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Psalm 8:5 and the Translation Tension: God or Angels?

P salm 8:5 and the Translation Tension: God or Angels? Psalm 8:5 is one of the clearest examples of how Bible translation is not just about language—it is about theology, power, and control. The verse sits at the crossroads of Hebrew poetry, Greek reinterpretation, and later Christian doctrine. And when you compare how it is translated in the Old Testament versus how it is rendered when quoted in Hebrews 2:7, a disturbing pattern emerges. In Hebrew, Psalm 8:5 reads: “You have made him a little lower than elohim…” The word elohim is deliberately ambiguous. It can mean God, gods, divine beings, or heavenly beings depending on context. But it does not inherently mean “angels.” That idea comes later. Now watch what English translations do. How Psalm 8:5 Is Translated Many major translations are perfectly comfortable rendering elohim as God: NASB – “a little lower than God” Amplified Bible – “a little lower than God” (with interpretive notes) CSB – “a little less than God” ASV – “a little l...
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The Church Fathers Knew Paul and Jesus Didn’t Naturally Align

T he Church Fathers Knew Paul and Jesus Didn’t Naturally Align Modern Christianity often assumes that Jesus and Paul speak with one voice. Any tension between them is treated as misunderstanding, ignorance, or bad faith. But when we read the early church fathers carefully, a very different picture emerges. They did not deny the problem. They managed it. Again and again, the most influential theologians of early Christianity admit—sometimes bluntly—that Paul sounds like he contradicts Jesus, that his writings are dangerous if read plainly, and that harmonization is not obvious but necessary. Their concern was not whether tension existed, but whether it could be controlled. Jerome — Paul Sounds Dangerous, Contradictory, and Easily Misread Jerome is one of the most candid fathers on the Paul–Jesus tension. He openly acknowledges that even the earliest apostles struggled with Paul: “Peter did not know the meaning of Paul’s words, and was scandalized by the apparent contradiction.” — Commen...
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The Myth of Apostolic Proximity: Why Claims About the Church Fathers Knowing the Apostles Are Just Hearsay

T he Myth of Apostolic Proximity: Why Claims About the Church Fathers Knowing the Apostles Are Just Hearsay One of the most common apologetic claims in Christianity is that the early Church Fathers were closely connected to the apostles. You’ll often hear statements like  “Polycarp knew John,” or “Papias was taught by the apostles,” or “Clement was a companion of Peter and Paul.”   These claims are meant to give early Christian theology a sense of legitimacy—as if doctrine were passed down in a neat, unbroken chain from Jesus to the apostles to the Church Fathers. The problem is simple: there is no direct, verifiable evidence that any Church Father personally knew any apostle. What we have instead is tradition, hearsay, and later writers making claims about earlier figures—without independent confirmation. What Counts as Evidence? In real historical work, evidence is not just a story someone tells about the past. Historians look for: Contemporary sources Independent corrobor...
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