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.

Read Through the Bible in a Year (with Commentary)

We will begin our plan to read through the Bible in a year with Genesis chapters one through five. For the rest of this week: Tuesday, Jan. 3: chapters 6 to 11 Wednesday, Jan. 4: chapters 12 to 15 Thursday, … Continue reading

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Who Was the First Pope?

Today I was asked: When did the Roman Catholic church appear as it is today? Here’s my answer: When the Roman Catholic Church appeared “as it is today” depends on what is meant by “as it is today.” The first … Continue reading

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What’s the Best Denomination?

I got a question by email today that I think fits perfectly with what I’ve been discussing on this blog. The question reads like this: Another question that I have had is, after studying early church history what denomination or … Continue reading

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Early Christian Meetings

I was asked about early Christian meetings in an email, and I thought that more of you would be interested in what the meetings of the early church were like. Here’s where to find more on the early church meetings. … Continue reading

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There’s a Goal! Tearing Down Is for Building Up!

I’m realizing from a discussion I’m having with Restless Pilgrim that to many people I seem like I’m against a lot of things rather than for one thing. Here’s my goal: That Christians would walk together, full of mercy to … Continue reading

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The Local Church and the Magisterium

Yesterday, Restless Pilgrim suggested (correctly) that my answer left "intimate fellowships" as deciding the correct interpretation of Scripture. I wanted to elevate my response from a comment to a post. Note that the purpose of the Scriptures is to equip … Continue reading

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The Magisterium and the Protestant Reformation, Part 3

More responses to the Catholic Encyclopedia’s article, Teaching Authority and Living Magisterium. Definition of "magisterium" from yesterday’s post: The magisterium is the self-assigned and self-acknowledged “teaching authority” of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s a reference to whatever authority gets to … Continue reading

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The Magisterium and the Protestant Reformation, Part 2

More responses to the Catholic Encyclopedia’s article, Teaching Authority and Living Magisterium. Definition of "magisterium" from yesterday’s post: The magisterium is the self-assigned and self-acknowledged “teaching authority” of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s a reference to whatever authority gets to … Continue reading

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The Magisterium and the Protestant Reformation

I had never heard of the "magisterium"until I read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. He uses it to refer to the authorities of the church in his trilogy, which was written specifically as an attack on Christianity. (As usual, … Continue reading

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(What) Blessings to You?

I got a very nice email today ending with " … many blessings to you." I nicely sent back, "Blessings to you, too." What blessings? Sadly, we no longer know how to bless. We say things like, "Bless you." Bless … Continue reading

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