Author Archives: Paul Pavao

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About Paul Pavao

I am married, the father of six, and currently the grandfather of five. I teach, and I am always trying to learn to disciple others better than I have before. I believe God has gifted me to restore proper theological foundations to the Christian faith. In order to ensure that I do not become a heretic, I read the early church fathers from the second and third centuries. They were around when all the churches founded by the apostles were in unity. My philosophy for Bible reading is to understand each verse for exactly what it says in its local context. Only after accepting the verse for what it says do I compare it with other verses to develop my theology. If other verses seem to contradict a verse I just read, I will wait to say anything about those verses until I have an explanation that allows me to accept all the verses for what they say. This takes time, sometimes years, but eventually I have always been able to find something that does not require explaining verses away. The early church fathers have helped a lot with this. I argue and discuss these foundational doctrines with others to make sure my teaching really lines up with Scripture. I am encouraged by the fact that the several missionaries and pastors that I know well and admire as holy men love the things I teach. I hope you will be encouraged too. I am indeed tearing up old foundations created by tradition in order to re-establish the foundations found in Scripture and lived on by the churches during their 300 years of unity.

Evangelism and World Missions

There is a problem with our emphasis on evangelism. It is not the evangelism that is the problem. It is what we are skipping along the way! When I suggest what is obvious in Scripture, that “the Great Commission” was … Continue reading

Posted in Evangelicals | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Church, Part IV: Speaking to One Another

Let’s move from theory to some real practical matters. I want to work with two passages of Scripture today. I’m going to list them, and then I’m just going to refer back to what they say without referencing them a … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Teachings that must not be lost | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Church, Part III

I had a plan for something much less sloppy in covering teachings that must not be lost. Apparently God did not share the same plans. Maybe by looking at Jesus’ church circumspectly, from several possible angles, we can paint a … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Church, Protestants, Roman Catholic & Orthodox, Teachings that must not be lost, Unity | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Liturgy and “The Church”

I promise I will get back to teachings that must not be lost, but I’ve been on a trip. I need to get in a blog, and there’s nothing like a good Roman Catholic apologist to stir me up to … Continue reading

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I’m Catholic Now!

It only recently dawned on me that I have been trying to be “catholic” since the time I became a Christian. With a lot of hesitation, I am ready to announce that I … no, we … have arrived. I’ve … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Protestants, Roman Catholic & Orthodox | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

In the Name of Jesus

I have heard several definitions of what it means to pray “in the name of Jesus.” I have heard even more of what it means to baptize in the name of Jesus. I want to suggest that we don’t need … Continue reading

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On the Petrine Primacy

I’m sending you to another post from Mr. Theophiletos. This post is more on the subject of Peter than the pope, but it touches on the pope, of course. I’m reposting because I find it an excellent example of thinking … Continue reading

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The Argument from (Dis-)Similarity

Originally posted on Finite Reflections of Infinity:
Will the real Church please stand up?  Go to a phone directory of any moderately sized settlement and see if the listings for “churches” don’t rapidly get bewildering.  Indeed, such an exercise is often…

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The Law of Moses and the Sabbath for Christians

I addressed a question concerning the Sabbath on the Christian History for Everyman Facebook page. It’s short compared to most of my blog posts, but very long for a Facebook post. If that’s a topic that interests or puzzles you, … Continue reading

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Climate Change, Antarctic Ice Sheets, Honesty, and News

I get very frustrated with climate change news stories. Don’t get me wrong, I believe climate change is real, and I think we are causing it. Nonetheless, the reason people reject news of climate change so vehemently is because the … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Evolution, Miscellaneous, Unity | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment