An APSE Ministry Bible Study

(AskPrayStudyEmbrace)

James Spangler

Course material/Workbook

Contents

Part 3

Fellowship - Letters from Captivity   

Ephesians and Phillipians                                                                      68

History and Theology  1 and 2 Timothy and Titus -      

    The Pastoral Epistles                                                                          75

 Paul’s Influence                                                                                      80

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hapter 10:  Fellowship - Letters from Captivity

Paul was frequently imprisoned.  

Issue 1:  Where was Paul imprisoned when he wrote the prison letters?  Unknown.  But he did have a noted history of imprisonment.

One time it was Philippi when he was miraculously released.  He was in captivity in Palestine then sent to Rome.  Once again in Ephesus.  Paul was in charge of a riot in Ephesus and on a later trip avoided the city.  “Stay out because the next time we won’t be so nice.”  The next time we see you you’re going to jail or worse.  

I assume this is referring to the “Riots of Ephesus.  Paul’s teaching was effective and conversions were many.  

Acts 19:26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.  

Silversmiths were making their money off of statues of Artemis.  Nobody who was Christian was going to buy one.  Paul was a threat to their economy.  (Interestingly the same thing happened to Muhhamud in Mecca, the Kaaba.  See APSE Study: Notes on Introduction to the Qur’an.)  So Demetrius started a riot against Paul.  In addition the new converts BURNED THEIR BOOKS OF MAGIC of the old ways under pagan gods, which amounted to a $6 million loss in today’s world.  

Discussion: IS THIS A RATIONALE AND/OR JUSTIFICATION FOR BOOK BANNING?  Anyways, Paul wanted to speak, his followers would not let him, and he escaped.

In 1 Corinthians 15:32 it mentions Paul fought wild beasts in Ephesus?  Was he a semi-gladiator?  Or was this rhetorical - the riot and all?  

Note:  As a Roman citizen Paul was protected from being put in the arena with a “wild beast.”  Considering this, perhaps the “wild beast” refers to the ugly mob that attacked him in Ephesus.  

In 2 Corinthians he talked about a deadly peril while in Ephesus.  What was that?  

Conclusion:  We are not sure of the time nor the place, but Paul was under “house arrest.”  Not in a gloomy pit.  He had a chain, but he also had visitors and did write letters.  Did Paul, himself, write the prison letters?  

Most scholars agree: Philemon - yes.  Philippians - yes.  Colossians and Ephesians - No (peudoepigraphical - written by followers after Paul’s death).  2 Timothy most scholars say no, Dr. Johnson disagrees and says yes.  

Paul has been analyzed by styles (but his styles changed) and consistency of theme (but again his theme deviated at times according to audience and travel plans).  

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Dr. Johnson believes Paul had writers do some letters for him.  They were Paul’s ideas but written by a different author - like a speechwriter writing for a President.  According to the lecturer they were written by others under Paul’s authorization WHILE HE WAS ALIVE.  

Ephesians may not even be a letter to Ephesus.  One surviving manuscript named NO CHURCH.  It may have been a circular letter that was written to several churches and someone added Ephesus to fill in a blank in the manuscript.

1.  Paul is gentle despite his difficult personal circumstances (prison).

2.  The letters deal more with moral qualities and attitudes than practical concerns, not citing Torah, but shared liturgical traditions.  In Galatians Paul lays out the Torah.  In Colossians he answers with the church traditions.  

Discussion: Traditions of how long?  10 years? 20 years?  Maximum 30 years?  Is that long enough to establish a “tradition?”  If only we had more information on exactly how a church was to be established and not just a few letters correcting what churches were doing wrong.  What do our church “traditions” reflect?  Are they Biblical?  From Jesus?  Paul?  Peter (the ROCK the church was to be built on)? John?  The developing apostolic catholic church?  The developing Roman Catholic Church?  Luther?  Calvin?  Billy Graham?  Jerry Falwell?  Joel Osteen?

3.  The letters espouse reconciliation and equality of status in the face of social disparities: Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free, AND in attitudes of rivalry among churches 

Discussion:  Does this seem lost on denominations today?  Churches today don’t engage in rivalry, do they?

