My pal, Alwyn, introduced me to NT Wright years ago... "What Did St Paul Really Say?" was stimulating, it shows how 'subversive' Paul's gospel was to Caesar's empire. Though I'm critical of his position on 'justification by faith', it does not stop me from appreciating the following gems... (mildly, paraphrased)
Rembrandt's impression on the Apostle
Wright wrote: If Paul's answer to Caesar's empire is the empire of Jesus, what does that say about living under the rule of its new lord?
It implies the scattered and often muddled cells of women, men and children loyal to Jesus as Lord form colonial outposts of the empire that is to be: subversive little groups when seen from Caesar's point of view,
...but when seen Jewishly an advance foretaste of the time when the earth shall be filled with the glory of the God of Abraham and the nations will join Israel in singing God's praises.
Therefore, this counter-empire can never be merely critical, never merely subversive.
It claims to be the reality of which Caesar's empire is the parody; it claims to be modelling the genuine humanness, not least the justice and peace, and the unity across traditional racial and cultural barriers, of which Caesar's empire boasted.
(Dave: Last Sunday Peter Rowan's sermon on Revelations exposed the economic exploitation and violence of 'pax romana'. Dualism - "spiritual is good, the earthly/physical is less-good")
If this claim is not to collapse once more into dualism, into a rejection of every human aspiration and value, it will be apparent that there will be a large degree of overlap. "Shun what is evil; cling to what is good."
There will be affirmation as well as critique, collaboration as well as critique. To collaborate without compromise, to criticise without dualism — this is the delicate path that Jesus' counter-empire had to learn to tread.
What is desired is "a model for churches and theologians to contribute to the ordering of society, without being Christianly imperialistic". Equally, we need a model for churches and theologians to contribute to the critique of society, without being Christianly dualistic.
Rembrandt's impression on the Apostle
Wright wrote: If Paul's answer to Caesar's empire is the empire of Jesus, what does that say about living under the rule of its new lord?
It implies the scattered and often muddled cells of women, men and children loyal to Jesus as Lord form colonial outposts of the empire that is to be: subversive little groups when seen from Caesar's point of view,
...but when seen Jewishly an advance foretaste of the time when the earth shall be filled with the glory of the God of Abraham and the nations will join Israel in singing God's praises.
Therefore, this counter-empire can never be merely critical, never merely subversive.
It claims to be the reality of which Caesar's empire is the parody; it claims to be modelling the genuine humanness, not least the justice and peace, and the unity across traditional racial and cultural barriers, of which Caesar's empire boasted.
(Dave: Last Sunday Peter Rowan's sermon on Revelations exposed the economic exploitation and violence of 'pax romana'. Dualism - "spiritual is good, the earthly/physical is less-good")
If this claim is not to collapse once more into dualism, into a rejection of every human aspiration and value, it will be apparent that there will be a large degree of overlap. "Shun what is evil; cling to what is good."
There will be affirmation as well as critique, collaboration as well as critique. To collaborate without compromise, to criticise without dualism — this is the delicate path that Jesus' counter-empire had to learn to tread.
What is desired is "a model for churches and theologians to contribute to the ordering of society, without being Christianly imperialistic". Equally, we need a model for churches and theologians to contribute to the critique of society, without being Christianly dualistic.
Comments
"Let us think new thoughts in order to better understand old ones" - Wright
Dangerously delicious.
Jack
Wright's historical Jesus was good, eh? His historical Paul is like a repentant Osama bin Laden who is on a crusade to setup subversive cells of compassion and truth all over the roman empire.
And he does it with such simplicity, clarity and incisive humor, (unlike some pretentious philosophers) that u just can't put it down!
Wright has a new book on Paul ('Fresh Perspectives') out this October...it's 'only' 176 pages so it's probably just a teaser for his next big one in the Christian Origins series (the last instalment out being 'Resurrection of Son of God' which was truly out of this world, all 700 pages of it!).
Held in in my chest, and tearfully put it back...
Any millionaire out there who believes in what this blog is about can send money order to my Maybank Account... :D
Oh, i got my "What did St. Paul Really Say?" for 20 - 0.10 (Glad Sounds Taipan). Not bad not bad. Am holding back "Who Was Jesus" to buy the bigger JVG. Once again, anyone? anyone? anyone?
Jack
Dun worry u can always find the liberal stuffs from second hand bookstores nowadays :D
Maybe there's business for apologists yet... just chatted up with a fren who thinks they are a dying breed and rightly so!
alternatively, guys, try the online secondhand bookstores...some good deals more than occasionally...
Heheh.... Have been MIA in Rome recently!
From,
Hedonese, growing a spine in Ratzinger's embrace :D
"We may decide, in the end, that the reading of Paul reached by Augustine, Luther, Cavin, and Wesley after much wrestling with the texts and embraced by generations of scholars who were neither appreciably dumber than we nor less conversant with the Pauline writings, requires modification in the light of later knowledge; I myself believe this is true.
We may even decide that the long-accepted reading should be given up today as hopelessly wrongheaded from the start -- though I myself do not think so. In any case, our own thinking will be stretched by the exercise, we will learn much of the history of Pauline scholarship in the process, and we may even discover an insight or two into the apostolic object of all the wrangling."