Paul on His Best Day by Rod Woods

Dr. Dodd in his book says, The purpose of this book has been to explo re problems that Pauls letters present to a...(post)[2]...modern reader, to raise awareness of how our cultural context affects our interpretation of the Bible, and to encourage a conversation with Paul and his interpreters (p. 157). Dr. Dodd goes on to say that Christians have for the last nineteen hundred and fifty yea rs found Pauls thoughts difficult to understand- even the author of 2 Peter and e arly Christians who were his peers! The analytical toll that has been devised by Dr. Dodd to help us b etter understand Pauls words is a bridge which is utilized to cross over into the c ultural context of the FCMW in which Paul and these Christians to whom he was spea king lived. This analytical device produces a five-way conversation- a conversat ion between us, other readers, Paul and his original readers, and the Holy Spiri t. This bridge is exceptionally helpful because the chasm that lies between the Hellenistic culture of the Greco-Roman period and that of the present post-moder nistic era is more than vast. It seems as though Paul stirred up controversy and various degrees of opposition most everywhere he went. There were those who questioned his Apos tleship for a variety of reasons. Jewish Christians who could not accept his non -legalistic approach to Jewish law and customs as it related to the Gentile Chri stians. There were Jews and Pagans who practiced physical violence against him b ecause they adamantly disagreed with his views, the civic controversies that ste mmed from those views, and the threats to their livelihoods that his teachings p rovoked. Sometimes it was even difficult for the early Christians to understand what Paul was saying! Then there were those who twisted and distorted everything Paul said out of their ignorance and instability just as they did with the scri ptures of the Old Testament. Because Pauls writings were considered authoritativeby direct (Rhema) revelation- at this very early stage of the Church, they must be paid attention to and analyzed very carefully with in a context that consists of numerous variables. I can certainly identify with Martin Luther when he said of his ow n journey, In the scholastics I lost Christ but found him again in Paul. I am firm ly convinced that Pauls conversion experience and its radical affect on him is th e best evidence for the Resurrection of Christ. One of the counter intuitive par adoxes with Pauls thinking is expressed by Karl Barth[3], a major German theologi an of the twentieth century, when he said, If we rightly understand ourselves, ou r problems are the problems of Paul; and if we be enlightened by the brightness of his answers, those answers must be ours (p. 1). Therefore, Dr. Dodd is correct in concluding when he says, Paul, though sometimes puzzling, is not always a pro blem. In fact, he seems to be the correct solution to all the problems that arose in the early church and that continue to arise today! I agree with Dr. Dodd tha t the key to understanding Pauls thinking and the meaning of his writings can be found in their Christ-centered nature. Dr. Dodd understands, as I do, that Pauls life, thought, and ethical views are based upon his understanding of life in Chr ist (p. 158). Paul obviously understands who Christ is and what He has done for u s through his foundational instructions to the early converts. Pauls teaching is Christ-centered! Dr. Dodd explains that social ethics did not play an important role in Pauls world. Therefore, Paul as a missionary extraordinaire was hyper-pra

gmatic in subordinating social ethics to his obsession to make the resurrected C hrist known. Dr. Dodd says, This was his determining factor and justifying means ( p. 159). Paul adamantly believed that within limits the Gospel should be proclai med to all by doing whatever it took to accomplish this Commission! Many of Pauls social imperatives were methods utilized to accomplish his missionary ends- ...o ften questions of strategy and etiquette rather than principle (p. 159). Pauls cor ollary mission statement as conjunctive to Christ crucified and resurrected is I wa nt to know Christ and the power of his resurrection (Phil 3:10). As Paul Tillich[ 4], the twentieth century theologian, said, To the [person] who longs for God and cannot find him; to the [person] who wants to be acknowledged by God and cannot even believe that he is; to the [person] who is striving for a new imperishable meaning of his life and cannot discover it- to this [person] Paul speaks (p. 13) . At the core, all that Paul has to say is anchored in the timeless and transcen dent truth of Christ as Gods plan for our redemption. Dr. Dodd concludes by expre ssing his desire that our conversations with Paul will connect all of us with th e more...important and timeless conversation with the One for whom Paul lived and died (p. 160). In my opinion, I believe Dr. Robert Banks[5] continues on where Dr . Dodd ends his book. Dr. Banks takes Dodds thesis much further and in doing so m akes it significantly, much more clear and understandable not only what Paul mea nt but also what predicated much of what he had to say in his epistles/letters. Dr. Banks is correct in his assessment of Pauls writings when he says, ...it was t hrough interaction with the society about him, as well as involvement with his c ommunities, that Paul came to hold the views expressed in his letters, not throu gh theological contemplation removed from the cut of every day life...where the r ubber-met-the-road[6]... in the earliest Christians lives (p. 6). One would be wel l advised to thoroughly read, study, and contemplate Dr. Banks magnificently craf ted book in order to grasp a much deeper and superior understanding of Pauls thin king and writings as primarily revealed through the Pauline Letters and as secon darily manifested in the Acts. [1] Dodd, Brian J. The Problem with Paul. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 19 96. [2] My insertion of the word, post. [3] Barth, Karl. Romans. London: Oxford University Press, 1933. [4] Muggeridge, Malcolm and Vidler, Alec. Paul, Envoy Extraordinary. London: Col lins, 1972. [5] Banks, Robert. Pauls Idea of Community. Boston: Hendrickson, 1994. [6] My words