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.

Penal Substitution

I wrote a page on “penal substition” or the “substitutionary atonement” at Christian-history.org. However, because of the nature of my site, Christian History for Everyman, I included an exposition of the atonement from my perspective, which I hope was an … Continue reading

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Yeah, But …

My father-in-law has started sending out a “verse of the day” by email that is usually closer to a chapter a day. I wrote him and told him it was really good. Today, I got a good picture of why … Continue reading

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Authority of the Apostles in the Early Church

No written blog today. I wanted to share this video. This is a relatively comprehensive look at the early Christian understanding of the role and authority of the apostles, the source of the Scriptures, the role of tradition, the preservation … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Church, Gospel, History, Leadership, Modern Doctrines, Roman Catholic & Orthodox | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Revisiting Grace

I don’t mind revisiting the word “grace” as many times as necessary until it’s understood accurately in the mind of as many people as I can explain it to. “Grace” may be the most wonderful word in the Bible besides … Continue reading

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Rev. Louie Giglio

Anti-gay pastor Louie Giglio has decided not to speak at President Obama’s inauguration. That’s polite. I agree with his decision. What I wonder about is how you felt about my reference to Rev. Giglio as anti-gay. (And in some other … Continue reading

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The Eucharist and the Real Presence

I have never written, nor even attempted to write, a web page on the Eucharist (communion or Lord’s supper) in early Christian history. That is because I find the early Christian statements about the Eucharist to be too loose to … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Modern Doctrines, Roman Catholic & Orthodox | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Entertainment and Training in Overcoming Temptation

"I’m torn between the man I love and the man I am dangerously attracted to." We’re traveling, so we’re watching TV on occasion in our motel rooms, something we don’t get to do at home. An advertisement for some TV … Continue reading

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Plug for Restless Pilgrim

You may have noticed Restless Pilgrim’s comments on some of my posts. I pop over to his blog now and then and catch up on his posts. It’s always struck me as funny that he reads my blog at all. … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous, Roman Catholic & Orthodox | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Who Am I? Who Are You?

Today’s post is just a brief exhortation: Don’t forget who you are. In fact, make sure you know who you are! James 1:18 says, “By his own will he birthed us by the word of truth, so that we might … Continue reading

Posted in Evolution and Creation, Holiness, Miscellaneous | Tagged | 1 Comment

Perspective

Perspective Today I watched the movie, The Hobbit. It gave me a new perspective on perspective. Before I watched the related movie, The Lord of the Rings, I read a quote from the director, Peter Jackson. He said that whenever … Continue reading

Posted in Evolution and Creation, Miscellaneous, Roman Catholic & Orthodox | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment