Writings of St. Paul

[BrooklynBoy200]

So i’ve finally started reading the NT start to finish (well, starting at the Gospel of John and going through from there, sorry but I can’t read all 4 gospels back-to-back, talk about repetitive lol) and I’ve gotten to the end of the 1st Corinthians letter. Romans and Corinthians 1 have really confused me, Paul has such a confusing way of writing…he seems to say one thing definitely, but then says the exact opposite in the next line…
plus he sounds suspiciously OSAS with his “the law no longer applies to us” stuff.
No disrespect to St.Paul, I realize that one could hardly expect the Bible to read easily with all of the translations that it’s gone through, etc.

Could somebody direct me to a website or just explain what some of this stuff means?

 

[prettylarge]

So i’ve finally started reading the NT start to finish (well, starting at the Gospel of John and going through from there, sorry but I can’t read all 4 gospels back-to-back, talk about repetitive lol) and I’ve gotten to the end of the 1st Corinthians letter. Romans and Corinthians 1 have really confused me, Paul has such a confusing way of writing…he seems to say one thing definitely, but then says the exact opposite in the next line…
plus he sounds suspiciously OSAS with his “the law no longer applies to us” stuff.
No disrespect to St.Paul, I realize that one could hardly expect the Bible to read easily with all of the translations that it’s gone through, etc.

Could somebody direct me to a website or just explain what some of this stuff means?

Paul does not think that the Jewish law applies to Christians. This includes circumcision, dietary laws, and keeping the sabbath. He does think that one should should follow the moral laws of the law though. Also, he states that one should “live in the spirit” as a code of ethics. Basically follow what they know is right that is written on their heart. He believes that faith in Jesus is the only way to salvation. Read Romans 3:21-26 and 8:1 for his explanation. Basically, he thinks that if you follow the law, then you are righteous before God. But, he thinks that no one follows the law, thus no one is righteous by the law. He thinks that if this were not true, Jesus would not have had to come down and die for our sins.

He doesn’t think that having faith is a reason to start sinning though (even though God forgives sins of the faithful). This is addressed in 1 Corinthians as well as Romans. In 1 Corinthians he talks about a man living with his mother in law, and how it is wrong to do. But, it seems as though the Corinthians were boasting about it, saying “hey, look at us, we are above the law so we will break it so much to show that we don’t care about it anymore.” Paul says that this is wrong though. Paul says that believers have died to sin when they get baptized and are resurrected into a new life, like Jesus. So, he states, why would you keep on sinning if you died to sin?

I think that about sums up his main argument.

 

[Melkite_Sword]

So i’ve finally started reading the NT start to finish (well, starting at the Gospel of John and going through from there, sorry but I can’t read all 4 gospels back-to-back, talk about repetitive lol) and I’ve gotten to the end of the 1st Corinthians letter. Romans and Corinthians 1 have really confused me, Paul has such a confusing way of writing…he seems to say one thing definitely, but then says the exact opposite in the next line…
plus he sounds suspiciously OSAS with his “the law no longer applies to us” stuff.
No disrespect to St.Paul, I realize that one could hardly expect the Bible to read easily with all of the translations that it’s gone through, etc.

Could somebody direct me to a website or just explain what some of this stuff means?

May I suggest you read Matthew. Its the largest out of Matthew Mark and Luke, whilst (or after) you also read John. Because almost nothing in John is the same as Matthew, Mark and Luke. Yet Matthew, Mark and Luke contain similar content, Matthew covers more.

Peace and Blessings

 

[BrooklynBoy200]

May I suggest you read Matthew. Its the largest out of Matthew Mark and Luke, whilst (or after) you also read John. Because almost nothing in John is the same as Matthew, Mark and Luke. Yet Matthew, Mark and Luke contain similar content, Matthew covers more.

Peace and Blessings

Oh don’t worry, Matthew is usually the only one I read. I had heard that John was different than the other three, which is why I chose to read that one.

 

[NotWorthy]

Oh don’t worry, Matthew is usually the only one I read. I had heard that John was different than the other three, which is why I chose to read that one.

Matthew (as well as Mark and Luke) trudges through the field while John soars high above…

 

[NHInsider]

Romans and Corinthians 1 have really confused me, Paul has such a confusing way of writing…he seems to say one thing definitely, but then says the exact opposite in the next line…
plus he sounds suspiciously OSAS with his “the law no longer applies to us” stuff.
No disrespect to St.Paul, I realize that one could hardly expect the Bible to read easily with all of the translations that it’s gone through, etc.

Could somebody direct me to a website or just explain what some of this stuff means?

Hmm. Fourteen Pauline epistles (counting Hebrews) is a lot of “stuff” - and it’s all been analyzed and cited to support a countless number of theories and theologies. If you just want a basic summary and high points, you could do worse than the Catholic Encyclopedia articles for each book: Romans for example, and Corinthians

The Ignatius study Bible books are good value - about $10 each, new, I think, with good notes and study questions. Several of the Pauline Epistles are grouped together, as I recall, certainly the two Corinthian letters. Not sure about Romans.

 

[MonFrere]

Hmm. Fourteen Pauline epistles (counting Hebrews) is a lot of “stuff” - and it’s all been analyzed and cited to support a countless number of theories and theologies. If you just want a basic summary and high points, you could do worse than the Catholic Encyclopedia articles for each book: Romans for example, and Corinthians

The Ignatius study Bible books are good value - about $10 each, new, I think, with good notes and study questions. Several of the Pauline Epistles are grouped together, as I recall, certainly the two Corinthian letters. Not sure about Romans.

As always, good points from NHInsider. I have found that many of my questions concerning the Pauline letters are “solved” once I get a good historical background. There are so many “insights” that books, as NHInsider recommended, that let you in on St. Paul’s quotation of poetry, or his commentary on various cultural norms of the Roman world, or his various insights that were formed because of being a Hellenized Jew (one living outside the holy land. All of these shaped St. Paul’s opinion. And last but certainly not least is St. Paul’s understanding of the person of Christ as formed by his extensive training in Jewish thought and in the Jewish Scriptures. As a book offering I would highly recommend Paul of Tarsus by a Father Holzner published by Scepter Press. This book goes into St. Paul’s life from a “biographical” perspective, though technically it’s not a biography, but Father Holzner goes through St. Paul’s life with various insights I’ve listed above and many many more. I think with NHInsider and my recommendation your perspective on St. Paul will be broadened where a lot of the “mystery” of his writings will become clearly understood. Certainly there’s a lot of mystery in Christian theology – but some things can be understood by good solid scholarly work.

MonFrere