J
jinc1019
Guest
Of all the New Testament documents, it seems to me that St. Paul’s have been the most controversial and troublesome for many Christians and various denominations. The same has certainly been true for myself. It is Paul, after all, who outlines the immorality of homosexuality, the requirement of women wearing head coverings, the suggestion that priests should be married and have children, the belief that secular government rulers are ordained by God, the confirmation of slavery as a valid institution (this is of course implicit because he talks about it but never rejects it, and numerous other difficult passages. The morality preached directly by Jesus Himself have so firmly become a part of Western culture that it is easy to accept those teachings without thinking twice. These teachings are, of course, from God directly and are roundly accepted by virtually all true Christian denominations.
St. Paul’s writings are more difficult to fully accept in the modern world (I acknowledge that for previous generations prior to the Reformation, these issues were not as problematic as they are today, but I am sure they still caused a lot of problems for a lot of people throughout the ages).
I am not a theologian, nor am I gifted with prophecy, so everything I am saying here is admittedly said without the protection of the Holy Spirit expressly given and is said to help better understand what the real theological truth actually is. It seems to me that much of the difficulty Christians have with St. Paul is that we universally reject or alter or interpret certain passages in his writings in a way that does not require strict adherence, such as the passages stating that women should be silent in church or women should have their heads covered. Other passages, such as the ones on homosexuality, are demanded by the Church to be followed completely and read plainly.
Now I know the obvious answer to these questions are Church authority and infallibility…But those answers offer no intellectual security or understanding at all on the issue actually at hand. So, in the spirit of actually trying to interpret Paul’s writings as they were intended, I believe a classification must be developed and applied to everything Paul wrote.
It seems from my novice examination of his writings that there are 4 categories of passages and writings, broadly speaking:
Continued below…
St. Paul’s writings are more difficult to fully accept in the modern world (I acknowledge that for previous generations prior to the Reformation, these issues were not as problematic as they are today, but I am sure they still caused a lot of problems for a lot of people throughout the ages).
I am not a theologian, nor am I gifted with prophecy, so everything I am saying here is admittedly said without the protection of the Holy Spirit expressly given and is said to help better understand what the real theological truth actually is. It seems to me that much of the difficulty Christians have with St. Paul is that we universally reject or alter or interpret certain passages in his writings in a way that does not require strict adherence, such as the passages stating that women should be silent in church or women should have their heads covered. Other passages, such as the ones on homosexuality, are demanded by the Church to be followed completely and read plainly.
Now I know the obvious answer to these questions are Church authority and infallibility…But those answers offer no intellectual security or understanding at all on the issue actually at hand. So, in the spirit of actually trying to interpret Paul’s writings as they were intended, I believe a classification must be developed and applied to everything Paul wrote.
It seems from my novice examination of his writings that there are 4 categories of passages and writings, broadly speaking:
- Teachings about Christ generally or specifically. For instance, Paul tells us that God is love, that love is patient, that love is kind, the importance of his sacrifice, etc.
- Stories about Christ or his own life. Paul makes references to stories about Jesus or Paul’s own conversion story.
Both of the above categories are straightforward and do not require any further comment because none of the difficult passages from Paul which are controversial in our modern world fall within them. The bottom line for these two categories are, however, they have universal and everlasting authority for all Christians exactly as they are written. - Moral Code. St. Paul talks a great deal about how we should live our lives as good Christians, essentially teaching the newly converted gentiles, and non-gentiles alike, what it means to be a good Christian and how a good Christian should act in daily life. This category includes how we should treat each other, how we should treat the government, sexual purity (homosexual relationships), idol worshipping, etc.
- Church Code and Church Behavior. St. Paul also spends a great deal of time talking about how Christians should run the church. This category includes the requirements for being a bishop/priest, women speaking and teaching in church, modest clothing, conduct for the Eucharistic meal, how men should not cover their heads any longer, how women should cover their heads in church, and numerous other guidelines as well.
Continued below…
