Abandon Ship!

I've been spending some time lately writing a fairly lengthy blog about this biblical verse:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ~2 Corinthians 6: 14-15 NIV

And this one:

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? ~ 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 NIV

And how, even though they're written (presumably) by the same guy (Paul) to the same church (in Corinth), they seem to contradict each other.

But... It started to feel a lot like homework. The further I dug, the more research I had to do. It was becoming very long and essay-like, and not very fun anymore. Sometimes you just need to know when to quit.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." ~ Joshua 24:15 NIV