Concerning the return of Onesimus as a slave, Paul was not saying he should not be a slave, just that he should be treated as a brother.  

Discussion: How can one be a brother and remain a slave?  How can a plantation owner share a church service with a slave - in the balcony of course - and consider him a brother, then whip him Monday morning.  Would you whip your brother?  For more on Paul, the Bible, and slavery see Article: Slavery and the Bible: Does the Christian faith condone slavery? 

Note and discussion:  On the civil rights struggle.  In 1963, Rev. Billy Graham, despite his friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., refused to attend the March on Washington. He preferred quieter, less controversial tactics, and dismissed the speech King gave that day, saying, “Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little Black children.”  Were we, ARE WE powerless in the civil rights struggle?  Aren’t we to love one another according to Christ’s teachings?  In fact loving one another, even the “stranger,” is a command in the Old Testament, long before Jesus.  

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Shouldn’t we love one another because of Jesus’ life on earth?  Why do we have to wait for a second coming?  Weren’t we listening?  

Would Rev. Graham’s thoughts be different if he were black? 

Churches in rivalry.  Churches are envious of each other's success.  

Philippians 2:5-11  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-5  Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Community consciousness should be FOR THE COMMON GOOD.  

Discussion: Who determines what is for the common good?  Why do some Christians seem to delight in knowing THEY are bound for heaven and others are not?  If you just acted “the same as me,” if you were only “just like me” you would be going to heaven too.  But you don’t.  Can’t.  Won’t.  So I’m in, you are out.  Is this not the “I’m better than you” attitude Paul speaks against?  Where’s the humility in that?

Paul’s vision of humanity: God is trying to unify or reconcile ALL humans by means of Christ. 

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Discussion:  How did that work out?  Did Paul’s writing help that or hurt that?  Especially for today with women’s rights, slavery, and LGBTQ+ issues.

If reconciliation is not possible, is dividing into denominations with different doctrines but the same love of God and trust in Jesus an acceptable alternative?  If we love God and follow Jesus’ 2 commandments, is that enough?  Do we all have to follow Paul’s “advice” to a tee?  Are Paul’s epistles the “New Law” of the New Covenant in Jesus replacing the Jewish Law of the Old Covenants under Abraham and Moses?  Isn’t it Paul who said it’s not about the law?  Did he create one of his own?  See APSE Article: Is There a Christian Litmus Test?  Apostle Paul Articles  page 74.  

Colossians 2:18-23  A discussion on replacing human commands and teachings.

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.  They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:  “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”  These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.  Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

THESE VERSES could refer to 3 sets of HUMAN demands:  

1) Human distortion of Jewish Law that originally came from God.

ALWAYS HOLD SCRIPTURE AS THE AUTHORITATIVE NORM IN YOUR LIFE ACCORDING TO THEIR ORIGINAL MEANING.  

IN ORDER TO PROPERLY APPLY GOD’S WORD WE MUST COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES TO WHICH WE ARE ADDRESSING.

Why were foods unclean under the law in the OT?  At first meat had to be presented to the Lord at a place of worship before being eaten.  In Deuteronomy this was changed to any clean animal without presenting at a place of worship.  And then unclean animals were declared acceptable under a vision to Peter (Acts 10:9-16) in order to not be a stumbling block to Gentiles to the Word.  

Today we are not a concentrated Jewish group like in the desert where the diet was mainly manna.  We are not near a tabernacle.  We are a mixed Jew and Gentile population.  Old dietary laws have been changed by God for his purpose.  

2) Human laws that were integral in the pagan religions.

3) Could it possibly be a warning of “man’s laws of the church?”   

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What church would that be?  The gnostic church?  The Orthodox Church?  The Apostolic church?  The Roman Catholic Church?  Baptist?  Methodist?  Presbyterian?  Independent?

Discussion:  WHAT OTHER “LAWS” ARE NOT APPLICABLE TODAY?  Have we replaced old laws with new laws?  That nagging question.  Have we created a Christian “litmus test?” 

Ephesians 2:1-10  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Predestination?)

