Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Andy Naselli

Women and Head Coverings: Explaining and Applying 1 Corinthians 11:2–16

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This short article released today:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Women and Head Coverings: Explaining and Applying 1 Corinthians 11:2–16.” Christ Over All, 8 March 2023.

I answer three questions about 1 Corinthians 11:2–16:

  1. How does Paul argue?
  2. What is the historical-cultural context?
  3. How should we apply it today?
    • 1. Dress in culturally appropriate ways when the church gathers to worship.
    • 2. Recognize that God has designed men and women to relate to each other in different ways.
    • 3. Show that God’s design for husbands and wives is beautiful.

Related:

  1. Do Complementarians Consistently Apply How Paul Argues from Creation in 1 Cor 11:8–10 and 1 Tim 2:13–14?
  2. My Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians

Don’t Women Need Access to Abortion for Rape?

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I attempt to answer this question in a short article:

“Don’t Women Need Access to Abortion for Rape?” Christ Over All, 13 January 2023.

I present three arguments to consider:

  1. Appealing to rape is often a smokescreen to justify abortion on demand.
  2. What makes a human valuable is that God creates each human in his image.
  3. Murdering an unborn baby is unjust.

Related: “Thank God for the Overturn of Roe v. Wade”

Pornography: A Spiritual Pandemic

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Pornography was the topic in my ethics class this week. The fourth-year Master of Divinity (M.Div.) students surveyed various approaches to ethics at the beginning of the semester, and since then we’ve been studying and discussing various issues such as abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, contraception, divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, transgenderism, critical theory, ethnicity, war, genetic engineering, and the state. In our (justified) concern about prevailing ideologies in our culture, such as LGBT and critical theory, pornography can stay under the radar as a silent corrupter.

That’s the opening paragraph to a short essay I prepared for my school’s weekly prayer letter update yesterday (which I’d encourage you to subscribe to).

In the article I share what eleven students thought about one of the required readings for our class period: Joe Rigney’s More Than a Battle: How to Experience Victory, Freedom, and Healing from Lust.

Katie Luther: A Biographical Sketch by Jenni Naselli

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My wife gave a delightful 27-minute biographical sketch of Martin Luther’s wife, Katie, at the Godward Life Conference a month ago:

This was part of a session titled “Womanhood: Lost and Found.”

Where Do Human Rights Come From?

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I attempt to answer that question with help from Francis Schaeffer in this short article:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Chapter 2: Foundations for Faith and Morality.” Christ Over All, 7 October 2022.

The article is part of Christ Over All’s October theme: “A Christian Manifesto for the 21st Century.”

In 1981 Crossway published Francis Schaeffer’s A Christian Manifesto. In his analysis of church and culture, Schaeffer brought a word of prophetic warning to a church threatened by the rising tide of statism, or encroaching government control. Four decades later many of his concerns have been validated, and we will listen to and reflect upon this critical work.

Crossway Publishers is graciously providing a free PDF of Schaeffer’s A Christian Manifesto to readers of Christ Over All for the month of October.

Christ Over All is a new fellowship of pastor-theologians—including David Schrock, Steve Wellum, Trent Hunter, and Brad Green (good men!). More info here.

Justice: Divine, Imputed, Imparted, Public, and Ultimate

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I taught on justice in Bethlehem College and Seminary chapel last week: “Justice: Divine, Imputed, Imparted, Public, and Ultimate.”

Here’s the pocket definition of justice I work with in the talk:

Justice is (1) getting what you deserve and (2) giving others what they deserve.

Here’s the talk’s outline:

  1. Divine Justice: God’s Character
  2. Imputed Justice: Justification
  3. Imparted Justice: Progressive Sanctification
  4. Public Justice: Impartiality in Society
  5. Ultimate Justice: Final Judgment

Related:

  1. What the Bible Teaches about Ethnic Harmony
  2. Ten Resources That Have Helped Me Make Sense of Our Current Culture and How Christians Are Responding to It
  3. Thank God for the Overturn of Roe v. Wade
  4. My Two New Books on Romans: A Concise Commentary and an Annotated Phrase Diagram

How Should You Approach Apparent Contradictions between the Gospels?

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I attempt to answer that question in this article:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Harmony of the Gospels.” In The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2022.

Outline:

1. Presuppose That the Gospels Do Not Contradict Each Other

  • Reason 1: The Gospels Are God-breathed Scripture
  • Reason 2: The Gospels Are Historically Reliable

2. Understand Why the Gospels Have Apparent Contradictions

  • Reason 1: The Gospels Paraphrase and Interpret Events and Sayings
  • Reason 2: The Gospels Abbreviate and Omit Events and Sayings
  • Reason 3: The Gospels Reorder Events and Sayings
  • Reason 4: The Gospels Report Similar Events and Sayings

3. Compare the Gospel Accounts with Each Other, and Responsibly Discern How They Harmonize

4. Focus on Understanding Gospel Passages in Their Literary Context

Further Reading

My Two New Books on Romans: A Concise Commentary and an Annotated Phrase Diagram

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My two new books are on Romans:

Romans: A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written

Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

Naselli, Andrew David. Romans: A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022. [Available from Logos, Amazon, and Westminster Bookstore.]

Naselli, Andrew David. Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written. Bellingham, WA: Logos, 2022. [Available only electronically from Logos.]

Each book can stand on its own, but I designed the book with Logos to supplement the book with Crossway:

  • The book with Crossway is a concise commentary on Romans. It emphasizes tracing Paul’s argument, and I designed it for Bible study—alone or as a group. (See endorsements from my two favorite commentators on Romans—Doug Moo and Tom Schreiner—as well as Tim Challies and Abigail Dodds.)
  • The book with Logos is an annotated phrase diagram of Romans. An argument diagram graphically displays the text’s logical flow of thought by dividing up the text into propositions and phrases and then specifying how they logically relate to each other. It’s the most respectful and fruitful way I know of to take God’s words seriously. (I explain this method in chapter 5 of my book How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology.)

More:

  • Tim Challies reviews the book with Crossway (8/19/2022).
  • Matt Tully interviews me on “the greatest chapter of the Bible” for the Crossway podcast (8/22/2022).
  • Terence Tan reviews both books (10/2/2022).

Update: On 11/16/2022, I recorded some short videos for Crossway on Romans:

The Message of the Book of Romans in One Sentence (2:39 min.)

Why Did the Apostle Paul Write the Book of Romans (1:47 min.)

I’ve Heard It Said, “Once Saved, Always Saved” (2:54 min. | transcript)

I’ve Heard It Said, “God Will Accept Me Because I Know I’m a Good Person” (2:21 min. | transcript)