Book Comment: What Paul Meant

Thomas Jefferson called Paul "the first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus," substituting his highly intellectual theology for Jesus' simple message. Friedrich Nitezsche said Paul had "a genius for hatred." Some say he created a new religion, Christianity, which was more Paul than Jesus.

Garry Wills, the author of What Paul Meant, says that Paul was a combination of football coach, janitor, mystic, intellectual, street fighter, peacemaker, and teacher. He points out that Paul never thought of himself as a convert to a new religion. He saw his teachings as a continuation and fulfillment of the Jewish religion. "What Paul meant was not something other than or contrary to what Jesus meant." What was new was that Jesus, who was the Messiah, died for our sins and rose from the dead, in accordance with the holy scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

"I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin." Romans 11:1.

So far so good. Then Willis begins to slip from traditional orthodoxy into acceptance of much of modern criticism. He agrees that of the thirteen letters ascribed by the Bible to Paul, only seven were indeed written by him (1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans).

Willis believes there has been a "massive misreading of Paul" and defends the apostle against charges that his teachings lead to attacks on women, marriage, homosexuals and Jews. He decides that Paul was more concerned with societies, saving an entire race, than with individuals. "Paul meant what Jesus meant, that love is the only law."

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian. Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, their religious beliefs, or their actions. This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Master of the Amsterdam Death of the Virgin: (fl. Ca 1500, aka: Master of the Almshouse of the Seven Electors) This Dutch painter is identified only by the names of his paintings. His The Death of the Virgin is housed in a museum in Amsterdam.

Master of the Life of the Virgin: This 13th Century painter worked in Norway.

Ctesiphon of Vergium: (fl 1st century, aka: San Tesifonte) Ctesiphon was a missionary to the Roman city of Vergium (modern Berja, Spain).

Ananias: A Syrian Jewish Christian in Damascus who received a vision which told him to seek out Saul of Tarsus/Paul and restore his sight. Acts 9:10-19; 22:12-16.

Hildegard of Bingen: (b. 1098, Germany – d. 1179; aka: Sybil of the Rhine) Female Benedictine theologian, musician, herbalist, poet, composer, linguist, physician, botanist, founder of monasteries.

Suzanne Hinn Files for Divorce

On 1 February 2010, Suzanne Hinn filed for divorce in Orange County, California against her husband, Benny. She cited as grounds, "irreconcilable differences." The couple has been married for thirty years.

Benny Hinn is a televangelist known for his advocacy of the Prosperity Gospel, which teaches that a right relationship with God leads to wealth and good health. One tenet of the doctrine is that one 's giving plants "seeds of faith" which return as multiplied blessings to the giver.

Critics of the Prosperity Gospel charge that it emphasizes material things and money rather than Jesus, that it is a "works salvation," and that it cynically enriches the leaders at the expense of the followers.

Solomon's Wall

Eilat Mazar, an Israeli archeologist has found what may be a fortification wall built by King Solomon in the 10th Century BC/BCE. She has called the wall "the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel." She dated the wall from pottery shards found along the wall. Other archeologists, some of whom think David and Solomon are mythical, do not agree.

The segment of wall and a large gatehouse are located outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, near the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary.

While we should never base our faith on artifacts and relics, this may be yet another confirmation of the biblical records. Just think of the Hittite Empire which was "mythological," and mentioned only in the Bible, until the capital city, Hattusas (or Khattusas), was found in Turkey by Hugo Winckler in 1906-1907. Over ten thousand tablets were found which entirely corroborated the Biblical record.

Messianic Prophecies from the Bible: Jesus is the Light of the World

 This may or may not be a messianic prophecy.  My feeling is that it is not, because that could imply that Jesus is a created being. That would be inconsistent with the many other biblical references which teach that Jesus is pre-existent.

Some people feel that the first use of a word in the Bible establishes that word's meaning for the rest of the Bible.  This is highly doubtful and is an unfounded assumption.  Interpretations of words and phrases in the Bible must be derived from the surrounding textual and historical context, from the most usual usage of the word, and from their consistency with the rest of the biblical revelation.

Examples abound of people making unfounded assumptions about biblical words and phrases and, as a result, going off in heretical directions.

Old Testament:

”And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Genesis 1:3-4

New Testament:

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12


Two New Blogs Added to My List

I have added the websites, An Upside Down World and Poetry Where You Live, to the list of blogs and websites which I check regularly. Each of the websites and blogs on the list contributes to the theme of this blog that Christians should be and are represented in every legitimate human field of endeavor and are “on the loose;” “ακωλητοσ” (“unhindered”).

Links to the sites are available in my blog list.

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/

http://anupsidedownworld.com/

Film Comment: Rabbit

This perverse (extremely perverse) little nine minute film is one I know you'll probably never see, so I'm doing no no harm in including spoilers in this comment. Rabbit (2005) is a limited animation film illustrated like a children's picture book with the names of each object printed directly under the object: ie. "rabbit," "flower," "house," "boy," and "girl," etc. You get the idea, it looks like an old fashioned British children's reading primer. The British director, Run Wrake, used educational stickers he found in a junk shop.

A sweet little boy and girl are playing in a garden when the girl decides to cut open a passing rabbit. The boy uses a cricket bat to whack the heads of several animals. Inside one animal, the children find a strange little animated idol (a demon?) which turns insects into jewels. The children come up with a plan; distract the idol with a tasty bowl of jam, kill animals to attract insects which the idol will turn into jewels, and the children get rich. They set their plan in motion and drive off to get more jam. The idol has other, deadly, ideas. The children end up eaten by insects.

This bizarre film was nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award and it deserved it. It speaks none too subtly about animal cruelty, consumerism, greed, corruption, and hypocrisy (false innocence). As seen by Christian eyes, it is an allegory about the dangers of consorting with evil and demonstrates graphically that death really is the result (wages} of sin.

For those who wish to see the film, it is available from Netflix in the compilation entitled Cinema 16: Disc 2 (European Short Films).