Paul Ellis's Blog, page 23

Jesus Listened to Women; Why don’t we?

This one is going out to all those who’ve told me they would never listen to a woman or follow a woman because it’s unbiblical, unseemly, or because women’s voices are too high-pitched. Take a breath, folks. Look at what Jesus did. Go and do likewise…

When Jesus walked the earth, gender inequality was so entrenched in Jewish society that an adulteress could be stoned without trial and men could divorce their wives for virtually any reason.

In a nation of God-fearing and moral men, women were co...

Jesus listened to women; why don’t we?

This one is going out to all those who’ve told me they would never listen to a woman or follow a woman because it’s unbiblical, unseemly, or because women’s voices are too high-pitched. Take a breath, folks. Look at what Jesus did. Go and do likewise… When Jesus walked the earth, gender inequality was so entrenched in Jewish society that an adulteress could be stoned without trial and men could divorce their wives for virtually any reason. In a nation of God-fearing and moral men, women were con...

What is the Purpose of the Law?

With apologies to the great Andrew Sachs, a.k.a. “Manuel”

Watchman Nee tells a wonderful story about a clumsy servant. As long as the servant sits still and does nothing, his clumsiness is not apparent. But the moment you ask him to serve, trouble begins. He knocks over furniture, drops plates, and makes a frightful mess. In Nee’s parable, we are the clumsy servant because

we are all sinners by nature. If God asks nothing of us, all seems to go well, but as soon as he demands something of us, th...

What is the purpose of the Law?

Watchman Nee tells a wonderful story about a clumsy servant. As long as the servant sits still and does nothing, his clumsiness is not apparent. But the moment you ask him to serve, trouble begins. He knocks over furniture, drops plates, and makes a frightful mess. In Nee’s parable, we are the clumsy servant because we are all sinners by nature. If God asks nothing of us, all seems to go well, but as soon as he demands something of us, the occasion is provided for a grand display of our sinfulne...

Last chance to get your name in Paul’s book

Next week.

That’s when you could be reading a copy of my new book, The Silent Queen. But that can only happen if you are signed up as a patron by the end of this week.

What others are saying about The Silent Queen:

“I loved this book, and I learned heaps from it. I know you will too! You might even get set free as a result of reading it!” – Lyn Packer, author of Daughters of Eve

“Brilliant! Amen! Yes!” – Jami Amerine, author of Well, Girl

“A delight to read. Insightful, intelligent, and thoroug...

Is the church too feminine?

I have been blown away by the positive response to my forthcoming book, The Silent Queen: Why the Church Needs Women to find their Voice.

Although the book doesn’t come out until Christmas, I thought you’d might like a taste now. The following article has been cut from the Introduction…

Women arriving at the tomb, by He Qi

Since its inception, the church has championed the rights of women. It has done this by opposing polygamy, incest, and underage marriage; promoting women’s education; caring f...

First look at Paul’s new book (and how to get your name in it!)

Here is the world’s first glimpse of the cover of my new book:

Like it?

The Silent Queen: Why the Church Needs Women to Find their Voice, is my first proper book in two years.

And if you act fast, your name could be in it!

What’s the book about?

It’s about how God has given every one of us a story, a song, or a message that the world needs to hear. But if you are denied the opportunity to share your gift, your light will not shine as bright as God intended.

In The Silent Queen, I confront the l...

Submission doesn’t mean what you think it means

Image: Pixabay

Bad theology hurts women. Sometimes it even kills them.

In his book Ten Lies the Church Tells Women, Lee Grady tells the story of a woman called Doris who suffered through an abusive marriage. Doris’s husband, the head deacon at their church, would sometimes come home from work in a rage and physically assault his wife.

For a long time, Doris said nothing. But after the violence began to escalate, she turned to their pastor for help.

“He’s your husband,” said the pastor. “You can’...

Who submits in marriage?

When Camilla and I were writing our wedding vows, my future wife told me that she had a problem with the word submit. We had dug up some traditional vows based on Ephesians 5:22: “I promise to love, cherish and submit to my husband as to the Lord.”

“I’m not going to say that,” said Camilla.

I didn’t really think she would. Danish women are fiercely independent. They don’t submit to anyone anywhere.

In the end, we opted for a watered-down version of that passage. But if we were to redo our vows ...

6 awesome things that will happen when Christ returns

Judging by the number of books written on the subject, we ought to be able to predict Christ’s return down to the minute, but the fact is nobody knows the hour or day. Jesus could return before the end of the year, or he might return after you have died of ripe old age. Only God knows.

From time to time a wave of paranoia sweeps over social media regarding the imminent end of the world and the physical return of King Jesus. Y2K. Mayan calendars. Planets aligning and blood moons. Pandemics and Pr...