If............... If.............
Oh alright.
I couldn't spend much time to trawl all Paul's letters so just wandered through and snatched half a dozen examples.
All you have to do is show me where Jesus mentioned these. You might find one or two because I've done this at a canter, but if I carried on for a dull day I'd fill several pages. I wrote very brief precis, the verses need to be looked up.
Thank you...you know I love to get my teeth into some meat......
Let the investigation begin......
Case for the defense.....the catch-cry in all of this is CONTEXT....and also reference to other verses.
I'm glad you said to look them up.....
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear (EPHESIANS 6:5)
It helps to know that slavery was very common in those days.....in fact it was probably the most common form of employment.
What about Peter? Does he get to comment on this?
"Let servants be in subjection to their masters with all due fear, not only to the good and reasonable but also to those hard to please." (1 Peter 2:18)
Since servitude in Israel was akin to employment, slaves were not harshly treated by the standards of the day, (remembering that older children were beaten with rods for disrespecting their parents.) A beating with a rod would not normally be fatal, as is shown by the statement at
Proverbs 23:13:
“Do not hold back discipline from the mere boy. In case you beat him with the rod, he will not die.”
How many kids died from getting a whooping down behind the woodshed?
It was called discipline.
And the slavery that was practiced in Bible times in Israel was nothing like the harsh practices of other nations. (Like Egypt for example) Still, it was a different time and a different culture. We don't do things like that in today's western world, though sadly, things like child slavery and sweat shop labor still exist in some "developing" nations.
Be not entangled with keeping the law (GALATIANS 5:1. )
Not sure what translation you are using there OB but the NWT and others similarly render that verse...
"For such freedom Christ set us free. Therefore, stand firm, and do not let yourselves be confined again in a yoke of slavery."
Peter again offers clarification. When the Jews were trying to impose Jewish Law on the Gentiles by insisting on circumcision....
"After much intense discussion had taken place, Peter rose and said to them: “Men, brothers, you well know that from early days God made the choice among you that through my mouth people of the nations should hear the word of the good news and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by giving them the holy spirit, just as he did to us also. 9 And he made no distinction at all between us and them, but purified their hearts by faith. 10 So why are you now making a test of God by imposing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we were capable of bearing?"
The Jews were enslaved to a Law that none of them could keep. Christ had offered them freedom from the Law, by accepting the value of Christ's sacrifice for setting them free. He released them from the "curse" of the Law that condemned them every day, because they were now under the Law of Christ...or the Law of Love. The Gentiles were receiving the holy spirit and they were not circumcised.
Paul also said..."Were you called when a slave? Do not let it concern you; but if you can become free, then seize the opportunity. 22 For anyone who was called in the Lord when a slave is the Lord’s freedman; likewise anyone who was called when a freeman is a slave of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; stop becoming slaves of men. 24 In whatever state each one was called, brothers, let him remain in it before God."
Why condemn Paul on only a small misinterpreted part of what he said. Paul does not deserve this flack IMO.
Let no one be circumcised (as a religious rite, 1 CORINTHIANS 7:18)
I am a little disappointed that a man of your experience leaves out parts of these verses and takes them out of context. I know you said it was hasty....but should a man be condemned in haste?
What did Paul really say when you compare his other statements?
"Was any man already circumcised when he was called? Let him not undo his circumcision. Has any man been called while uncircumcised? Let him not get circumcised."
His next words clarify his statement...
"Circumcision means nothing, and uncircumcision means nothing; what means something is the observing of God’s commandments. 20 In whatever state each one was called, let him remain in it."
Romans 2:25-27....
"Circumcision is, in fact, of benefit only if you practice law; but if you are a transgressor of law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 If, therefore, an uncircumcised person keeps the righteous requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be counted as circumcision, will it not? 27 And the physically uncircumcised person will, by carrying out the Law, judge you who are a transgressor of law despite having its written code and circumcision."
He was comparing ritual compliance with heartfelt obedience.
Let the woman cut her hair if her head is uncovered (1 CORINTHIANS 11:6)
Paul opens his letter to the Corinthians with this statement....
"Become imitators of me, just as I am of Christ."
How does Paul become an imitator of someone he has never met? He goes on to say....
"I commend you because in all things you remember me and you are holding fast the traditions just as I handed them on to you."
There is mention of "traditions handed on to" the elders of the congregations. We don't know what those traditions were specifically....but some may have become Christian scripture via Paul's writings?
Not everything that was said and done in the first century made it into print.
A head covering was a sign of respect for God's headship arrangement. No women presided over spiritual matters in the congregations. They were created, as Genesis states, as a compliment of their men. It was to be a support role, equally important, much like the navigator who sits beside the rally driver, having mapped out the route, helping him get to their destination in good time, but safely.
Let no one judge you with regard to meats, drinks, holy days, new moons, and sabbath days (ROMANS 14:5-7)
Again, very easy to explain....these were all things pertaining to the Law of Moses.
"Furthermore, though you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcised state of your flesh, God made you alive together with him. He kindly forgave us all our trespasses 14 and erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us. He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake."
So no one was to judge another by the fact that they were, or were not, observing the things of the Law. For Christians it no longer mattered. They were not under the Law of Moses but under the Law of the Christ as partakers of the New Covenant. If Jews wanted to observe the things in the Law, that was up to them, but it was no longer binding on Christ's disciples and no one was to judge another over it.
Let women learn quietly in church or at home (1 CORINTHIANS 14:34-35)
Women were not educated in the Jewish religious system because all matters pertaining to worship were assigned to men. For a woman to interrupt a Christian meeting with questions or distractions, would have been detrimental to all in attendance. Better to wait and ask Hubby when they got home. Humility would have been exercised and her husband would have been proud of her decorum and obedience.
In Eden, Adam was the one who educated his wife and together, they would educate their children. She was given to him as a helper, not as competition.
Let those taught support the teacher (GALATIANS 6:6)
Jesus said to his apostles in Matthew 10:9-10.......
"Do not acquire gold or silver or copper for your money belts, 10 or a food pouch for the trip, or two garments, or sandals, or a staff, for the worker deserves his food."
Luke also recorded Jesus' words...
"Do not carry a money bag or a food pouch or sandals, and do not greet anyone along the road. 5 Wherever you enter into a house, say first: ‘May this house have peace.’ 6 And if a friend of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if there is not, it will return to you. 7 So stay in that house, eating and drinking the things they provide, for the worker is worthy of his wages". (Luke 10:4-7)
It was an expectation in Jewish culture that hospitality be shown to strangers.
I am sure that a little more research and a little less bias may disarm this vendetta against Paul.