Why Paul Still Matters: Reclaiming the Revolutionary Voice of a Misunderstood Apostle - w/ Dr. Timothy Gombis

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 June 2019

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Recovering Paul’s radical gospel for today’s church, Mike Erre sits down with Pauline scholar Dr. Timothy Gombis for an honest and theologically rich conversation that peels back cultural assumptions and reexamines the complexities—and power—of Paul’s letters. From ancient household codes to modern questions about gender, race, power, and sexuality, Mike and Dr. Gombis explore how Paul’s vision of Christ-shaped community invites us into a radically inclusive, justice-seeking, cruciform way of life.

Key Takeaways:
• Reframing Paul’s Letters – How misreadings shaped by evangelical subcultures distort Paul’s intent on topics like women, sex, slavery, and sin.
• Household Codes as Subversion – Understanding how Paul uses Roman structures not to uphold, but to radically counter, systems of power and honor through a Jesus-centered ethic.
• Cross-Shaped Discipleship – How Philippians 2 models a life of relinquishing privilege and embracing others in humility, community, and solidarity.
• White Privilege and Christlikeness – How a posture of listening, repentance, and mutuality allows privileged Christians to walk in the way of Christ's self-emptying love.
• Hospitality over Judgment – Why the gospel’s call to LGBTQ+ individuals must begin with deep welcome, shared burden-bearing, and long-term relational faithfulness—not assumptions or demands.
• Redefining Power in the Church – Exploring why Paul, if alive today, would likely be bewildered by large, production-oriented churches and how they contradict his vision of humble, table-sharing communities.

Guest Highlight:
Dr. Timothy Gombis – A New Testament scholar and author of “Paul: A Guide for the Perplexed” and “The Drama of Ephesians.” Tim brings scholarly depth and pastoral wisdom to help the modern church rediscover Paul’s radical, Christ-centered message. His reflections challenge listeners to approach Scripture with fresh eyes and courageous faithfulness.

Resources Mentioned:
• Paul: A Guide for the Perplexed by Timothy Gombis – [Link]
• The Drama of Ephesians by Timothy Gombis – [Link]
• “Faith Improvised” podcast by Tim Gombis – [Link]
• Michael Gorman's scholarship on cruciformity – [Link]
• “Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right” – [Link]
• Philippians 2:5-11 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 – Key Scripture
• Timothy Gombis's blog archive and GRTS SoundCloud teaching library – [Link]

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Original music by Timothy John Stafford – @GoneTimothy on Instagram & Twitter.

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Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everybody, Mike and Tim here from the Vox podcast.
0:13.7	So grateful you are tuning in.
0:16.4	And as always, we're grateful to be a small part of your life.
0:21.3	We have kind of a fun show today for our 201 episode.
0:26.8	201.
0:29.7	There is, so there's a scholar that I have read in the past and have quoted him a couple of times in the podcast.
0:38.7	And anyway, through a really random, cool series, the cool series of events, he and Bonnie
0:43.9	did an event in Orange County together.
0:46.4	And through that, I was able to get connected to him.
0:48.3	And so today, I've got about an hour-long conversation with Tim Gombus, PhD, who is a Pauline scholar, Pauline
0:59.6	New Testament scholar, and we're going to talk about just misunderstanding Paul. And so one of the,
1:05.6	you know, one of the big things that, you know, besides the Old Testament that really provides
1:10.6	a stumbling block for people,
1:11.9	is this Paul guy just doesn't make a ton of sense in some places.
1:16.5	And what's the best way to approach him?
1:19.3	And what was he like?
1:20.5	Because he gets painted as this kind of super angry woman-hating, sex-hating kind of guy.
1:26.2	And that actually isn't the truth. And so anyway, it's a fun
1:30.2	conversation. It's a relationship that I hope to develop with Tim. You see, he's such a good guy,
1:36.4	very thoughtful, very pastoral, like very involved in reconstructing faith. And I'm hoping. A strong name.
1:45.7	Timothy Gombus.
1:46.9	Absolutely, dude.
	...

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