggested that not all letters attributed to Paul are actually written by him. There may also be a strong possibility that some of the "authentic" letters may have been edited and/or combinations of letters written by Paul.
Well, that sure does explain a lot, at least to me it did. Suddenly it all made sense. In his article, Let Women Be Silent In The Churches, Robert W. Allison focuses on 2 and a half verses in 1 Corinthians. I ask you to read 14:26-40 and leave out 33b-36. Then read 26-40 again with the previously excluded verses. Which one makes more sense to you?
I'm not going to profess to be a New Testament or a Pauline scholar. All I'm saying is to trust that inner instinct that says, "maybe, just maybe" and to follow your heart, listen to how God is talking to us today through the words of the forefathers of our beliefs and make choices that feel right.
Eschatological Egalitarianism. Paul's theology that in the new world we will all be equal in each other's eyes, just as we are in God's.
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