It’s Saturday, May 31, 2025.

Today’s edition covers a potential scandal involving the YouVersion Bible app, the recent doings of a few high-profile alleged new Christians, the origins and legacy of Anabaptists, who the Scythians are in Colossians 3, and more.

Wisdom says: “the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.” (Proverbs 1:32)

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Of Christian Concern

SCANDALOUS: THE BIBLE APP APPEARS TO HIDE A CONTROVERSIAL VERSE FROM SEARCH RESULTS

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” (1 Timothy 2:12)

The YouVersion Bible app’s search results exclude 1 Timothy 2:12 when a user searches the phrase “I do not permit a woman to teach.” Instead, the results include verses that some Bible readers interpret to cut against 1 Timothy’s teaching of male-only leadership: Galatians 3:28 (“there is no male and female”), Acts 2:17 (“I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy”) Acts 18:26 (“Priscilla and Aquila…took [Apollos] aside and explained to him the way”), etc.

The oddity was called out on X last week by Pastor Stuart Amidon, who suggested that the developers must have intentionally indexed these verses to return for this specific search query. He insists, “they are doing this on purpose, and it is undeniable,” citing that he himself “work[s] in tech.” He writes, “They are intentionally hiding what the Bible says and trying to feed you a different doctrine. They are intentionally misleading the sheep.” Referencing Romans 1:18, he adds, “The Bible app is suppressing the truth.”

Notably, 1 Timothy 2:12 appears when a user searches for specific shorter phrases, such as “I do not permit” or “woman to teach.” This fact lends some credibility to the supposition that someone has tampered with the results for the entire phrase, especially given the verses it pulls up.

RELATED — Other YouVersion stories that Project 18:15 has reported on over the past two years, highlighting the app’s massive and growing reach (and therefore influence):

July 2023: “YouVersion Bible App celebrates its 15th anniversary this month. According to the app’s website, the app has been downloaded over half a billion times worldwide since its launch in 2008.”

November 2024: “The YouVersion Bible app has now been downloaded more than 800 million times globally. Today, the app, which has over 2,000 Bible translations, is opened 270 times each second and downloaded onto new devices between 10 and 12 million times monthly.”

April 2025: “YouVersion, also known as the Bible App, “recorded a record 18.6 million people engaging with God’s Word on Easter -- an 11 percent increase from last year’s holiday,” reports Crosswalk.”

Also Noteworthy

→ The Southern Baptist Convention’s Committee on Resolutions announced that it will propose eight resolutions to be voted on by church representatives (called “messengers”) at the upcoming annual meeting. Among others, the resolutions include:

• On the Harmful and Predatory Nature of Sports Betting

• On Banning Pornography

  and

• On Standing Against the Moral Evils and Medical Dangers of Chemical Abortion Pills

→ A “mob of woke trans activists” attacked a Christian prayer rally in Seattle last Saturday, leading to 23 arrests, Daily Mail reports.

→ Russell Brand preached again… this time at a recent revival event on a Florida beach after participating in mass baptisms with former Bethel Church worship leader Sean Feucht. The recent convert’s coastline sermon included some peculiar words.

• RELATED: On Friday, Brand pleaded not guilty to five charges of rape and sexual assault “involving four women dating back more than 25 years,” AP News reports. He arrived at the London court wearing a cross necklace and carrying a copy of The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions.

• For Project 18:15’s write-up on Brand’s Sunday morning sermon back in January, click here.

→ Phil Robertson, star of Duck Dynasty and patriarch of the Robertson family, has died at 79, his family announced on Sunday. His daughter-in-law, Korie, took to social media a few days later to thank fans for their outpouring of support. She added that “getting a glimpse of how his surrender to Jesus, love for others and bold faith impacted literally millions has been a tender blessing. We have heard stories about thoughtful things he did that we never knew before and we are grateful!” — The Robertsons’ new TV series, “Duck Dynasty: The Revival,” premieres tomorrow, June 1, on A&E.

→ The YouTuber known as Apostate Prophet (real name Ridvan Aydemir), known for his de-conversion from Islam and close association with Christian apologist David Wood, recently announced that he is converting to Orthodox Christianity.

• RELATED: Click here to watch Ryan of NeedGod.net’s recent explanation of how the Orthodox Church elevates Mary to an unbiblical degree, and here to watch his more extended debate this week with an Oriental Orthodox believer.

→ Tommy Robinson, a British anti-rape gang activist and free speech advocate, was released from prison on Tuesday wearing a rosary around his neck. It is rumored that he has converted to Christianity during his seven months in prison, the entirety of which he says was spent in solitary confinement.

