{"id":7217,"date":"2016-10-07T03:08:10","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T21:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intelligent-torvalds.74-208-171-134.plesk.page\/?p=7217"},"modified":"2024-05-15T12:45:52","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T17:45:52","slug":"pauls-religious-mind-revisited-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/?p=7217","title":{"rendered":"Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

The movie Spotlight<\/a> is named after a team of investigative journalists at the Boston Globe<\/a>.\u00a0 They pierce a smokescreen of secrecy\u2014fueled by police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, businessmen, civil servants, their own bosses and colleagues, even their own subconscious desires to protect the reputation of the Catholic Church\u2014to shine a spotlight <\/em>on priests\u2019 abuse of children, both sexual and spiritual, in articles published in 2002.\u00a0 There are spoilers here.\u00a0 Though the film is based on actual events and people, I\u2019m writing about characters in a movie, including the Catholic Church<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The scope of investigative journalist Mike Rezendes\u2019 (Mark Ruffalo<\/a>) research is broadened by phone conversations with Richard Sipe (Richard Jenkins<\/a> \u2013 voice only), a psychiatrist and former priest, who treated pedophile priests during the last half of the 1960\u2019s.\u00a0 I quote one of their conversations, more personal than professional.<\/p>\n

\u201cRichard, do you still go to mass?\u201d Mike asks.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 No, I haven\u2019t been to church for some time now.\u00a0 But I still consider myself a Catholic.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow does that work?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the church is an institution, Mike, made of men.\u00a0 It\u2019s passing.\u00a0 My faith is in the eternal.\u00a0 I try to separate the two.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSounds tricky.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is,\u201d Richard agrees.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cardinal Law (Len Cariou<\/a>) presides over a shell game in the Boston Archdiocese, moving pedophile priests from parish to parish.\u00a0 A super at the end of Spotlight reads, \u201cIn December 2002, Cardinal Law resigned from the Boston Archdiocese.\u00a0 He was reassigned to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, one of the highest ranking Roman Catholic churches in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The producers expect us to feel a certain way about that fact.\u00a0 I want to use it to distinguish church<\/em>\u2014a not-for-profit business\u2014from what I\u2019ll call \u1f10\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1<\/a>, those called by God through Jesus Christ to be led by his Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Cardinal Law was promoted by the church<\/em>.\u00a0 He was a company man defending it from scandal.\u00a0 Richard says: \u201cthe secretary-canonist for the papal nuncio\u2026co-authored a report warning pedophile priests were a billion-dollar liability\u201d sixteen years earlier than the present in the film.\u00a0 But this faithfulness to the church <\/em>doesn\u2019t work out so well for the \u1f10\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1, especially the little ones<\/em> Jesus mentioned (Matthew 18:6<\/a>, Mark 9:42<\/a>, Luke 17:1, 2<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Spotlight editor Walter \u201cRobby\u201d Robinson (Michael Keaton<\/a>) threatens attorney Eric Macleish (Billy Crudup<\/a>)\u2014who profited settling child abuse cases against the Church privately\u2014for information and confirmation: \u201cWe\u2019ve got two stories here.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got a story about degenerate clergy, and we\u2019ve got a story about a bunch of lawyers turning child abuse into a cottage industry.\u00a0 Now, which story do you want us to write?\u201d\u00a0 Later however Robby admits regretfully:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had all the pieces.\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t we get it sooner?…Macleish sent us a letter on 20 priests, years ago\u2026We buried the story in Metro.\u00a0 No folo.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was you,\u201d Robby\u2019s boss Ben Bradlee, Jr. (John Slattery<\/a>) says.\u00a0 \u201cYou were Metro.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 That was me.\u00a0 I\u2019d just taken over.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember it at all.\u00a0 But yeah\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paul was concerned with both, the church<\/em> and the \u1f10\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1, without distinguishing between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
church<\/em><\/td>\n\n

\u1f10\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints?….So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? \u00a0I say this to your shame! \u00a0Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians? \u00a0Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, and do this before unbelievers?<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 6:1, 4-6 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. \u00a0Why not rather be wronged? \u00a0Why not rather be cheated? \u00a0But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 6:7, 8 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

