Yes, I think that is very true. Of course, our "official" line is that all scripture is equally God-inspired and correct, etc., but I think many of us (including me) believe that Paul gave us among the most profound teachings (outside of Christ's mouth).
At this point, well into this long discussion among all of you about +Paul, I'm still in the same place; I just don't "like" the man. I'd rather read +Ignatius of Antioch and +Clement of Rome any day.
I think I understand. At times in my apologetics here, St. James has turned up to be a royal pain in the butt too! :) I just try to go back to the basics and realize that all scripture is God-breathed, and if I'm not comfortable with the wording of some of it, TOO BAD! :) All I can do is pray to God for revelation. I know He will teach me what He wants me to know, when He wants me to know it.
The other [than Paul] authors of the NT are a different story. +John is my head and shoulders favorite from the opening words of his gospel...
Me too! :)
I don't know what +Paul was up to with his letters, unless its just what Kosta has opined and +John Chrysostomos tells me he meant. Personally, I am surprised that anyone listened to him, but then God surprises me all the time. At base, for someone like me, FK, The Church provides me with a context within which to accept and absorb what +Paul has to say, otherwise, I'd likely have stopped reading him decades ago.
This is a surprise to me. When you say "I don't know what +Paul was up to with his letters", I think "but Paul wrote most of the NT and God's revelation through him is one of the central bases of the Christian faith". :) I think along with Kosta's teachings, that I see a new perspective that I was unaware of before.
At base, for someone like me, FK, The Church provides me with a context within which to accept and absorb what +Paul has to say, otherwise, I'd likely have stopped reading him decades ago.
And this is the cause for my surprise. I'm talking about the instinct. The vibe I'm getting is that you will accept what Paul says, through the lens, because the Church says that is a good thing to do. It does not appear that you would accept Paul because you read his teachings independently, and then say "yes, that is Christ". If I am even close, that is completely alien to me. :)
Christ is Risen!
“At times in my apologetics here, St. James has turned up to be a royal pain in the butt too! :) I just try to go back to the basics and realize that all scripture is God-breathed, and if I’m not comfortable with the wording of some of it, TOO BAD! :) All I can do is pray to God for revelation. I know He will teach me what He wants me to know, when He wants me to know it.”
I’m very much in the same place and thank God for The Church and the Fathers who tell me “TOO BAD! READ IT!” :)
” The other [than Paul] authors of the NT are a different story. +John is my head and shoulders favorite from the opening words of his gospel...
Me too! :)”
Here’s an interesting piece of history for you. In the days before the Great Schism, and long before you guys showed up, The Church forbade catechumens from reading +John because his theology was deemed too complex. Catechesis then revolved around the other three Evangelists, the Epistles and the Fathers. I tend to agree with those old timers.
“And this is the cause for my surprise. I’m talking about the instinct. The vibe I’m getting is that you will accept what Paul says, through the lens, because the Church says that is a good thing to do. It does not appear that you would accept Paul because you read his teachings independently, and then say “yes, that is Christ”. If I am even close, that is completely alien to me. :)”
I must say that my comments are just that, mine. As I said, I don’t like +Paul and never did. I don’t like to take medicine either, but the doctor tells me to take it and I have confidence he knows what he’s talking about. The Church tells me that +Paul’s writings are important for my theosis. I believe The Church. The Church preserves the works of +John Chrysostomos and has handed them on to people like me so we can accept and understand what +Paul has written.
I am put in mind of +John Chrysostomos’ Homily XX on Ephesians 22-24. This sermon, above all others by that great patriarch and saint, save for his Paschal Sermon, has had the greatest effect on my life. So much ink has been spilled over those verses and so much oppression justified by them and yet +John Chrysostomos shows us +Paul’s true meaning. Everytime I read it, it brings tears to my eyes because it shows us so forcfully the divine Love and providence and instruction of God contained in those verses and, frankly, because it has been the guide of our married life of now nearly 30 years. Here’s a short snip with advice to husbands and then a link to the sermon itself which you will find profoundly scriptural:
“And again, never call her simply by her name, but with terms of endearment, with honor, with much love. Honor her, and she will not need honor from others; she will not want the glory that comes from others, if she enjoys that which comes from thee. Prefer her before all, on every account, both for her beauty and her discernment, and praise her. Thou wilt thus persuade her to give heed to none that are without, but to scorn all the world except thyself. Teach her the fear of God, and all good things will flow from this as from a fountain, and the house will be full of ten thousand blessings.”
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf113.iii.iv.xxi.html
Once you’ve read the sermon you might understand why I feel the way I do about my “lens”.