What if I told you I am a Christian, and then proceeded to stereotype another group of people, telling you that all of the people within that group (i.e. race, nationality, etc.) are liars, evil and lazy gluttons? I suspect that most of you would either walk out or tell me I was no Christian… and rightly so. Such stereotypes have no place among true Christians, wouldn’t you agree? Now, what if I told you the person whom I am quoting was Paul the Apostle?

Read it for yourself, in Titus 1:12-13.

For some reason the vast majority of Christians look at the Apostles and other writers of the New Testament as being like super heroes, always able to hear God’s Living Word and never interpreting that word from God wrongly. However, all of them were mere men, humans who sometimes made mistakes. We have a record of one of them, Peter, initially getting it wrong; then later he repented, seeing the error of his way. Peter refused to eat with the Gentiles because their food was not blessed and considered unclean. But God finally got through to him, giving him the vision of the sheet coming down from heaven with all manner of animals, telling Peter that whatever God creates is not to be considered unclean. Isn’t it totally reasonable to then assume that in some areas these men of God might never have gotten it right? If that could be true for us, why not them?

What if you were a preacher and traveled to a far country where slavery was still being practiced? Would you feel it your Christian duty to help the slaves obtain their freedom? Would it make a difference if I told you those slaves you would encounter are young girls forced to be sex slaves?

If I came across such injustice I know I would have to do something, because such an action would be in perfect harmony with Christ’s teaching (often referred to as “The Golden Rule”) “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Mt 7:12). Among all the Christian denominations in America during the Civil war, only a very few were united in their opposition to slavery. The Quakers, or Society of Friends as they call themselves, was one such church.

Again we find Paul preaching another Gospel, one that condones and empowers the continuation of slavery. “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:9-10). This same command is issued in Paul’s letter to Timothy (I Timothy 6:1-2): “Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort”.

So, to sum up, if I am the master of slaves when I give my life to Christ, I must not listen to Jesus, who said to do to others as I would have them do to me (and EVERYONE desires to be FREE!!!) but rather, according to Paul, I must listen to Paul, someone I now know to have preached a different Gospel then Jesus on many matters. If at this point there is any doubt in your mind that obeying Paul’s command on this issue of slavery is wrong, just go back and review your history. Slavery in this nation was justified by those very passages written by Paul!! What unspeakable evils were done in the name of Christ, simply because Christian men and women refused to acknowledge that some of the writers of the New Testament might not have God’s word on every subject!!

Paul’s commands regarding women are universally ignored today, but in times past were considered commands from God to Paul and thence to the church. Without a doubt his being a lifelong bachelor gave him no insights whatever into the mind of women or their needs. Paul tells women that they must not teach in the church but rather keep silent. Christians have found all sorts of justifications for why he said what he said about women, never once admitting the truth, that Paul just didn’t hear God right on this one!

His bias towards women extended to his extreme views on sex, considering celibacy (his choice) to be the best choice. This led him to some other bizarre generalities regarding women. “Let not a widow be taken into the number under 60, having been the wife of one man… but the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; having damnation because they have cast off their first faith. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle, wandering from house to house; and not only idle but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not” (I Timothy 5: 9-13). This is obvious bias against women and it is further proof that Paul is not the saint he makes himself out to be. He was a man who in many instances preached another Gospel then the one Jesus preached, for Jesus never once uttered such foolishness against women.

Finally, let us look at Paul’s commands regarding how we should view those in political power, the rulers of the day. In Romans 13: 1-6 we read, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.”

I only have to bring up one tyrant to prove that “The authorities that exist have been established by God… They are God’s servants” is a false statement: Adolf Hitler. But as history has proven, the centuries are littered with rulers who were anything but “God’s servants”! We also have Stalin in Russia, Pol Pot in Cambodia, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Turkish Government’s genocide of 1-2 million Armenian Christians after WWI, and many more examples that cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, cause us to agree with Paul and declare that the authorities which did these unspeakable evils were “God’s servants”.

However, for many Christians throughout history it was in fact Paul’s writings that caused them to go along with brutal regimes such as the Nazis. Remember, Paul declares that to resist rulers is to rebel against God. Many years ago I read some of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings and saw just how complicit German Christian’s were in their failure to resist Hitler. They felt they were right because they followed the Apostle Paul’s teaching on the matter, teachings that were given a further boost of authority because they are in the Bible! Jesus on the other hand never made any such statements regarding God establishing rulers for our good. Jesus did say to render to Caesar (or any government for that matter) what was Caesar’s, but this was said in the context of money, not blind allegiance. Again, it is obvious to me that Paul has preached another Gospel.

I could provide a number of other examples but my point is simply this. Stop following blindly and unquestioningly what you read in the Bible. Just because something is in the Bible doesn’t make it the best choice, nor does it make it true. God said in Genesis, “Come, let us reason together”, giving us each a mind that should question and research every idea, including Biblical ideas, before they are accepted as true and the best course of action.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 am and is filed under 3Circles Church Communities, be the church, church, education, intentional community, spirit-centered revolution, spiritual principles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.