His most beautiful words to the \u1f10\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1 and to the church<\/em> are his words on love<\/a>.\u00a0 In his letter to the Corinthians love was presented as one way, albeit, a way that is beyond comparison<\/em>,[1]<\/sup><\/a> a more excellent way<\/em> (KJV), a still more excellent way<\/em> (ESV), a way of life that is best of all<\/em> (NLV), the most excellent way<\/em> (NIV), the same way Jesus preached in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:13-48 NET<\/a>).\u00a0 In his letter to the Romans Paul presented love as the only way (Romans 13:8-10 NET):<\/p>\n

Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. \u00a0For the commandments, \u201cDo not commit adultery<\/em><\/strong>, do not murder<\/strong>, do not steal<\/strong>, do not covet<\/strong>,<\/em>\u201d (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, \u201cLove your neighbor as yourself<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d \u00a0Love does no wrong to a neighbor. \u00a0Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cleary, the love of natural humans will not fulfill the law.\u00a0 We must all be born from above<\/em>[2]<\/sup><\/a> through faith in Jesus Christ, dependent instead on the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe<\/em>,[3]<\/sup><\/a> the love<\/a> that is an aspect of the fruit of his Holy Spirit. \u00a0I\u2019ll continue contrasting Paul\u2019s regime in 1 Corinthians 5 to Jesus\u2019 regime in Revelation 2:18-29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Paul\u2019s Regime<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Jesus\u2019 Regime<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Your boasting is not good.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you know that a little yeast (\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03b7<\/a>) affects the whole batch of dough?<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 5:6 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching (who have not learned the so-called \u201cdeep secrets of Satan\u201d), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you.\u00a0 However, hold on to what you have until I come.<\/p>\n

Revelation 2:24, 25 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Clean out<\/a> the old yeast (\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03b7\u03bd, another form of \u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03b7) so that you may be a new batch of dough \u2013 you are, in fact, without yeast (\u1f04\u03b6\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9, a form of \u1f04\u03b6\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2<\/a>). \u00a0For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed<\/a>.\u00a0 So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast (\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u1fc3, another form of \u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03b7), the yeast (\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u1fc3, another form of \u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03b7) of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast (\u1f00\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2, another form of \u1f04\u03b6\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2), the bread of sincerity and truth.<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 5:7<\/a>, 8 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a>Not good your boasting<\/em> (or, glorying<\/em>, KJV, NKJV), Paul wrote.\u00a0 The Greek word translated good <\/em>is \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f78\u03bd (a form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2<\/a>).\u00a0 This is the beautiful good<\/a> of Jesus\u2019 works.\u00a0 What follows is a quote from an article<\/a> by George Long in William Smith\u2019s \u201cA Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities<\/a>,\u201d defining incestum<\/em> in Roman law<\/a>:<\/p>\n

If a man married a woman whom it was forbidden for him to marry by positive morality (<\/em>moribus), he was said to commit <\/em>incestum (Dig. 23 tit. 2 s39). Such a marriage was in fact no marriage, for the necessary <\/em>connubium between the parties was wanting. Accordingly, <\/em>incestum is the sexual connection of a male and a female, whether under the form of marriage or not, if such persons cannot marry by reason of consanguinity.<\/em><\/p>\n

There was no <\/em>connubium between persons related by blood in the direct line, as parents and children. If such persons contracted a marriage it was <\/em>Nefariae et Incestae nuptiae. There was no <\/em>connubium between persons who stood in the relation of parent and child by adoption, not even after the adopted child was emancipated.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With this in mind I would say it was the most likely meaning of the kind of immorality that is not permitted<\/a> even among the Gentiles<\/em>.[4]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 A man cohabiting with his father\u2019s wife<\/em>, was against the law, Roman law as well as ye<\/sup>h\u00f4v\u00e2h\u2019s<\/em> law.\u00a0 In other words, it was a circumstance not unlike those in the movie Spotlight.\u00a0 Would anyone consider the conspiratorial cover-up revealed in Spotlight a beautiful good?<\/p>\n

