Do not become slaves of human beings.
Trying to win the approval of human beings
1 Cor 7v23 Gal 1v10
by *lost* 7 Replies latest jw friends
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transhuman68
These are verses from a very early time in the history of Christianity. Paul was trying to convert Greeks and Turks to his way of thinking, and as usual was facing opposition from Jewish Christian preachers, who wanted everyone to observe Jewish customs. Paul was just a man himself, but with his really bad temper he probably put the fear of God into everyone he met or sent a letter to!
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Bobcat
I don't think Galatians 1:10 is about trying to please humans. Just the reverse.
Also, concerning 1 Cor 7:23, the context is more about being content with one's situation, rather than a command to 'stop being slaves,' although it adds the thought of improving if the opportunity presents itself. Context (verses 17-24, ESV):
17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. 18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. 20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 21 Were you a slavec when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) 22 For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 So, brothers,d in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
Take Care
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mP
The brilliance of Paul is just how easy it is for his writings to mean different things to different people.
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Band on the Run
Madeleine Lengle remarked to me that if Paul knew he was writing scscripture, he would have been more careful.
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villagegirl
Band on the Run - I know some people here seem to think I am a right wing, evangelical bible thumper, but I think I agree with Madeline Lengle. Other than books written directly by Jesus's brothers, family and friends, I sometimes wonder how certain books or parts of books escpecially written by Paul, got into what we now consider scripture. Paul never even met Jesus, except when he had his epiphany. So many letters were circulating between Christians scattered all over the Roman Empire, one wonders why they suddenly all stopped and no writings are found from the late 1st and 2nd and 3rd centuries, when all thos arguments were taking place as the Catholic Church emerged as the "governing body" and chased off all dissenters as "apostate" Who really was the apostate? Would the Church seeking its own agenda have any qualms about destroying any writings that did not support itself ? It has been specualted that Paul worked for Rome.
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jgnat
You got me curious. I just finished the Wiki article on Madeleine. This is what it says about her beliefs:
L'Engle was a very strong Episcopalian and believed in universal salvation, writing that "All will be redeemed in God's fullness of time, all, not just the small portion of the population who have been given the grace to know and accept Christ. All the strayed and stolen sheep. All the little lost ones." [15] As a result of her promotion of Christian universalism, many Christian bookstores refused to carry her books, which were also frequently banned from Christian schools and libraries. However, some of her most secular critics attacked her work for being too religious. [16]
Her views on divine punishment were similar to those of George MacDonald, who also had a large influence on her fictional work. She said "I cannot believe that God wants punishment to go on interminably any more than does a loving parent. The entire purpose of loving punishment is to teach, and it lasts only as long as is needed for the lesson. And the lesson is always love." [17]
You gotta admire a woman who manages to annoy both sides of the divide.
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