The Dividing Wall Rebuilt

You told us that the wall of hostility was torn down.

Destroyed.

In Christ there was no enemy anymore.  In Christ there was just unity; just love.

In Christ we could all walk to you on equal ground, and there was no wall.

When you told Mr. Christ to tear down that wall, it was supposed to be permanent.

So why, God, do I see walls being built all around me?

The Scandalous, Moronic Death Of Messiah

In light of the cross, everything must be re-evaluated.

You see, the cross is not just the cross (for there were many crosses).

And the cross was not just the cross of a potential messiah (again, many)

No, the cross is the the cross because it is the cross of the Messiah.

And the thought of the Messiah dying is just not...right.

In fact, it is scandalous.

The Jewish Messiah was to come and conquer.  It was his role to rule, to repair and to rescue poor Israel from the hands of those who oppressed it.  Messiah was a savior who would destroy the swords of the Romans and collect the Jews dispersed among the nations.

And so when the Messiah died, it required a rethinking.  Perhaps the conquering that he came to do was more than political.  Perhaps those he came to rescue were in deeper bondage than realized.

Perhaps those who oppressed the true Jewish faith were not those who opposed the nation politically.

The Messiah's death is moronic.

Any good Greek would know a hero, and they would know power.  The thought of a King's coronation coming through his death wouldn't fit the mold.  Kingship meant authority, power, dominion.  It meant the right to dominate.

The thought of the Messiah--the King--serving humanity (and through his death!).  That doesn't make sense.

The cross of Christ calls the Greek to reconsider his notions of authority and power.  It calls the Greek to reconsider his understanding of sin, servanthood, and dominion.  It calls the Jew to rethink his view of election, ethnocentric salvation, and ethic superiority.

The cross of Christ calls us to reconsider everything.

And it calls me to reconsider.  My dependence on rational, scientific, systematic thinking.  My ethnocentric nature.  It calls me to reconsider the structures built around me, and within my very heart.

For God's Kingdom is coming, and now here, and it is unlike anything else.

It is scandalous for some.

It is moronic for many.

But for us who believe, Christ (and him crucified) is both powerful and wise.

And in this truth let my heart dwell.

Was Paul a Greek, Jew, both, or neither?

I have been reading Perspectives on Paul Old and New:  the "Lutheran" and His Critics, written by the brilliant Stephen Westerholm.

Please, don't let that start to the blog post scare you away.  No, stay!  I really want to hear your thoughts today.

So, anyway, this book basically goes through how different brilliant people understood Paul's words, especially words like justification, works, faith, and grace.  The book is wonderfully enlightening, full of great caveats and nuance.

However, I was reading yesterday the opinions and studies of a guy named Wrede (you Bible students will recognize him).  He established his work on the foundation that Paul believed in concrete powers that were real, personified, being.  In other words, he believed sin was a being, law a being, and love a being (much like the ancient Greeks personified love, war, wisdom, etc.)

This leads me to a crucial question:  Are we to read Paul as a Greek or a Jew?  Who is he?  At his core was he one or the other, or was he both?  or was he neither?  What drove Paul?

Please let me know your thoughts, as it will greatly help me as I continue to look for the best manner to read these sections of the New Testament.

Peace!