Of course, now I need to consider whether turn this man over to Satan<\/em> (\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u1fb7, a form of \u03a3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u1fb6\u03c2<\/a>; adversary<\/em>) was simply an instruction to turn him over to Roman authorities<\/a> in the city of Corinth.\u00a0 But I reject that notion just as quickly.\u00a0 Roman authorities had no interest in the blasphemy of Hymenaeus and Alexander<\/a>.\u00a0 I find no guilt in him<\/em>,[5]<\/sup><\/a> Pilate said of Jesus, while the Jewish authorities had Him dead to rights for blasphemy (Matthew 26:25<\/a>, Mark 14:63<\/a>, Luke 22:71 NET<\/a>) if He is not ye<\/sup>h\u00f4v\u00e2h<\/em>, the Son of God the Father.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Don\u2019t you know that a little yeast<\/em> (\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03b7) affects the whole batch of dough?<\/em>[6]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Paul continued.\u00a0 Yes, that is exactly how Jesus expected his teaching<\/a> to work in and through those who are called according to his purpose<\/em>:[7]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0He told them another parable: \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like yeast<\/em> (\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u1fc3) that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.\u201d<\/em>[8]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 To be fair Paul wasn\u2019t writing about Jesus\u2019 teaching.\u00a0 He wrote about the yeast<\/em> (\u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u1fc3, another form of \u03b6\u1f7b\u03bc\u03b7) of vice and evil<\/em>.\u00a0 He\u2019d already been-there-done-that as far as Jesus\u2019 teaching was concerned.\u00a0 In 1 Corinthians he was scrambling to put the toothpaste[9]<\/sup><\/a> back in the tube.<\/p>\n

<\/a>I need to pause to spell out what I\u2019m actually thinking.\u00a0 That is the main purpose of these essays, after all, to remind me what I was thinking as I did a particular word study. \u00a0As I worked on this one I stumbled across a website<\/a> by Sherry Shriner<\/a>.\u00a0 She uses many of the Scriptures I use to assert that \u201cThe Apostle Paul Was A Deceiver!\u00a0 He was Satan In The Flesh!\u00a0 An Antichrist!\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I\u2019m not asserting that at all, only that Paul is a human being, born from above, led by the Holy Spirit, struggling at times with the sinfulness of his own flesh or with overcoming his own religion, which he characterized as my own righteousness derived from the law<\/em>.[11]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

More to the point here in 1 Corinthians 5 I think he struggled with 1) the repercussions of changing[12]<\/sup><\/a> his manner of teaching\u2014When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. \u00a0For I decided to be concerned<\/a> about nothing among<\/a> you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified<\/em>[13]<\/sup><\/a>\u2014and, 2) his allegiance to James\u2019<\/a> abbreviated version of the law (Acts 15:19, 20 NET<\/a>) from the Jerusalem Council<\/a>\u2014As <\/em>[Paul, Silas and Timothy] went through the towns, they passed on<\/a> the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders<\/a> in Jerusalem<\/a> for the Gentile believers to obey<\/em>.[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I think what the NET translators called a Corinthian slogan\u2014All things are lawful for me<\/em>[15]<\/sup><\/a>\u2014was the logical consequence of this teaching.\u00a0 I also think the Corinthians may have been the most sinful people (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NET<\/a>) to be called to that time\u2014but called they were (Acts 18:9-11 NET):<\/p>\n

The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, \u201cDo not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, because I am with you, and no one will assault you to harm you, because I have<\/a> many people in this city\u201d [Table<\/a>].<\/em>\u00a0 So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a>According to Kyle Harper<\/a>: \u201cProstitution [\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1<\/a>; sex with \u201cslaves, prostitutes, and concubines\u201d] was considered a social necessity, an alternative to the violation of respectable women [\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c7\u03b5\u03af\u03b1<\/a>], in the Roman Empire no less than in classical Greece.\u201d\u00a0 But \u201c\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 was not a common term before Judaism and Christianity infused it with new meaning.\u201d[16]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0\u201c\u03a0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs<\/a><\/em> functions,\u201d Mr. Harper continued, \u201cas a catchall vice for any sexual transgression\u2026.Reuben was guilty of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 for sleeping with Bilhah, Rachel\u2019s maid, because his father had been in the same bed\u2026.\u201d[17]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The thought that Paul derived his understanding of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 from a book of fiction sent me to bed for a time.<\/p>\n

When I got back to work I realized that the language of popular fiction[18]<\/sup><\/a> might well reflect the common word usage of a people and a time.\u00a0 I realized we are not told whether the man who had his father\u2019s wife was a Jew or proselyte who might be familiar with a usage of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 that would include incestum<\/em>, or a pagan more familiar with \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 as sex with slaves, prostitutes or concubines.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know whether Paul assumed his hearers understood the breadth of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 that may have been common in Second Temple Judaism or taught it explicitly in Corinth.\u00a0 I know Paul wrote a sin list in his letter to the Galatians (5:19-21a NET):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