Paul sees alienation between God and humans (sin) is symbolic and enacted by the alienation between races (in this case Jew and Gentile).  Jew and Gentile and their hatred of each other is the sign of alienation from God.  God wants peace between nations and races.  If one is in alienation from other peoples, other races, one is NOT RIGHT WITH GOD. 

Discussion:  Black and white and their hatred of each other is a sign of alienation from God?  

Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight…  What racist organizations are filled with Bible-toting believers spouting their favorite verses including “love your neighbor?”  

As an example Paul describes the temple in Jerusalem where there are 2 courtyards - one for the Gentiles and one for the Jews only.  Symbolically, Jews had closer access to God.  There was a wall between the courtyards and a sign on the wall that said “any Gentile who enters this hall will be KILLED.”  For a Gentile, seeking to be closer to God would bring death.  Paul says Jesus' death BROKE THAT WALL so ALL have equal access to God.  The place to find that access is the CHURCH.  

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Ephesians 3:10-11  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God’s plan for humanity is being revealed in this social movement called the church - Christianity.  The church’s mission is not to baptize people or convince them Jesus is Lord,  but is to be a laboratory of the world’s possibilities.  A utopian community.  A test case for how diverse people can live in unity.  Gentile nor Jew, male nor female, black nor white, etc.  

The Torah was, in kind, an example.  That is: IF the Jews kept the Torah perfectly, they would entice the Gentiles to follow the law as well.  “Let’s be like them.”  

Discussion:  Really?  Was there ever an Old Testament book about evangelism?  One could make a case for Jonah, but…  Was Israel EVER to intermarry and spread the law, Torah?  Entering the Promised Land: Deuteronomy 7:1a, When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, and drives out before you many nations…  Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.  Do not intermarry with them.   After the Babylonian Exile: Nehemiah 13:23-31 and  Ezra 9 discuss the ills of intermarriage of the Israelites.  The “intermingling of the races was the woe of his people.”  Do Jews even evangelize today?

Paul said IF we (the church) live according to Jesus it will be a symbol of the world’s possibility to live in peace and harmony. 

Discussion:  Does this message reflect the order to excommunicate the sexual pervert sleeping with his mother?  And others like him?  Who draws the line?  The hypocrites who do the same thing in secret? 

Is Paul giving conflicting messages here?  Did his story change?  Is it possible to thread this needle in the first place?  Judge but don’t judge.  Accept but don’t accept.  

If the church cannot achieve harmony, if it becomes a divisive institution, it loses its ability to exist.  The church is to point the way to the world, and if it doesn’t it is a failed instrument. 

Discussion:  Phew.  Look at that history.  Did Charlemagne or the crusades provide any unity?  Are churches providing unity and understanding today?

Jesus’ gave one important prayer for all believers.  “Us.”  John 17:21-22 “My prayer is not for them (disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,  that all of them MAY BE ONE, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.  In one word: Unity.

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Discussion:  The lecturer, Dr. Johnson, is saying Paul felt the same way and his epistles are corrections and guidance for just that - unity.  Maybe in his day that was true?  Paul was a champion for women “at that time.”  Yet by applying his words in the present day is he more the cause of dissension than a healer and unifier?

Paul’s prison letters are summed up in 2 Timothy:  Even though I am in prison, the word of God cannot be chained.

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Lecture 11:  History and Theology  1 and 2 Timothy and Titus - The Pastoral Epistles.  

Dr. Johnson believes they are written by Paul.  He is in the minority.   Most think these letters retreat from Paul’s radical egalitarian position (female and slave rights).

Up until the 19th century these letters were considered as authentic Pauline epistles.  In 1807 Friedenmacher challenged the position of 10 of Paul’s epistles with several criteria.  The result.  7 were deemed authentic, 3 were considered suspect.  Were they, perhaps, trying to keep Paul in their opinion of who they wanted him to be?

The criteria of the 3 deemed suspect:

1)  Context.  Especially Titus.  Paul wrote a letter to Titus in the churches of Crete.  Were they even churches Paul had established?  Maybe.  But there is NO evidence he was ever there except on his final journey to Rome.

