1 Timothy 6:5
Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
Study Note
Study Note
The characterisation of false teachers as 'men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness' exposes the commercialisation of religion — a perennial temptation in ancient Hellenistic philosophy-for-hire and in the sophistic tradition of paid rhetoric. The phrase 'supposing that gain is godliness' (nomizontes porismon einai tēn eusebeian) inverts Paul's own axiom in 6:6 — 'godliness with contentment is great gain' — revealing how the false teachers have reversed the proper order of means and end. The word 'perverse disputings' (paradiatribai, a hapax) may refer to the interminable word-battles of 1:4 and 6:4, indicating that theological controversy itself can become a revenue-generating industry. The verse has been applied across Christian history to critiques of simony, indulgences, and prosperity preaching.
Other Translations
wranglings of men corrupted in mind and bereft of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain.
wranglings of men wholly corrupted in mind, and destitute of the truth, supposing the piety to be gain; depart from such;
Bitter talk of men who, being evil in mind and dead to what is true, take the faith to be a way of making profit.
Cross References
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