40
votes
Why might Paul emphasize FOUR spatial dimensions when describing the love of Christ (Eph. 3:18)?
Paul didn't take analytic geometry. People in his day would look at spatial dimensions based on how they would measure them, not on a coordinate system. They could measure length all at once, and ...
- 21.8k
32
votes
Accepted
Why does Acts not mention the deaths of Peter and Paul?
The simplest answer--by far--is that Peter & Paul were still living when Acts was written. These two men (arguably along with James the Lord's brother) are the main characters of the book of Acts, ...
- 18.2k
20
votes
Is it appropriate to translate Galatians 3:21 as "If a law had been given"?
The OP questions the validity of the article "a" in English versions given the lack of a corresponding word in Greek. I will argue that "a law" is indeed an accurate translation.
There is no ...
- 26.7k
15
votes
Accepted
What are the oldest known records of interpretation agreeing with New Perspective on Paul?
1977 and All That
There is a clear consensus marking the starting point of the "New Perspective on Paul" -- it was the landmark publication of E.P. Sanders' Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison ...
- 24.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Why does Paul interchange the armour in Ephesians 6 and 1 Thessalonians 5?
The two passages have slightly different contexts.
Paul is writing to the Thessalonians in Chapter 5:1ff on the need to remain watchful because one does not know when the Lord will return (... the day ...
- 12.5k
11
votes
Why does Acts not mention the deaths of Peter and Paul?
It is not true that most scholars date the Book of Acts to after 80 AD. The majority of scholars date the composition of Acts to the period between the late 50s and mid-60s AD, with a minority dating ...
- 12.5k
10
votes
Does the sower and the planter receive different rewards in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8?
Don't stretch the metaphors too much. While other passages such as 1 Timothy 5:17 do indicate that the ministry of some people is of a higher status than others, what Paul is saying here in 1 ...
- 3,011
10
votes
Does Calling the Son "Theos" prove his Prexistence and his Deity?
As Nigel's excellent comment points out, some of the Greek text used for our translations today has been tampered with. The word "son" was exchanged for "God" in the Greek, and ...
- 5,067
9
votes
Accepted
What evidence is there the writer of Revelation was aware of the apostle Paul?
Strong Circumstantial Evidence
Assume for a moment that the author of Revelation is not John the Apostle (my view is that the Apostle did), even though history argues for the Apostle being so and a ...
- 20.2k
9
votes
2 Timothy 2:13 - Impossibility for God?
1. Question Restatement:
If God really is "All Powerful", then why can't he deny himself? Or, is 2 Timothy 2:13 actually saying that God "will/would not" deny himself - even ...
- 5,417
9
votes
Accepted
Why do the NLT translators say "demons" (Rom 8:38)?
NLT translation philosophy is the following (quote from NLT Bible Introduction, emphases mine):
The translators of the New Living Translation set out to render the message of the original texts of ...
- 3,357
9
votes
Where does Moses say the things which Paul attributes to him in Acts 26:22-23?
First, "Moses and the prophets", or sometimes, "the Law of Moses and the prophets", is a common hendiadys meaning what we now call the OT Hebrew scriptures. John 1:45, Luke 16:29, ...
- 113k
8
votes
What are the oldest known records of interpretation agreeing with New Perspective on Paul?
(Note: I am answering this question at the request of another user, made here.)
The "New" Perspective on Paul
The New Perspective on Paul is really a whole collection of overlapping and sometimes ...
- 513
8
votes
Accepted
Do Jesus and Paul share the same doctrine of salvation?
On this very point (Romans 10:9 aorists) Mounce (regarding one-time confessions) says :
If we cease to confess and if we cease to believe, then we can no longer legitimately be called Christians, ...
- 32.3k
8
votes
Why is the phrase 'not being myself under the law' missing in 1 Corinthians 9:20 in the KJV?
The KJV is translated from the Textus Receptus from the Greek texts of the Computensian Polyglot, from Erasmus, from Beza 1598 and Stephanus 1550.
Professor Frederick Scrivener, in 1881, produced a ...
- 32.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Why is the phrase 'not being myself under the law' missing in 1 Corinthians 9:20 in the KJV?