2) Style.  Analyzing vocabulary.  Looking for words Paul seldom used.

3) Thematic consistency.  Do the Theology and Ethics differ?  Faith, hope, and love are Paul’s virtues.  The tone is notably different in these 3 letters, but the ETHICS is radically different.  Dealing with women.  Women are to stay silent.  And it is because of EVE.  She was the first SINNER.   This has always been an issue for Paul.  

Paul was very accepting of women in his work - Priscilla, Phoebe, Junia, Thecla(?).  His egalitarian view always butted with the patriarchal Hellenistic (Greek) world of male dominance.  

Discussion:  Is this why Paul changed?  To appease the Greco-Roman audience?  If so, would he change to fit the women’s rights of 2024?  Is it possible these books were not Pauline, but were written later to reduce the influence of women in the church and put authority back where it belonged?  With MEN?  (Don’t shoot the messenger!  I’m all for respecting women!)

Most think these pastoral letters were written pseudonymously - from the 2nd century.  They were Paul’s ideas but rewritten for the 2nd century - to better fit society AND to fit the realization that Jesus might not come next week, but more in the future.  (After all, he hadn’t come yet…)  Be good citizens.  Fit more into “normal society.”   Don’t be a radical cult. 

Discussion: Do these pastoral letters reflect God’s ethics, Jesus’ ethics, Jewish ethics, Pauline ethics, or Greco-Roman ethics?  

Should our ethics mirror the second century Greco-Roman world?

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The church is envisioned and set up like a Greek household with a hierarchical arrangement with bishops, deacons, etc.  The church begins with authentic Paul but evolves into a structured church - catholicism.  A falling away from the pristine origins of the church.  

In the opinion of Dr. Johnson, these are not letters at all.  They are literary compositions in the form of letters written in the 2nd century.  

2 Timothy is the biographical Paul writing from prison.  He hands off his work to Timothy.  The transition of Paul from the 1st to the 2nd generation.  Included were instructions on how to create the “HOUSEHOLD of God.”  

Note:  Were these letters written in response to the wild adventures in the apocryphal book of Paul and THECLA?  That is the conventional wisdom.  See APSE Article: The Acts of Paul and Thecla.  Apostle Paul Articles  pages 19 and 27.  

Thecla was mentioned earlier in this study, featured in a fascinating apocryphal book that warrants a closer look.  Thecla may have been a female missionary or may represent a composite of female missionaries in the time of Paul.  Women were attracted to this new religion of Christianity because it embraced celibacy, and many women saw celibacy as a way to freedom.  Freedom from life under a domineering husband, probably an arranged husband at that.  Freedom from a life expected to produce children, at least 3 if they were all sons and survived.    The Roman Law of 3 Sons gave desired social status to any family that produced 3 boys.  Assuming 50% were female, 25% of all children died within a year, and another 25% died by age 12, an average woman in Greco-Roman culture would have been expected to carry AT LEAST 6 to 7 children in her lifetime.   Death of a mother from childbirth was not uncommon.

Would a 1st Century women's libber be objectionable to the fledgling religion?  Were the Pastoral Epistles needed to get the image of male dominance back in place?  To help fit into the “father figure thinking” of both Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures? 

Dr. Johnsom doesn’t  accept this theory.  So here comes his explanation (or “spin”).  You decide. 

Paul did not write as an individual.  He sat in a group and ran ideas around for discussion.  These were not pseudonymous.  

The lecturer, Dr. Johnson, breaks these letters apart.

2 Timothy is like Philippians.  From prison.  Stylistically close.

1 Timothy reflects 1 Corinthians.  Wealth and slavery are thorny issues.  Wealthy women, especially, are creating problems.  Are these CULTURAL issues or RELIGION issues?  Or a little of both? 

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Titus resembles Galatians.  Gentile churches struggle with the need to accept purification rites - circumcision, et. al.  

So maybe the letters are not so different?  Yes, they were Pauline, but they changed according to the situation.  These are letters not to churches, but to “trusted individuals.”  Church leaders.  Delegates.  Trained in Greek rhetoric.  He does not use (Jewish) scripture, but Greek philosophy.  This explains why his language was different.

