Stations of the Cross and Paul
Lest you think I'm combining these two topics, I included both the Stations of the Cross and Paul in my title today because I want to address both of these separate and distinct topics.
This morning I went along as co-teacher on a field trip with our 5th/6th grade RE class to an outdoor retreat center at a Catholic church so that we could walk the Stations of the Cross. (FYI, the Stations of the Cross is a 14-stop walk that symbolizes the walk that Jesus made through Jerusalem on Good Friday on his way to his execution.) We took 8 of our young people and 6 adults. Of course, we framed it all in our UU perspective, but I have to say it is one of the few experiences that I've had at the UU church which really struck me to the core. Most of what I do at the UU church feels so spiritually dry and empty that this was an amazing and blessed departure. I love having Jesus as part of my church experience, which at the UU church is rare. After all, it *is* Palm Sunday.
Then this afternoon was the monthly meeting of my UU Christian Circle. Our discussion topic for the day was Paul. I have to say that I haven't been a fan a Paul. I have attributed much of what I feel is wrong with the modern Christian church to Paul. Our discussion today (based on the Living the Questions curriculum developed by the United Methodist Church) has caused me to rethink Paul and makes me want to go back and reread the Pauline parts of the New Testament. What I learned was two earth-shattering and important things.
First, of the 13 letters often attributed to Paul, scholars only think 7 were actually written by Paul himself. The other 6 are believed to have been written later by followers of Paul who adapted his message to soften Paul's message of radical grace. So it is possible that the misogynist and homophobic statements attributed to Paul may actually have come from his followers who were trying to make Paul's teachings fit in a patriarchal, conservative society.
The second thing I learned was about the mistranslation of the word Pistis from the original text. This word was translated originally as "faith in" as in having "faith in Jesus" being the key to salvation. But in reality the closer translation would have been "faithfulness of". So the key to salvation was in believing in the "faithfulness of Jesus". If the scriptures had been translated that way all along, the emphasis would have been in following the teachings of Jesus rather than worshiping and deifying the man. Christianity and the western world would have been a totally different thing if not for that one mistranslation.
I must reread the New Testament...
This morning I went along as co-teacher on a field trip with our 5th/6th grade RE class to an outdoor retreat center at a Catholic church so that we could walk the Stations of the Cross. (FYI, the Stations of the Cross is a 14-stop walk that symbolizes the walk that Jesus made through Jerusalem on Good Friday on his way to his execution.) We took 8 of our young people and 6 adults. Of course, we framed it all in our UU perspective, but I have to say it is one of the few experiences that I've had at the UU church which really struck me to the core. Most of what I do at the UU church feels so spiritually dry and empty that this was an amazing and blessed departure. I love having Jesus as part of my church experience, which at the UU church is rare. After all, it *is* Palm Sunday.
Then this afternoon was the monthly meeting of my UU Christian Circle. Our discussion topic for the day was Paul. I have to say that I haven't been a fan a Paul. I have attributed much of what I feel is wrong with the modern Christian church to Paul. Our discussion today (based on the Living the Questions curriculum developed by the United Methodist Church) has caused me to rethink Paul and makes me want to go back and reread the Pauline parts of the New Testament. What I learned was two earth-shattering and important things.
First, of the 13 letters often attributed to Paul, scholars only think 7 were actually written by Paul himself. The other 6 are believed to have been written later by followers of Paul who adapted his message to soften Paul's message of radical grace. So it is possible that the misogynist and homophobic statements attributed to Paul may actually have come from his followers who were trying to make Paul's teachings fit in a patriarchal, conservative society.
The second thing I learned was about the mistranslation of the word Pistis from the original text. This word was translated originally as "faith in" as in having "faith in Jesus" being the key to salvation. But in reality the closer translation would have been "faithfulness of". So the key to salvation was in believing in the "faithfulness of Jesus". If the scriptures had been translated that way all along, the emphasis would have been in following the teachings of Jesus rather than worshiping and deifying the man. Christianity and the western world would have been a totally different thing if not for that one mistranslation.
I must reread the New Testament...
Labels: Lent, My Spiritual Search, RE, Theology, UU Christian Circle
posted by Mama G @ 7:13 PM
4 Comments:
At 12:11 PM,
Mystical Seeker said…
You might be interested in reading Crossan's book "God & Empire", if you haven't already. He writes there about the "three Pauls", with the "radical" Paul being the authentic one, while the "liberal" and "conservative" Pauls being the authors of the other 6 epistles.
I wrote a blog entry myself last October after seeing the "Living the Questions" dvd segment on Paul. You might be interested in John Cobb's lecture on the whole "Pistis" question.
At 9:12 AM,
Comrade Kevin said…
The Kingdom of God is within YOU.
At 10:38 PM,
Unknown said…
Greetings, I am unapologetic UU Christian from Southern California. Yesterday on Good Friday, I and about three others from the local UU Church gathered with those of other faith traditions, and denominations for common worship with the ELCA Lutherans. Music was solid, the prayers were moving, the sermon was top notch regarding the "crucified God" the idea that not only was Jesus suffering but God was present in that suffering as in our sufferings as well. All fourteen clergy were participating in a reenactment of the Passion. All of us gathered at Revival last year would have loved to have seen, met with you. Crossan was our keynote speaker on the Historical Paul. After the lecture had a chance to shake the man's hands, and chat for a few minutes. He also took the time to sign both my copies of "God and Empire" as well as "In Search of Paul" He is truly a character in himself. Lately in this Lenten season I have been participating in a series of events connected with the local UCC church including a study focusing on the life and times of Dietrich Bonheoffer, a theological discussion group wrestling with questions of universalism, hell, demons, angels, resurrection, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the virgin birth. Also empowering was the Ash Wednesday service- first time with the experience. Recently I have been called on to prepare, and co-officiate at our church's Passover Seder (on Saturday) then offer a service the following day with a Communion service. Eventually I will get a UUCF chapter eventually started but the work is not yet finished. Hope all is well with thy spirit.
At 1:48 AM,
Masasa said…
Thank you for sharing your experience with the stations of the cross, which was moving even without much detail about what exactly moved you so deeply (by the way, I love how your post indicated the way that volunteering in RE can help us along in our own faith development), and also for sharing how your thoughts on Paul are changing. I have been meaning to do some more in depth study of Paul for some time, and I appreciate the nudge.
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