NET<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Parallel Greek<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.<\/td>\n\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u1f70 \u03b4\u1f73 \u1f10\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03c4\u1f70 \u1f14\u03c1\u03b3\u03b1 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u1f79\u03c2, \u1f05\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u03b1 \u1f10\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u1f77\u03b1, \u1f00\u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u03c3\u1f77\u03b1, \u1f00\u03c3\u1f73\u03bb\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1, \u03b5\u1f30\u03b4\u03c9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u1f77\u03b1, \u03c6\u03b1\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1\u03ba\u03b5\u1f77\u03b1, \u1f14\u03c7\u03b8\u03c1\u03b1\u03b9, \u1f14\u03c1\u03b9\u03c2, \u03b6\u1fc6\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2, \u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf\u1f77, \u1f10\u03c1\u03b9\u03b8\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1\u03b9, \u03b4\u03b9\u03c7\u03bf\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c3\u1f77\u03b1\u03b9, \u03b1\u1f31\u03c1\u1f73\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2, \u03c6\u03b8\u1f79\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, |\u03c6\u1f79\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9,| \u03bc\u1f73\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9, \u03ba\u1ff6\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f70 \u1f45\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u1f7b\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In the Textus Receptus<\/a> this list begins with \u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c7\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 (adultery).\u00a0 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart<\/em>, Jesus said, and these things defile a person. \u00a0For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality<\/em> (\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1\u03b9, another form of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1), theft, false testimony, slander<\/em>.[19]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 And, For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality <\/em>(\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1\u03b9, another form of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1), theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly<\/em>.[20]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Jesus\u2019 Sin Lists in Greek<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Matthew 5:19<\/td>\n\n

Mark 7:21, 22<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u1f76 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u1f77, \u03c6\u1f79\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, \u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c7\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1\u03b9, \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1\u03b9, \u03ba\u03bb\u03bf\u03c0\u03b1\u1f77, \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03b4\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u1f77\u03b1\u03b9, \u03b2\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u1f77\u03b1\u03b9<\/td>\n\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u1f76 \u03bf\u1f31 \u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u1f76 \u1f10\u03ba\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03b5\u1f7b\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9, \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1\u03b9, \u03ba\u03bb\u03bf\u03c0\u03b1\u1f77, \u03c6\u1f79\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, \u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c7\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1\u03b9, \u03c0\u03bb\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd\u03b5\u03be\u1f77\u03b1\u03b9, \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u1f77\u03b1\u03b9, \u03b4\u1f79\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f00\u03c3\u1f73\u03bb\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1, \u1f40\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u1f78\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u1f79\u03c2, \u03b2\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u1f77\u03b1, \u1f51\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b7\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u1f77\u03b1, \u1f00\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u1f7b\u03bd\u03b7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

These sin lists alter the landscape considerably.\u00a0 It is not possible for the words \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u1f77\u03b1\u03c2[21]<\/sup><\/a> (another form of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1) or \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u1f77\u03b1\u03bd[22]<\/sup><\/a> (another form of \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1) from James\u2019 abbreviated version of the law to stand for every defilement that comes from the human heart, every work of the flesh.\u00a0 Frankly, I think all of this happened in space and time to push Paul, the human author of so much of the New Testament commentary on the Gospel, to abandon his allegiance to this decision of the Jerusalem Council and to hear better words and gain a better understanding. \u00a0And I think these events are recorded in Scripture so that we would see how much better these words and this understanding actually are (Romans 7:7, 12; 3:19-24, 31 NET):<\/p>\n

What shall we say then? \u00a0Is the law sin? \u00a0Absolutely not! \u00a0Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. \u00a0For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, \u201cDo not covet<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.<\/p>\n

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. \u00a0For no one is declared righteous before him<\/em> by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. \u00a0But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed \u2013 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. \u00a0For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. \u00a0But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n

Do we then nullify the law through faith?\u00a0 Absolutely not!\u00a0 Instead we uphold the law.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Confronted with a Corinthian man who had his father\u2019s wife, Paul turned to Satan for help<\/a>.\u00a0 Confronted with pedophile priests, the Catholic Church turned to psychologists and psychiatrists.[23]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Spotlight, perhaps it is unnecessary to say, is not a movie about the amazing power of psychologists and psychiatrists to take away the sin of pedophile priests.<\/p>\n

