I have been wrestling with Bible challenges since high school. It started with an innocent question from my English teacher: “Do angels have wings?” I thought about it for a few seconds, then answered “yes.” Several years later, however, I concluded “no.” Then in one of my first posts on this site, I wrote a simple biblical argument for wingless angels.
In Bible college I struggled with speaking in tongues, which is a unique teaching of my Pentecostal church background. After much thought and in opposition to my parents, I concluded that I no longer agreed with that doctrine. Here’s why.
As a high school Bible teacher I encountered a variety of difficulties through books, conversations, and questions from students. I thought deeply about many things, including
- the doctrine of the Trinity,
- slavery in the Old Testament,
- slavery in the New Testament (here and here),
- Paul’s view of women,
- Calvinism vs. Arminianism,
- predestination, and the
- reliability of the Gospels.
The most popular post on this site came out of an intense struggle with Paul’s example of work compared to ministers today. I also wrestled with the traditional view of hell, which led to career challenges and resulted in my book Surprised by Hell.
But when I think of challenging issues in the Bible the two near the top of my list are herem warfare in the Old Testament (the divine command to kill everyone in a particular area) and Jesus’ predictions about his return. I spent an inordinate amount of time writing and revising those two posts.
What’s the conclusion? Trials and challenges actually help us move forward. As Paul says, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22) and that includes hardships in Bible interpretation.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.
Thanks Les… It’s interesting to hear these types of questions being asked and in one sense it doesn’t really matter is Angels have wings or not. On the hand, like you reported, you look for consistency and truth in theology… we all do, as this helps strengthen our faith. I suppose Angel don’t have the earthly restraints of gravity nor time, so wings wouldn’t be necessary for their movement, but possibly a unique feature by design. Of course our old world masters of Art seemed to interpret these beings as having wings. The Bible also describes some beings as having wings… of course the Arc of the Covenant had an Angel at each end with wings, not to mention Revelations. Are you suggesting perhaps these aren’t Angels, but other created beings.
Interesting topic.
Marty
Marty,
Yes, that’s the basic idea. The other important point is how angels are described in the Bible. Here’s the post: https://www.bible-bridge.com/angels-wings/