Content Catch-Up

Recent notable content of Christian interest.*

→ Jordan Peterson vs. Atheists: Famed psychologist Jordan Peterson faced off with 20 atheists in an episode of YouTube channel Jubilee’s show “Surrounded.” Many Christians have reacted to the episode, including this reaction from YouTube channel The Church Split, titled, “The PROBLEM with Jordan Peterson's God (EPIC Response).” (Video)

→ Alex O’Connor vs. John Lennox: Meanwhile, beloved Christian mathematician John Lennox had an insightful conversation with famed atheist Alex O’Connor—a conversation that is also getting a lot of attention among Christians, including from Brandon McGuire of Daily Dose of Wisdom in a video titled, “Popular Skeptic ACCEPTS This Evidence For GOD (Amazing Moment!)” (Video)

→ Recent Faith News Brief content you may have missed:

• Planned Parenthood defunded, kind of?

• Spiritual revival in the UK?

*Not necessarily an endorsement

Church History Tidbit

The Anabaptists: Origins and Legacy

The Anabaptists emerged in the early 16th century during the Protestant Reformation, primarily in Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands, as a radical movement that broke away from both Catholicism and mainstream Protestantism. Meaning “re-baptizer,” the term reflects their core practice of adult baptism based on personal faith, rejecting infant baptism. The movement began in Zurich around 1525 with the Swiss Brethren, led by Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock, who split from Ulrich Zwingli over his slow reforms and state ties. On January 21, 1525, they performed the first adult baptisms, marking the start of Anabaptism.

Anabaptists sought a return to early Christian practices, emphasizing voluntary church membership, separation from secular authority, and, for many, pacifism. Their rejection of state-controlled religion led to widespread persecution by Catholics and Protestants alike. The movement spread quickly, spawning diverse groups, such as the communal Hutterites in Moravia, the Mennonites in the Netherlands under Menno Simons, and the radical Münster Anabaptists, who briefly established a theocratic commune (1534–1535). Influenced by humanism and the Peasants’ War, Anabaptists appealed to those frustrated with church corruption.

Despite brutal suppression, their ideas endured through descendants like the Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites, shaping modern notions of religious liberty and church-state separation. Their legacy highlights the power of grassroots reform and personal conviction in the face of adversity.

Written with Grok.

The Bible, Briefly

Who Were Those “Scythians”?

“Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”  (Colossians 3:11)

The Scythian Reputation

“Scythian” ('siTHēən) refers to an ancient people group—”the first of numerous waves of warriors on horses who swept westward over the vast Eurasian steppes,” writes biblical scholar Edwin Yamauchi.

In Paul’s day, Yamauchi explains, “Many of the customs of the Scythians struck the Greeks as bizarre.” They were known for drinking wine undiluted with water (considered uncivilized by the Greeks), drinking blood mixed with wine as a “blood brotherhood” rite, and getting high on hemp fumes. They were renowned for their ambidextrous skill in archery, including their ability to turn backwards and shoot while on horseback. Additionally, at least some of their women also fought, wearing armor and bearing weapons.

They had a reputation for brutality in battle, drinking the blood of the first fallen enemy and presenting enemies’ severed heads to their chiefs. They reportedly scalped victims and used the skin as a napkin, then cut off the top of the skull and decorated it to use as a drinking bowl. Unsurprisingly, they also practiced human sacrifice, in addition to horse sacrifices—perhaps primarily as a way of sending people and animals to the underworld to serve deceased kings and others.

Four Interpretations

With that background, Yamauchi presents four interpretations of the apostle Paul’s reference to Scythians in Colossians 3:11.

1. Since Paul’s eight descriptors in the verse seem to come as antithetical pairs, scholars often think “barbarians” and “Scythians” are somehow intended as opposites. In that vein, Troy Martin suggests that Paul’s view of the Scythians is more aligned with that of the contrarian Cynics, who considered the Greeks to be the true barbarians and upheld the Scythians as wise.

2. Douglas A. Campbell disagrees and, reading the verse as a chiasm, relates “Scythian” to “slave” and “barbarian” to “free.” Yamauchi objects that “while it may be conceded that the terms Scythian and slave were often linked [in ancient Greek culture], the terms ‘barbarian’ and ‘free’ were not.”

3. David M. Goldenberg argues that the two terms represent black and white people, respectively, with “barbarian” referring to the black people of Barbaria and “Scythian” referring to the white people of Scythia. In contrast, Yamauchi suggests, “barbaros is not the same as the place ‘Barbaria,’ nor is skuthēs the same as the place Scythia,” and there is a better Greek word Paul could have used to initiate skin color.

4. Yamauchi himself offers this interpretation: “barbarian” and “Scythian” are not meant to be antitheses. In the verse, Paul stops using a conjunction (”and” or “or”) after “Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised,” suggesting that “Paul, when writing or dictating his letter, was not overly concerned with consistency, but was moved with impassioned intensity at the wonderful promise of the Gospel…”

“[F]rom an oratorical standpoint,” Yamauchi writes, “such a torrent of words would have lent force to Paul’s affirmation”: no category of people has exceptional standing before God in Christ. In Christ, all are equal.

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Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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