There are times in dealing with Scripture, or any other literature for that matter, when apparent contradictions can be cleared up only if you decide which statement must be the basic premise or principle, and which is a local or short-term adaptation.
Consider, for instance, the various New Testament passages dealing with women, and their role in marriage and in the church. On the one hand, we have passages that seem to place women in a subordinate, or even inferior, position to husbands/men, and others that appear to argue for full equality. How does one reconcile this?
If women are in some sense fundamentally subordinate or inferior to men, then Paul's assertion that in Christ there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Greek (i.e., Gentile), slave nor free (Galatians 3:26-28) is nonsensical. But we know that Paul treated Jews and Gentiles as equals, as did Peter once his views on this were clarified by God. Similarly Paul told slave-owner Philemon to receive his runaway slave Onesimus, who had become a follower of Christ via Paul's preaching, as if he were Paul himself. Paul even said that having the slave to help him in his ministry was equal to having the owner (Philemon 1:12-17), calling Onesimus a partner.
Let's assume, then, that Paul considered women to be co-equals with men in every aspect of church and family life. There are certainly examples of this in his various letters:
1. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4
3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.
2. Philippians 4:1-4
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! 2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
3. Romans 16:3-7
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
Note in the two latter passages that St. Paul refers to three women--Euodia, Syntyche, and Priscilla--as co-workers in the same way as he does men such as Clement and Aquila. And Junia (the older English versions render the name in the masculine form--Junius) is called an apostle!
If my understanding of biblical teaching of full equality is true, it is much easier to understand Paul's statements in other places that women ought to do this or that in ways that suggest subordination. We see the apostle, in other contexts, make such temporary, local, and cultural adaptations at times for longer-term gain, such as his different treatment of the rite of circumcision for the Jew, Timothy, versus the Gentile, Titus, both close Christian workers and friends of Paul's.
But enough of this. What I want to do now is to see if it can be similarly argued that there is not an inherent contradiction between the biblical declaration that "God is not willing that any should perish" and "Fear God, who can kill the body and the soul, and then cast you into Hell.
Consider, for instance, the various New Testament passages dealing with women, and their role in marriage and in the church. On the one hand, we have passages that seem to place women in a subordinate, or even inferior, position to husbands/men, and others that appear to argue for full equality. How does one reconcile this?
Let's assume, then, that Paul considered women to be co-equals with men in every aspect of church and family life. There are certainly examples of this in his various letters:
1. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4
3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.
2. Philippians 4:1-4
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! 2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
3. Romans 16:3-7
Note in the two latter passages that St. Paul refers to three women--Euodia, Syntyche, and Priscilla--as co-workers in the same way as he does men such as Clement and Aquila. And Junia (the older English versions render the name in the masculine form--Junius) is called an apostle!
If my understanding of biblical teaching of full equality is true, it is much easier to understand Paul's statements in other places that women ought to do this or that in ways that suggest subordination. We see the apostle, in other contexts, make such temporary, local, and cultural adaptations at times for longer-term gain, such as his different treatment of the rite of circumcision for the Jew, Timothy, versus the Gentile, Titus, both close Christian workers and friends of Paul's.
But enough of this. What I want to do now is to see if it can be similarly argued that there is not an inherent contradiction between the biblical declaration that "God is not willing that any should perish" and "Fear God, who can kill the body and the soul, and then cast you into Hell.
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