On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, \u201cLook, the Lamb of God who takes away<\/em> (\u03b1\u1f34\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd, a form of \u03b1\u1f34\u03c1\u03c9<\/a>) the sin of the world!\u201d<\/em>[24]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

For far too long I believed that meant forgiveness only.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t believe that, Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God\u2019s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God<\/em>.[25]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I didn\u2019t believe that all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God<\/em>.[26]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I thought it was all up to me: my faith, my obedience, my love, my joy, my peace, my patience, my kindness, my goodness, my faithfulness, my gentleness, and my self-control.<\/p>\n

\n
Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 4<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 2<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Sowing to the Flesh, Part 2<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Christianity, Part 15<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

<\/a>[1]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 12:31b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]<\/sup> John 3:7b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3]<\/sup> Romans 3:22 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[4]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 5:1b (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[5]<\/sup> John 19:6b (ESV)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[6]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 5:6b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[7]<\/sup> Romans 8:28b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[8]<\/sup> Matthew 13:33 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[9]<\/sup> Romans, Part 66<\/a><\/em>; Romans, Part 68<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>[10]<\/sup> http:\/\/www.justgivemethetruth.com\/paul_was_a_deceiver.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[11]<\/sup> Philippians 3:9 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[12]<\/sup> Paul in Corinth<\/a><\/em>; Romans, Part 2<\/a><\/em>; Paul in Athens<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>[13]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[14]<\/sup> Acts 16:4 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[15]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 6:12a (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[16]<\/sup> Kyle Harper: \u201cPorneia\u2014The Making of a Christian Sexual Norm;\u201d Journal of Biblical Literature 131, no. 2 (2012); p. 369; \u201cFor all the importance of prostitution in Greek and Roman societies, \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 was not a common word.\u00a0 \u03a0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 occurs in only four classical authors (by contrast, the word occurs nearly four hundred times in Jewish and Christian literature before 200 c.e., and over eighteen hundred times between 200 and 600 c.e.).\u201d \u00a0(I cannot link to this article directly, but was able to download it at academia.edu<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[17]<\/sup> ibid<\/em>,\u00a0p. 372<\/p>\n

<\/a>[18]<\/sup> What lover of the Old Testament Scriptures wouldn\u2019t want to hear the patriarchs confess their sexual sins according to the law ye<\/sup>h\u00f4v\u00e2h<\/em> delivered at Sinai so many years after the patriarchs themselves died?<\/p>\n

<\/a>[19]<\/sup> Matthew 15:18, 19 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[20]<\/sup> Mark 7:21, 22 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[21]<\/sup> Acts 15:20<\/a>, 29 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[22]<\/sup> Acts 21:25 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[23]<\/sup> http:\/\/www.themediareport.com\/2015\/11\/30\/cardinal-law-spotlight-movie\/<\/a>\u00a0 (I am not the \u201cDan\u201d who commented on this article, by the way.\u00a0 I just discovered this site researching the current essay.)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[24]<\/sup> John 1:29 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[25]<\/sup> 1 John 3:9 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[26]<\/sup> Romans 8:14 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The movie Spotlight is named after a team of investigative journalists at the Boston Globe.\u00a0 They pierce a smokescreen of secrecy\u2014fueled by police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, businessmen, civil servants, their own bosses and colleagues, even their own subconscious desires to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3489,2719],"tags":[3512,3516,172,3513,3514,3509,3510,3511,1845,739,1869,413,3322,3515,3026,3518,2645,3517,3520,869,3466,523,3519,291,288,812,618,1136,569],"class_list":["post-7217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pauls-religious-mind","category-section-three","tag-1-corinthians-1231","tag-1-corinthians-21-2","tag-1-corinthians-51","tag-1-corinthians-56","tag-1-corinthians-57-8","tag-1-corinthians-61","tag-1-corinthians-64-6","tag-1-corinthians-67-8","tag-1-john-39","tag-acts-164","tag-acts-189-11","tag-galatians-519-21","tag-john-129","tag-john-196","tag-john-37","tag-mark-721-22","tag-matthew-1333","tag-matthew-1518-19","tag-movies-spotlight","tag-philippians-39","tag-revelation-224-25","tag-romans-138-10","tag-romans-319-24","tag-romans-322","tag-romans-331","tag-romans-712","tag-romans-77","tag-romans-814","tag-romans-828"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7217"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23837,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7217\/revisions\/23837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}