I realize for some it will seem that I am trying to cover up the inherent inequality I have advocated with hand-waving about “beauty” and Jesus. I am sensible to the fact that comparison of husbands to masters and wives to servants requires at least one kind of inequality between the married couple.  This has bothered me for years. Why Read More

I interrupted my thoughts on the marriage relationship for an extended digression on authority because it seemed impossible to me to finish the thought without being seriously misunderstood. Expectations different from contemporary standards color the New Testament perspective  on authority and freedom in general. In contemporary discourse we tend to conflate a whole bunch of issues into anything touching on Read More

Authority, for my purpose, is the ability to direct the activities of another person in a way that they would not otherwise chose and in which they do not see any direct benefit (other than avoiding the consequences of disobeying). In this sense the reason for the authority (governmental, spiritual, or otherwise) is not relevant. But in many cases the Read More

In keeping with our great distinction between experts and despots, we make much sharper distinctions between different types of authority than was common in the culture of the New Testament (or Old Testament, for that matter). Consider these two passages from Matthew: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire Read More