The New Testament letters written by the Apostle Paul are often viewed as the core of Christian theology and faith. Given how often the Pauline epistles are preached, one might think that Paul is responsible for the majority of the biblical content. However, the thirteen Pauline letters which are included in the New Testament canon make up only 5-6% of the Bible, and are disproportionately represented in sermons from the pulpit. As a result of this, how a church interprets Paul is often a marker of its identity and therefore an untouchable aspect of its own tradition. Not only that, but with deconstruction among Christians becoming increasingly common, Paul is often the preferred target for those who are beginning to question the faith that has been handed down to them. A “face value” reading of Paul seems to include endorsements of horrific institutions such as slavery and the suppression of women. Indeed, throughout church history, Paul’s texts have often been used to justify many horrific acts and evil deeds.
With such wide ranging perceptions of Paul present in our modern context, how should the Christian, one who wants to be faithful to the biblical text but also relevant for his own time, engage with the Pauline letters of the New Testament? Should the writings of Paul be the center of how we understand the Christian faith? Are the epistles supposed to be viewed as theological textbooks or something else entirely? Who decides which sections of Paul’s letters apply to our lives today and which don’t? All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew!
RESOURCES:
Paul: A Biography, by N.T. Wright
“Everything you know about the Gospel of Paul is likely wrong,” David Bentley Hart