Category Archives: History

Easter or Resurrection Day? … Or Neither?

Posted on 03/29/2013 by Paul Pavao

It doesn’t take much insight to realize that colored eggs and the Easter bunny have nothing to do with the original reason for “Easter.” It takes a little research to find out that the word Easter comes from the name … Continue reading →

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Leave Those Christians Alone!

Posted on 02/22/2013 by Paul Pavao

Back when I was first diagnosed with leukemia, I thought, “I’m going to trust God. I’m going to live by the grace of God, go through chemotherapy counting it all joy to have fallen into this trial, and be a … Continue reading →

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Women Pastors & “Course of Performance”

Posted on 02/20/2013 by Paul Pavao

One of the best arguments for knowing the common, widespread teachings of the second-century Christians is a legal term: “Course of Performance.” LegalDictionary.com defines it this way: Evidence of the conduct of parties concerning the execution of obligations under a … Continue reading →

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Fulfilling the Law (Matthew 5:17)

Posted on 02/19/2013 by Paul Pavao

One of the more controversial verses in the apostles’ writings is Matthew 5:17: Do not thing that I came to abolish [kataluo: to dissolve, disunite, destroy, demolish, overthrow, render vain, bring to naught, subvert] the Law or the prophets. I … Continue reading →

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Fall of the Church?

Posted on 02/12/2013 by Paul Pavao

I got an email from someone that objects to my describing “the fall of the church.” At least, I think that’s what his email was about. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. What I do know is that he offered several … Continue reading →

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Authority of the Apostles in the Early Church

Posted on 01/20/2013 by Paul Pavao

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

How We Got Our New Testament

Posted on 12/01/2012 by Paul Pavao

I have written on this subject before, but this time I want to approach it backwards. Rather than explain and defend my viewpoint, which is that the 27 books which make up our “New Testament” were chosen for one reason … Continue reading →

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Are We Bible Believers?

Posted on 09/27/2012 by Paul Pavao

U.S. Christians make a lot of claims about being "Bible believers," but mostly they are Bible praisers. They honor and say wonderful things about the Bible, but they really don’t pay much attention to what it says unless it agrees … Continue reading →

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The Five-fold Ministry

Posted on 09/18/2012 by Paul Pavao

I don’t really like the terminology: "Five-fold ministry." However, I can see why it’s used, since five particular gifts are mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-12 as being tasked with the job of perfecting the saints for the work of ministry and … Continue reading →

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Through the Bible: Genesis 1:1-2

Posted on 09/18/2012 by Paul Pavao

Well, this is way out of order, isn’t it! Genesis 1 was not next on the list! I am going to get back to Isaiah. Today, however, I was reading Augustine’s The Literal Meaning of Genesis, a 1600-year old book, … Continue reading →

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