Tough texts 1 Cor 11:3/Eph 5:23 – ‘Kephale’: ‘head’? ‘source’? ‘foremost’? 1 Corinthians 14:34 – ‘Women should be silent in the churches’ 1 Corinthians 15:28 – ‘The Son himself will be subjected to [God]’ 1 Corinthians 15:29 – ‘Baptized for the dead’ 1 Corinthians 15:44 – ‘Raised a spiritual body’ 1 Corinthians 7:14 – Sanctified spouses, holy children 1 Kings 20:30 – ‘The wall collapsed on 27,000 of them’ 1 Peter 3:18-20 – Christ and the spirits in prison 1 Thessalonians 2:14f – ‘The Jews, who killed Jesus’ 1 Timothy 2:15 – ‘Saved through child-bearing’ 1 Timothy 2:4 – ‘God wants all people to be saved’ 1 Timothy 4:10 – ‘The Saviour of all people’ 2 Corinthians 5:21 – ‘God made Christ to be sin for us’ 2 Peter 3:9 – ‘The Lord wishes all to come to repentance’ 2 Sam 24:1, 1 Chron 21:1 – Who incited David? Acts 5:1-11 – Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5:34-37 – a (minor) historical inaccuracy? Colossians 1:19f – Universal reconciliation? Daniel 7:13 – ‘Coming with the clouds of heaven’ Ephesians 1:10 – ‘The fullness of the times’ Ephesians 5:21 – ‘Submit to one another’ Exodus – Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Exodus 12:37 – How many Israelites left Egypt? Galatians 3:17 – How much later? Galatians 3:28 – ‘Neither male nor female’ Galatians 6:16 – The Israel of God Galatians 6:2 – ‘The law of Christ’ Genesis 1:26 – Why a plural name for God? Genesis 22 – “Abraham, kill your son” Genesis 3 – traditional and revisionist readings Genesis 3:16b – ‘Your desire shall be for your husband’ Genesis 5 – the ages of the antedeluvians Genesis 6-8 – A worldwide flood? Genesis 6:1f – ‘The sons of God’ Hebrews 12:1 – Who are these witnesses? Hebrews 6:4-6 – Who are these people? Isaiah 7:14/Matthew 1:23 – “The virgin will conceive” John 1:1 – ‘The Word was God’ John 14:12 – ‘Greater deeds’ John 14:6 – “No one comes to the Father except through me” John 2:12 – Did Mary bear other children? John 2:6 – symbol or history? John 20:21 – “Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” John 21:11 – One hundred and fifty three fish John 3:16f – What is meant by ‘the world’? John 4:44 – ‘His own country’ John 7:40-44 – Did John know about Jesus’ birthplace? John 7:53-8:11 – The woman caught in adultery Jonah – history or fiction? Joshua 10 – Joshua’s ‘long day’ Joshua 6 – the fall of Jericho Jude 7 – ‘Unnatural desire’ Judges 19:11-28 – The priest and the concubine Luke 2 – Was Joseph from Nazareth, or Bethlehem? Luke 2:14 – ‘On earth peace, Good will toward men’ Luke 2:1f – Quirinius and ‘the first registration’ Luke 2:7 – ‘No room at the inn’ Luke 2:8 – Shepherds: a despised class? Luke 4:16-19 – An incomplete quotation? Luke 7:2 – ‘Highly valued servant’ or ‘gay lover’? Mark 1:41 – ‘Compassion’, or ‘anger/indignation’? Mark 12:41-44/Luke 21:1-4 – ‘The widow’s mite’ Mark 2:25f – ‘When Abiathar was high priest’ Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10 – The unpardonable sin Mark 4:31 – ‘The smallest of all the seeds’? Mark 6:45 – ‘To Bethsaida’ Matthew 10:23 – ‘Before the Son of Man comes’ Matthew 11:12 – Forceful entry, or violent opposition, to the kingdom? Matthew 12:40 – Three days and three nights Matthew 16:18 – Peter the rock? Matthew 18:10 – What about ‘guardian angels’? Matthew 18:20 – ‘Where two or three are gathered…’ Matthew 2:1 – ‘Magi from the east’ Matthew 2:23 – ‘Jesus would be called a Nazarene’ Matthew 2:8f – Can God speak through astrology? Matthew 21:7 – One animal or two? Matthew 25:40 – ‘These brothers of mine’ Matthew 27:46/Mark 15:34 – Jesus’ cry of dereliction Matthew 27:52f – Many bodies raised? Matthew 5:21f – Did Jesus reject the Old Testament? Matthew 7:16,20 – ‘You will recognise them by their fruit’ Matthew 8:28 – Gadara or Gerasa? Matthew 8:5/Luke 7:3 – Who asked Jesus to help? Matthew 8:5/Luke 7:7 – son? servant? male lover? Mt 1:1-17 and Lk 3:23-38 – the genealogies of Jesus Mt 15:21-28/Mk 7:24-30 – Jesus and the Canaanite woman Mt 24:34/Mk 13:30 – ‘This generation will not pass away’ Philippians 2:10 – ‘The name that is above every name’ Psalm 105:15 – ‘Touch not my anointed’ Psalm 137:8f – ‘Happy is he who dashes your infants against the rocks’ Revelation 7:4 – The 144,000 Rom 3:22; Gal 2:16 – faith in, or faithfulness of Christ? Rom 7:24 – Who is the ‘wretched man’? Romans 1:18 – Wrath: personal or impersonal? Romans 1:5 – ‘The obedience of faith’ The Parable of the Sower – return from exile? When did Jesus cleanse the Temple?