The pastorals fit historical rhetoric.  

2 Timothy is a parenetic (from a parent) letter, a letter of how to behave in certain circumstances.  Like an older man writing to someone as if he were that person’s father.  Note he addressed: My beloved son, and speaks as if he was the son’s father raising him through life.  This is a private letter.

An Aside:  How much were fathers involved in raising their children?  Sons?  Probably.  Daughters?  Yes?  Maybe?  Did they know they even existed? 

1 Timothy and Titus are written as royal correspondence.  As an emperor would write to a governor.  1) Personal advice: Hold the authority to a high standard of conduct.  I expect and trust you to do these things.  2)  Practical commandments:  I give to you the things to accomplish and the authority to do them. These are not private letters.  They are for the leaders to read and the public to acknowledge.  

Early Christianity was non-institutional.   There was freedom in the early church which people wanted, the spirit driven freedom that the church included.  The “house church.”  (domus ecclesiae)

These “letters” change that.

Discussion:  Was there TOO MUCH freedom?  Too much freelancing?  Was the message too inconsistent?   Was there structure needed to control the message?  “Your message can’t be right because it is different from mine.  And mine is right.”

1 Timothy  Does not give job descriptions, but does give a moral guide listing qualities for the supervisors (helpers) of the church and qualities for the “old guys,” the Presbyters (elders) of the church.  

The church evolved a board of trustees (Elders), administrators led by a revolving leader, the Episcopas, the superintendent.   Beneath the board of elders are the deacons, the workers who carry out the practical chores.  

Duties of the board: Raise and distribute the money (distribute charity such as care for the widows - 1 Timothy 5).  They settle disputes, carry out the readings.  It was not an elaborate structure, and it was TOTALLY NON-LEGITIMATED.  

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In other words in the 2nd century one would say: Listen to the Bishop, the Bishop speaks for God.  The Bishops were legitimate successors of the apostles.

But there is NO legitimacy of the helpers, the elders, deacons, and such.  They are practical and functional.  And they reflect the structure of GRECO-ROMAN CLUBS! (i.e. the Elks club).  And the structure of the Jewish synagogue - where Christianity began.

The structure of the Christian church came from its environment - the Greek society and the Jewish diaspora.  AND BOTH WERE MALE DOMINATED GROUPS!

Discussion:  If one accepts Dr. Johnson’s explanation, male domination of Christianity came from Jewish synagogues and Greco-Roman society - the structure of a “service club.”  Is that what Jesus would have wanted?  Is that how Jesus ran his ministry?  It is true all 12 disciples were male.  But his band included many women in important positions, including the funding of his mission.  Luke 8:1-3 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,  and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;  Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.  One has to love Joanna, wife of Chuza.  Jesus’ ministry was supported by money provided by the wife of Herod’s OWN HOUSEHOLD MANAGER!  COOL!

1 Corinthians  Paul wanted STRUCTURE.  Local courts of the church.  He lists “governing of the church” as a spiritual gift.  Wealthy households should be respected because they financially support the church.  (Although remember in 1 Corinthians 12:21-15 Paul placed the weak at the top of the church and the wealthy at the bottom.)  In Romans he acknowledged governing as a spiritual gift.  In Galatians he told wealthy people they should share their money with those who teach them.  

1 Thessalonians 5:12 Respect those who stand over you and work among you - written within weeks of the church’s founding.  In Philippians Paul greeted the elders and deacons and the bishops as well as the rest of the church.  Obviously there was a structure in place there.  

Back to the question.  Are these 3 letters pseudo or authentic Paul?  They do have some things in common with the accepted letters.  

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Note: Can a definitive answer be made here?  Probably not.  Sadly these verses have been used over the years to degrade the responsibilities of women in the church among other issues.  

