Apostle Paul Calls Herbert Armstrong a Fool by Gun Lap, 2012
Aristotle				Louis Pasteur

The apostle Paul, when discussing the resurrection of Christians from the dead, attempted to show that dead people can be resurrected back to life by comparing death and burial to planting a seed in the ground.

In 1 Cor 15:36 he says, "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened [made alive], except it die." (KJV).

In other words, according to Paul, when a seed is planted in the ground, it dies, and then it comes back to life as a new plant. His point is that, just as a seed has to die to be reborn, the Christian must die before he can be resurrected to a new life.

The problem is that seeds don't actually die when they are planted. They simply lie in a dormant state until they begin to sprout. We all know today that "life can only come by life." That is the scientific law of biogenesis. Yet here Paul states that life comes from death; and that only dead seeds produce new sprouts! He says the seed must die in order to be reborn. And the person who didn't "know" that, he called "thou fool." If this verse were inspired, it would not contain a scientific error, but it does. (Anyone who wants to see this verse in a few more translations, please check the footnotes).

Was Paul just speaking about death figuratively here? He was talking about the resurrection, and when one is dead awaiting a resurrection, he is literally dead. Further, I don't think he would call someone a fool unless he expected the person to "know" the planted seed was literally dead. From this we can deduce that it was commonly believed in those days that seeds were dead and that life could come from dead matter. History confirms that people did believe life could come from dead matter (see the footnotes).

Paul was wrong. He thought the seed was literally dead. He thought that life could come from dead matter. This was simply a common belief, and it clearly was not inspired. Surely, if God inspired this verse he would have inspired Paul to use a different argument to support the doctrine of the resurrection. Therefore I conclude that this verse is not inspired.

Note that Herbert Armstrong, in his booklet Does God Exist?, used the law of biogenesis to prove God exists. It is ironic that the very same law of science proves that 1 Cor 15:36 is not inspired.

How did life get here? Science has learned some things about that, too.

The wisest of the ancients [like Paul?] did not know what science makes available today. Thus it is demonstrated today that LIFE COMES ONLY FROM LIFE [contrary to 1 Cor 15:36], and that each kind reproduces only after its kind (Genesis 1:25).

The works of Tyndall and Louis Pasteur, in the field of bacteria and protozoa, finally demonstrated scientifically once and for all in these more minute fields what Redi first demonstrated with larger organisms.

All the advances of recent medical and surgical science in the treatment and prevention of germ diseases are based upon this great truth of the law of Biogenesis—that LIFE can come only from preexisting LIFE.

No fact of science stands more conclusively proved today. Life CANNOT come from dead matter. (Does God Exist?, Herbert Armstrong, 1972, pp. 8-9, original emphasis).

So here were have two men, both claiming to be apostles of God, who could not disagree more on the law of biogenesis. According to Paul, Herbert Armstrong was a fool.

Summary:

• Paul was wrong about the law of biogenesis.
• Paul and Herbert Armstrong disagree.
• Paul called Herbert Armstrong a fool.
• This verse contradicts a non-controversial point of science.
• This verse is not inspired.

Note: Here is 1 Cor 15:36 in a few more translations.

• You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies (NASB).
• You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies (RSV).
• Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies (NKJV).
• How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies (NIV).
• insipiens tu quod seminas non vivificatur nisi prius moriatur (Jerome's Latin Vulgate, 405 AD).

Okay, I threw that Latin translation in just for fun, and to make people think I'm smart. I hope it worked. :)

Note: Another verse that contradicts the law of biogenesis is John 12:24 which says: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." (NIV).

Note: The idea that life could come from dead matter was a common idea in Paul's time. Wikipedia say this about biogenesis.

The ancient Greeks believed that living things could spontaneously come into being from nonliving matter, and that the goddess Gaia could make life arise spontaneously from stones—a process known as Generatio spontanea [spontaneous generation]. Aristotle [384 BC to 322 BC] disagreed, but he still believed that creatures could arise from dissimilar organisms or from soil. Variations of this concept of spontaneous generation still existed as late as the 17th century [AD], but towards the end of the 17th century a series of observations and arguments began that eventually discredited such ideas. (Wikipedia, article Biogenesis, as of Oct 12, 2010).

Note that the quote above says certain Greeks believed life could come from dead matter. The idea was disputed by Aristotle who preceeded Paul by over 300 years. Perhaps Paul got his idea from certain Greeks rather than from divine revelation. Perhaps he should have listened to Aristotle.

P.S. Wikipedia is unreliable on controversial issues or issues of a political nature. But on purely technical issues it is usually accurate. I cite it because it is an easy source for readers to reference.