The phrase in question from the Greek is μὴ ὢν αὐτὸς ὑπὸ νόμον = not being myself under the law.
The MSS that include this phrase include (dates in brackets):
P46(200), 01(350), 02(V), 03(IV), 04(V), ...
- 113k
8
votes
Why might Paul emphasize FOUR spatial dimensions when describing the love of Christ (Eph. 3:18)?
This is quintessential Hebrew idiom based on multiple hyperbole. Paul is trying to convey the matchless riches of God's love and grace and struggles to find words to express it. He uses three ...
- 113k
8
votes
Accepted
Cretans are always liars?
Epimenides was himself a Cretan who was born in Knossos and died on the island. Apparently he lived in a cave that was sacred to Zeus. I visited that cave almost 40 years ago and was impressed by ...
- 9,198
8
votes
What does Paul mean by 'another Jesus'? 2 Cor 11:4
Paul is not saying to watch out for a person coming along claiming to be Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He is saying to watch out for false teaching ABOUT Jesus Christ, the Messiah. False teaching about ...
- 27.4k
8
votes
Accepted
Where does this quote in Romans 2:24 come from?
The quote comes from Isaiah 52:5 which reads in the NKJV as
Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD, “That My people are
taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail,” says
...
- 3,538
8
votes
Someone who could have considered Paul a false witness of Christ's resurrection and for what reasons?
We need to follow through the logic of the argument.
Paul and the other disciples have been witnessing that Christ rose from the dead (vv1-11).
So IF (and only if) Christ did NOT rise from the dead, ...
- 7,033
8
votes
Did Paul assert the status of his own writings as scripture when he declared in 2 Timothy 3:16 that "All scripture is God-breathed"?
Did Paul intend to convey the idea that his own writings possessed the same divine authority as scripture when he stated that "All scripture is God-breathed"?
I don't see any scriptural ...
- 168
7
votes
Accepted
How many times was the apostle Paul in a prison in Rome?
There are many published 'timelines' of Paul's missionary journeys and imprisonments. Paul was brought before Caesar, first. We see him under house arrest at the end of Acts waiting for his trial.
Set ...
- 32.3k
7
votes
Does Paul mention anywhere in his own writings his encounter with Jesus and his coming to belief in the gospel?
Short version: Paul tells us the same basic story: he was persecuting Christians in Jerusalem, he was sent to Damascus, he was converted, he left Damascus, and he went to Arabia before going to see ...
- 1,609
7
votes
How does the whole creation groan according to Romans 8:22-23?
Everything in creation is subject to decay or entropy. Nothing is permanent in creation. Everything in creation has an end.
For the present form of this world is passing away.
(1 Cor. 7:31, ESV)
...
- 21.8k
7
votes
Accepted
How did Paul became a Roman citizen?
Paul was born a Roman citizen:
And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this
freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born (Acts 22:28).
This means that a) Paul's father was a ...
- 18.2k
7
votes
Galatians 4:14. Paul says that Jesus is Angel of the Lord?
Since the Pauline corpus differentiates between the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the angels, giving to the first a greater, in fact divine honour, in comparison to the first (Hebrews 1:5), and even ...
- 11.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Is Romans 3:10 a quote from the Septuagint?
For Psalms 14 & 53 as a whole, mostly "yes"
A few opening thoughts:
Yes, it does seem like he is using or borrowing from the Septuagint in particular.
Yes, it seems to be a kind of quote/...
- 2,084
6
votes
Accepted
Why does Paul go to the Synagogues when he was supposed to go to the gentiles
Your are pre-supposing that a Paul was supposed to only go to the gentiles. You are saying Jesus told Paul he was an apostle to the gentiles. He was according to ‘theology’ the apostle to the gentiles ...
- 8,246
6
votes
how can we infer/induce/deduce that ( 2 Corinthians 6:14 ) bible verse's use of "yoked"/ "bound" / "close association" does refer to marriage?
The verb in 2 Cor 6:14 is ἑτεροζυγέω (heterozugeó) is a hapex legomenon. In this verse, according to BDAG, it means:
draft animals that need different kinds of yokes because they are
different ...
- 113k
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