Discussion:  A very interesting comparison of Jesus and Paul.  Jesus was a champion for the poor and the oppressed.  Of course he had no problem having a meal with a rich tax collector.  Paul seldom, if ever, dwelt on the poor and oppressed.  And he even embraced the wealthy in their role.  And for both Jesus and Paul that role was to provide for the church and the people.  Luke 12:48b    From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

What amount of giving is sufficient?  I suggest you talk to God.  I will say the emotion that washes over faces when asked to give up wealth for Jesus is pretty evident.  Here’s a question:  How much of your wealth would you have to give up before you said: “OK, I’ve had enough.  I deny Jesus and the cross.”?

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Lecture 12:  Paul’s Influence

The lasting influence on Christianity and the West.

1.  His role in the formation of the canon of the New Testament.

2.  Paul’s theological influence.

3.  Paul’s limitations in his teachings.  The problems he presents.

4.  Lasting impressions of Paul.

In the early 2nd century: Paul’s letters were being read, but in a casual way, by Ignatius and Polycarp.  They had good things, but…  Paul was not considered a great theologian or a great thinker.   He was a founder of churches and a martyr under Nero at the same time as Peter.  He was known as a moral teacher.  

There were some others who did consider him a theologian, but they were considered HERETICS.  A diversion from Christ.  

Marcion of Sinope was an early theologian and evangelist circa 144 A.D.  He formed a version of Christianity, the Marcionites.  He was a dualist.  Spirit was good, physicality was EVIL.  The Jewish creator God (Yahweh) was BAD - he trapped humans in an evil world.  The God of Jesus was a good God, an alien God that Yahweh had never heard of.  A NEW TRUE God that gave us Jesus to free us from the evil God, Yahweh.  This is based on a literal interpretation of Paul’s teachings of “flesh and spirit.”   “Body (bad) and soul (good).”  Hence, asceticism was in.  So no sex.  They died out.  (Funny how that works.)  Oh yeah, he hated Jews as well.  They wanted to drag people back into the evil Judaism.  (Here is one case to be glad the church went the direction it did.  There are more to follow.)

Other splinters based on Paul are the GNOSTICS.  Those who “know.”   Paul taught a way for people to escape from their materiality which is BAD.   Paulentinus and Buseletes read Paul vigorously.  Paul was the theologian of these heretics.  An individualistic, world denying, antisocial, anti institutional, and celibate form of Christianity.  

Other teachers rescued Paul and the Christian message from these heretical interpretations in vigorous debates against Marcion and the gnostics.  These teachers were Tertullian in North Africa, Ireneus of France, and Clement of Egypt.  

This debate process was instrumental in determining the books of The Canon.  Marcion wanted ONLY Paul (minus the pastorals) and Luke.  The others demanded the gospels and Paul - including the Pastorals.  The gnostics also wanted new books they had written themselves - the gnostic texts.  (Note: Only a few apocryphal texts are gnostic.  The terms are not interchangeable.)

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Paul was rescued. Paul’s letters were included after the Gospels.  The letters were not considered hostile, but cooperative.   Radical Paul comes in the beginning and at the end of his other writings of the New Testament.  Paul’s radical positions are muted.  He is read as supportive of other writings in the New Testament.  This format also exposes the variety of Pauls that are revealed in the epistles.  

Ireneus and Tertullian also developed a collection of beliefs (the CREED):  ONE God,  which not only agrees with the Jewish Yahweh, but also dismisses the Marcion theory of TWO Gods.  The one true God created BOTH heaven and earth.  

Marcion had Yahweh (bad) create earth and the second God of Jesus (good) create the spiritual realm.  His rationale: Paul said in 2 Corinthians: The God of this world BLINDED the eyes of unbelievers.  “Well, hey, THAT is the second God!” so said Marcion.  (It seems twisting Paul’s words has been going on ever since he wrote them.)

Irenaus also determined apostolic succession from Irenaus back to Peter, hence Peter was the first Pope.  He created a living succession of Christian orthodoxy that has lasted 2000 years.  

The result?  Paul becomes scripture.  It is a divinely inspired scripture.  Paul is now a theologian.  Not just a teacher of character.   Many think Paul, himself, would have been surprised by this turn of events.

3 people influenced by Paul:  

A VERY brief glimpse of the three.  Each of these would require hours of research, study, and discussion.

