Paul begins his letter to the Romans by introducing himself: Παῦλος δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ, “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle set apart for the gospel of God ….” One would think that this would be a rather difficult verse to misinterpret, but nearly anything is possible [...] Read more »
A Bald Man, Two Bears, and Forty-two “Children”: Misinterpreted Bible Passages #6
It’s been awhile since the last installment of this series (lots more to come), but this one should be fairly straightforward. 2 Kings 2:23–24 tells of the prophet Elisha calling a curse down upon a group of “children” (KJV), “youths” (NIV), “boys,” (NRSV/ESV), or “lads” (NASB), resulting in two bears (she-bears, if you must) mauling [...] Read more »
“The Signs of the Times”: Misinterpreted Bible Passages #5
International strife, wars, rumors of wars, famines, and pestilence are not the "signs of the times." In fact, Jesus warns his disciples against being alarmed by these things or thinking they signal the end times. Amazingly, Jesus' words have been read to mean almost exactly the opposite of what he actually said. Read more »
“That day will come like a thief”: Misinterpreted Bible Passages #4
You've probably heard about how Jesus will return without warning, "like a thief in the night." But did you know this only refers to the unfaithful being surprised by the return, while Paul says Christians should not be taken by surprise? Read more »
“Judge not, lest you be judged”: Misinterpreted Bible Passages #3
*If new to this series, please see the introduction.* Today we address one of the most quoted and most commonly misinterpreted passages in the Bible, a verse usually cited to mean that people shouldn’t judge one another but meaning something entirely different: Matthew 7:1–2 Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε· ἐν ᾧ γὰρ κρίματι κρίνετε κριθήσεσθε, [...] Read more »