A stumbling-block is ‘a circumstance which causes hesitation or difficulty’, something which causes a person to trip up or fall. There are many natural stumbling-blocks which cause us to trip or fall: an uneven kerb, for example, or a flagstone that is not evenly...

Paul’s letters speak to us today because they teach spiritual principles, even if the specific issues they raise do not always seem particularly relevant to us. We still participate in the ‘cup of thanksgiving’ and break bread together (a theme he will develop further...

(Having mentioned 16th century poet John Donne in the previous post, we’re now misquoting William Shakespeare! Apologies to the bard...) Some have said that Paul’s views on eating meat sold in the meat market are contradictory, apparently encouraging this practice in...