1.  Augustin of Hippo (St. Augustine) of the 5th century.  Augustin was a slave to his own sensuality, his uncontrollable sexual desires.  Romans 13 changed him.  He became chaste.  He felt Paul had been tormented as much as himself.  (Meaning Paul had been tormented with sexual desires?  Is he saying Paul’s “thorn in his flesh” was obsessive sexual desires?)

Pelagius, an Irish monk, felt that Jesus was a moral teacher who showed us the way.  Man can do good.  Augustin was outraged!  He felt humans ARE INCAPABLE OF DOING GOOD UNLESS THEY ARE SAVED BY THE GRACE OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST.   

The good:  The teacher of grace, an important interpretation of Paul.

The bad:  Human depravity - especially human sexuality - is the problem. 

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Discussion:  Yes, Jesus’ teachings provide us with a moral compass.  Before that the moral compass was the Law?  And other cultures?  Other regions?  Can man not do good UNLESS he is saved by the grace of God?  (I assume woman as well as man.)  Through Jesus, I assume.  

So no good can happen by man in any part of the world that has not heard of Jesus?  

And the problems in the world are because we are all depraved?  Human sexuality is the problem - evidently BAD.  What part physical attraction, friendship, love, not to mention HORMONES have to do with this is up for debate, I guess.

2.  Martin Luther (1483-1486) was tormented by trying to keep the monastic rule perfectly - he was OBSESSED with perfection.  He found grace as the freedom from the LAW.  Rules.  Lots of rules.  (Rules that didn’t necessarily apply to everyone the same?)  One needs FAITH alone.  Return to Paul.  Scripture alone.  Faith alone.  

Luther saw Catholicism as based on LAW, just as Judaism, and Jesus came to FULFILL THE LAW FOR US.  To atone for our inability to follow the law to perfection.  Applying Paul to one’s life has again changed Christianity.  

3.  Karl Barth - in the 20th century.  Liberal Protestantism had identified with social progress.   Then WWI occurred.  Barth based his thinking on Kierkegaard: Christianity is not a doctrine to be taught, it is a life to be lived.  God is SO GREAT, He cannot be rationally defined or proven that He exists.  Barth stated: “Christianity IS NOT a product of Western civilization and progress.  Christianity is way more profound than just western social progress.”  

Barth used Paul’s work to dispute Christianity as a blessing of the advances and development of Western civilization.  Christianity is NOT a form of legalism.  Paul has had a prophetic role. 

Note: Barth disputes that the prosperity of the West is due to  Christianity.  Note the environment of his life:  WWI and the subsequent rise of Hitler.  Hitler knew the power of the church in supporting his Third Reich movement.  The opposition was led by Barth who was the principal author of the Barmen Declaration.  

See APSE Article: The Barmen Declaration.     Apostle Paul Articles  pages 98 and 100.

Barth recognized the danger of Hitler’s use of racial persecution and of placing the church under the auspices of the state.  The Barmen Declaration refuted all of these positions that Hitler placed on the church, and refuted the clergy who went along with them.  Barth was Swiss but taught at the University of Bonn.  He was fired and sent back to Switzerland when he refused to sign a letter of support for Hitler.  He survived in that neutral country.  An associate was German Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Bonhoeffer spoke out against Naziism.  For his efforts he was placed in a concentration camp in 1943 and was hanged before he could be liberated in April of 1945.  

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An Aside:  Hitler was exposed to anti-semitism in his youth.  Claims of Hilter being part-Jew himself have been debunked.  When Germany surrendered in WWI Hitler blamed Jews, Social Democrats, and communists.  Ironically over 100,000 Jews fought FOR Germany in WWI.

Paul’s limitations: 

1) Christianity is NOT based on a system of laws.  It is neither Judaism nor Islam.  The both exhibit structure: “Here’s what you do.  Here is your reward when you do them.”  The two religions of Judaism and Islam can develop civilizations because they give precise laws that can be interpreted and applied.  

Discussion:  The question is can those civilizations adapt over time as knowledge increases when still encumbered by their specific set of rules? Are Islamic countries restrained by their rules?

