Gay Marriage: Analysis Of Newsweek's Article
Post 1: The Beginning
Post 2: Journalistic Integrity
Post 3: Bible And Marriage
Post 4: Homosexuality and the Bible
Post 5: Remaining Issues
Dr. Darrell Bock is Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He also is Professor for Spiritual Development and Culture there. He is an Editor at Large for Christianity Today and is a Past President of the Evangelical Theological Society (2000-2001). He is the author of over twenty books and is a New York Times Best Selling author. He has been blogging on this site since May, 2006.
I'd just comment that Paul doesn't go into detail concerning the historicity of Jesus because it was already assumed by his audience. Paul was not a historian or an apologist in our modern conception of the term-
As Ben Witherington said:
"he was a pastoral theologian called upon to deal with matters of theological weight and direct bearing on the issues which arose in the churches." [Ben Witherington, III “Christology” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, (InterVarsity, 1993), 109.]
It takes a modern low context mindset to ask that Paul would have in his ancient high context culture include details that were simply not necessary to record. It seems that those of the hyper-skeptical persuasion cannot help but to read Paul's epistles anachronistically.
Oh, and I'd also point out that 90% of Paul's use of the title 'kyrios' (lord) is in reference to Jesus -- it would be special pleading to suggest that Paul could possibly be speaking of 'the Lord God' [the Father] when he mentions the Lord who was crucified. The context of 1Corinthians is far from ambiguous on the referent.
B"H