Tag Archives: apostles

May Women SPEAK in Church?

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May Women SPEAK in Church? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 3:34pm QUESTION: In view of 1 Timothy 2:12, are women forbidden to serve communion in a church service? Is a female song leader allowed? Can a woman lead prayers in a church service? Does this verse not say that a woman must “remain quiet”? Does not 1 Cor. 14:34 say that “women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak”? ANSWER: Here I have combined several questions into one, namely, what limitations does the New Testament place upon women’s … Continue reading →

Should the Emblems of the Lord’s Supper Be Taken by Christians Only?

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Should the Emblems of the Lord’s Supper Be Taken by Christians Only? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, April 2, 2010 at 10:09am QUESTION: Our small group has been discussing communion, and what it means when we partake of the Lord’s Supper each week. We were always taught that you do not partake of communion until you are a baptized believer. Does that come from Scripture or from tradition? Does “partaking in a worthy manner” (1 Cor. 11:27) mean that you must first be able to understand baptism and its meaning? ANSWER: I take it that your main question is … Continue reading →

Does 1 Cor. 2:14 Support Calvinism?

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Does 1 Cor. 2:14 Support Calvinism? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 4:37pm QUESTION: What is your exegetical take on 1 Cor. 2:14? This is a favorite Calvinist proof text, as you know. Do you believe “psuchikos” [“natural”] is about nonbelievers or carnal Christians? What is the overall point of the passage? ANSWER: 1 Cor. 2:14-16 (NASB) reads, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, … Continue reading →

Why We Need the Church (III)

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Why We Need the Church (III) by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 4:40pm THE ISSUE: Why is the church necessary? Why is membership in a local church necessary? Here I am continuing a theme from two previous notes which were titled “Is It Necessary To Be a Member of a Local Church?” I and II. In those notes my answer was YES. Here the answer is still YES, but I have changed the title somewhat because I am looking at the concept of “need” in a different light. Here I am saying that we need the … Continue reading →

Sunday: The Church’s Special Day

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Sunday: The Church’s Special Day by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 8:41pm SOMEONE HAS ASKED, “How do we get Sunday as a holy day?” I.e., why do we keep Sunday as the church’s special day, rather than Saturday? And why should the church gather for corporate worship on Sunday, rather than on Friday or Saturday? Is there something special about Sunday? MY ANSWER: Sunday is indeed the church’s special day, and has been so since Jesus arose from the dead. This is so because world history is divided into two main epochs, the dividing point being … Continue reading →

More on the Christological Fallacy

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More on the Christological Fallacy by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 3:10pm I. HERE ARE REFERENCES to the Christological fallacy taken from my systematic theology, “The Faith Once for All.” The first is from the section on “The Normative Source for Theology” (pp. 24-25): The WHOLE Bible is our norm for theology, and not just the life and teachings of Jesus. It was never Jesus’ purpose simply to be a source and norm for truth, knowledge, ethics, or theology. The main purpose of Christ’s incarnation and work was to redeem mankind from sin through the atonement … Continue reading →

Faith and Reason

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Faith and Reason by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 9:21am Someone asked in a post, “Do you believe faith is independent of reason?” I answered thus: NO — the separation of faith and reason is a myth. You exercise faith EVERY TIME you accept someone else’s word about something, whether it be your doctor, your friend, the newspaper, a politician, or apostles. That is the ESSENCE of faith. But we must always ask, WHY should I accept another person’s word about anything? This is where reason enters. We should never accept someone’s word without adequate evidence–even … Continue reading →