I’ve been reading about the work of English Baptist theologian and leader Dan Taylor (1738-1816). Taylor was an advocate for congregational singing; he believed it blessed the whole church. Some of his fellow Baptists weren’t so sure. They believed such singing violated Paul’s rule against women speaking in church (I Cor. 14:34). Taylor’s view eventually prevailed. Isn’t it curious how we will take some verses and squeeze every imaginable implication, however improbable, from them? Yet, we take a command like “Love your neighbor” to mean we should love people who look like us—and maybe not all of them.