Are some trying to make Christianity structured?  A few simple rules.  Is being anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-divorce a means of establishing a few simple rules to attain the reward?  Seems easier than trying to love your neighbor as oneself or even harder, love your ENEMY.   

2) Consider: Christianity is based ON A PERSON who happens to be an EXECUTED CRIMINAL.  His ministry was only 3 years long.  And says he was resurrected!

Hence, early Chrisitans could never have foreseen the spread of Christianity to the world and becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire.  How could Paul ever expect his seemingly benign statement “Always submit to the authorities” to be applied to totalitarian rule.  Or HITLER.  Or the US government in regard to slavery.  

Discussion:  Does this make sense?  Paul is scripture.  Paul is revelation.  Paul must be literally interpreted.  WE MUST ALWAYS obey the government, even if it is Hitler? 

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3) Paul’s comments on sexuality are very random.  Casual observations on homosexuality.  His comments on marriage and having children were very constrained by the fact he thought the world was going to come to an end VERY SOON.  Days.  Weeks.  Months.  1 Corinthians 7:31 “The frame of this world is passing away.”

3) What should a person be?  Most Christian saints are martyrs and virgins.  Is this what holiness means?  

Discussion:  Did Jesus die on the cross so Christian life could be martyrdom?  Did Jesus not come to earth to make life here BETTER?  Life on earth as it is IN HEAVEN?

4) Regarding slavery, gender issues,  non-Jews.  Is Paul defining a Christian or is this Paul reflecting on his position as patriarch in 1st century Judaism?    Remember, Paul himself was biased.  Gentile Gods were DEMONS (1 Corinthians 10:20).  

Discussion:  Does this guide us in what we are to say to other religions’ Gods?  Buddha, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva are demons?  Are Allah and the Jewish and Christian God different?  Is Allah a demon?  Does that help us in a 21st century world?

Do you have any knowledge of Islam?  Do you even know the 6 Basic Tenets of Islam?  See APSE Article: From PBS - Beliefs and Daily Lives of Muslims  Apostle Paul Articles  page 94.

In Pre Civil War America BOTH sides used Paul to justify their positions.  Pro and anti slavery.  Should a slave escape or stay “faithful” to the master?  

Discussion:  Deuteronomy 23:15-16   If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master.  Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them.  

Was this verse ripped out of Confederate Bibles?  Should we conform to the government or follow Paul’s statement: God sees neither male nor female, slave or free…

See APSE Article:   Slavery and the Bible: Does the Christian Faith condone slavery?

Apostle Paul Articles   page 95.

5) Should we follow the rules of social conservatism, or are we free?  Is there to be a more egalitarian society?  Is Paul even useful in societal issues given his biases living as a 1st Century Jew in a Greco-Roman world no less.

Discussion:  Interestingly, Dr. Johnson says Paul is of limited or no value in addressing societal issues.  Do you have an opinion?

CONCLUSION:  Paul’s most enduring contributions - A set of sensibilities.

1.  Paul’s stand on a living God.  Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection God is at work in the world to make this a better place.  Jesus is the pattern for new humanity.  A powerful claim.  Paul’s version of Christianity stands on the power in the human experience of God rather than on scripture.  The paradox is that Paul became scripture!

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2.  Paul pays little attention to the fates or fortunes of individuals.  It is a faith for the moral integrity of the community.  It is a social movement, not a club for personal advantage or growth or perfection.  He challenges every form of individualism in culture and in Christianity itself.    

3.  In regard to philosophy Paul is a THINKER.  He does not give specific answers, but challenges his readers to think through experiences and behavior; hence Christianity has remained a flexible and adaptable religion that engages the larger universe of thought and culture. 

Final discussion:  Thinking of your past experience reading Paul’s epistles and studying Pauline statements and positions, has Paul encouraged thinking, compromise, adaptability, and flexibility to the Christian life?  Or has Paul laid down a specific set of laws and behaviors that defines a Christian?  A small box defined by rules and behaviors.   If you fit in this box you are a Christian.  One foot out of the box and you are condemned to hell.

After this study has your position changed?  Do you think differently of the Apostle Paul? 

Has your definition of what it means to be a Christian changed?