C
Cachonga
Guest
SHW – Peter Vindicated is an interesting article. I would like to see Clement’s fifth book of Hypotyposes. However, I still believe it was Peter, and here’s why – we first find the name Cephas mentioned in John 1:42. Here it is clearly shown to be the same as Peter (Rock). This is a common literary device that lets readers know that any time you see either name, it indicates the same person (Jacob/Israel, Cephas/Peter, Aniken Skywalker/Darth Vader). If another character is introduced with the same name, there is a distinction made between them (such as “the other Mary”). Now why would Paul use the Aramaic Cephas instead of Greek Petros (Peter)? Could it be that, since he (Cephas/Peter) was separating himself from the Gentile believers, Paul wanted to make it clear to the Jewish believers that this was wrong? I would think so! OK, but why would Paul list him after James? Keep in mind, Paul was in Jerusalem. James was the Bishop in Jerusalem, so it would seem appropriate to mention him first. But why would Peter, who had learned his lesson when he had denied Jesus three times, do such a thing? Hmmm. Let’s think about that question. Why would the “Apostle to the Jews” not want to be seen hanging out with Gentiles? I wonder why that would be? Oh, wait! Maybe it’s because Cephas (Peter) was the “Apostle to the Jews”, and when the Jews came down from Jerusalem (where they don’t have a lot of Gentile believers), he might have wanted to make them comfortable, and so, separated from the Gentile believers. I don’t believe for a minute that Peter intended to cause a problem (most certainly not a schism between Jewish and Gentile believers). However, it is clear that this was Peter (Cephas) that Paul rebuked in Gal 2:11.
As far as accusing Paul of being a hypocrite for circumcising Timothy, I find nothing in the scriptures to indicate that Paul feared what the Jews might think. What I do see is that the Jews knew Timothy, and that his father was a Greek. This was a stumbling block to the Gospel (Timothy was looked at as an “uncircumcised Philistine”). This circumcision was more an act of love for the Jews than one of fear. Finally, since scripture is inspired by God, it would seem very strange to me that Paul would be hypocritical on this point and not have it pointed out within scripture itself. Since Paul is not rebuked for this anywhere in scripture, I would conclude that your accusation of hypocrisy is wrong.
As far as accusing Paul of being a hypocrite for circumcising Timothy, I find nothing in the scriptures to indicate that Paul feared what the Jews might think. What I do see is that the Jews knew Timothy, and that his father was a Greek. This was a stumbling block to the Gospel (Timothy was looked at as an “uncircumcised Philistine”). This circumcision was more an act of love for the Jews than one of fear. Finally, since scripture is inspired by God, it would seem very strange to me that Paul would be hypocritical on this point and not have it pointed out within scripture itself. Since Paul is not rebuked for this anywhere in scripture, I would conclude that your accusation of hypocrisy is wrong.