A Second Look at Paul
Posted by: Jacob Friesen
Church: Gospel Mennonite Winnipeg
Date: July 27th, 2011
As Evangelicals we feel a special connection to the Apostle Paul. We shape our theology, evangelism, missions philosophy and devotional practices after him. Or so we think.
Many scholars are encouraging us to take another look. Some suggest that our understanding of Paul is loaded with misconceptions. Arlene is preparing to teach a course at SBC this fall entitled – “Galatians to Philemon”. Her study results in interesting dinner conversation but more importantly gives me a desire to dig deeper into the Word.
I invite you to join our discussion. Attached is an article from Christianity Today to get you started.
Note: I post this not to create trouble but to cause us to dig deeper because our understanding of Paul and his theology does shape our understanding of our faith and mission.
The Paul We Think We Know – Click Here
There are some things about this article that bother me. Well – two big things really.
1. It requires that I admit I might have been wrong about some things.
2. It requires that I change.
I don’t like either of these items. And if I admit I am wrong about a few things, how do I know I”m not wrong about other things?
Humility is all well and good in theory. In practice, I don’t like it much.
The paper does not highlight the cultural differences between Jesus’ listeners and Paul’s readers. I wonder how much of the language differences would be accounted for by that alone.
There are some good sessions in this Wheaton conference in 2010 –
Vanhoozer on Saturday is especially interesting –
“Righting the Wrongs of the Reformation”
http://samson.wheaton.edu/wetn/lectures-theology10.htm
And if you want to hear Neil Cole (Organic Church) teaching on Paul..
http://www.cmaresources.org/video/journeys-of-paul_neil-cole