Jun 9, 2023·edited Jun 9, 2023Liked by Beth Felker Jones
This is beautiful - thank you!
I'm a reforming legalist (grew up on the fringes of Gothard/IBLP) and one of Jesus' teachings keeps popping up in my head and bringing great joy with it: "People weren't made for the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for people." That brings a lot of joy and freedom from legalism to me.
One question/observation - I feel like we don't give Paul enough credit for the classic problem all pastors face: how do you nudge people in the right direction without smacking them in the face with an all-or-nothing law that might drive them out of the community?
We tend to read Paul with our logical glasses on - where everything he says is at face value. But the book of Philemon is this meandering, roundabout, gentle, and occasionally sarcastic way of saying "My dude, I get that legally you own Onesimus, but reflect on how God, who legally owns you, doesn't treat you like a slave, and how Onesimus is technically your brother, and how can a brother be a slave?"
He doesn't straight up tell Philemon what to do. And that's probably where we get confused by some of Paul's more weird/circumspect stuff. He's not writing as the final, Bibilical authority we have decided he is, he's writing as a pastor pleading with his flock to be less thickheaded, but not less beloved, sheep. While existing in a world that is fundamentally immoral - acknowledging that his sheep may be forced into immoral relationships like patriarchal marriages and slavery, and giving them good advice on how to thrive and be Jesus-like in fundamentally unjust situations.
Much as Jesus said, "Hey dudes, God let you divorce your wives because you are hardhearted and callous and unkind, but he would really like you to live in the Spirit, and you'll probably be better off if you do, so stop trying to get ahead and start loving your wives." Paul is out there trying to peel hearts away from "what can I get away with/what am I obligated to?" and nudge it towards "what's possible with and in the Spirit here?"
Is it correct to say that Paul is winking and nudging his way towards an epiphany in his followers' hearts, rather than giving a clear authoritative dogma?
And is there a fancy theological word for, "this command Paul gave was to help people survive under an unjust power structure, not to legitimize the unjust power structure?"
This is beautiful - thank you!
I'm a reforming legalist (grew up on the fringes of Gothard/IBLP) and one of Jesus' teachings keeps popping up in my head and bringing great joy with it: "People weren't made for the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for people." That brings a lot of joy and freedom from legalism to me.
One question/observation - I feel like we don't give Paul enough credit for the classic problem all pastors face: how do you nudge people in the right direction without smacking them in the face with an all-or-nothing law that might drive them out of the community?
We tend to read Paul with our logical glasses on - where everything he says is at face value. But the book of Philemon is this meandering, roundabout, gentle, and occasionally sarcastic way of saying "My dude, I get that legally you own Onesimus, but reflect on how God, who legally owns you, doesn't treat you like a slave, and how Onesimus is technically your brother, and how can a brother be a slave?"
He doesn't straight up tell Philemon what to do. And that's probably where we get confused by some of Paul's more weird/circumspect stuff. He's not writing as the final, Bibilical authority we have decided he is, he's writing as a pastor pleading with his flock to be less thickheaded, but not less beloved, sheep. While existing in a world that is fundamentally immoral - acknowledging that his sheep may be forced into immoral relationships like patriarchal marriages and slavery, and giving them good advice on how to thrive and be Jesus-like in fundamentally unjust situations.
Much as Jesus said, "Hey dudes, God let you divorce your wives because you are hardhearted and callous and unkind, but he would really like you to live in the Spirit, and you'll probably be better off if you do, so stop trying to get ahead and start loving your wives." Paul is out there trying to peel hearts away from "what can I get away with/what am I obligated to?" and nudge it towards "what's possible with and in the Spirit here?"
Is it correct to say that Paul is winking and nudging his way towards an epiphany in his followers' hearts, rather than giving a clear authoritative dogma?
And is there a fancy theological word for, "this command Paul gave was to help people survive under an unjust power structure, not to legitimize the unjust power structure?"
Yes, I think Paul is very flexible and people-focused.