Saturday, May 07, 2011

A blogger's New Testament Quote

Who is the Patron Saint of Bloggers? Someone who knew that you needed to ruffle some feathers now and then to make a point; that you need some friction to get traction? I don't know, maybe our house Catholics can tell us - but I vote for St. Paul.

Ahh ..... Galatians 5:12.
I wish that those who are upsetting you would castrate themselves!
There are many moments of manliness in the New Testament if you want to look for them. I don't know if Father Floppy and his band of Liturgical dancers or Pastor Pussyfoot and his interpretive puppetry ministry will discuss them, but they're there.

A lot of commentary, especially from the mid-1800s on, have tried to explain away that verse as it makes soft men uncomfortable - so going as far as saying it is "... an outburst hardly suitable to the gravity of an apostle ..."

I don't agree. Paul - Saint and all - was a rough man with a rough background by today's standards, or even for his day and status as a Roman citizen. He knew how to speak and get people's attention. He wasn't dealing with tender academics, he was dealing with rough people from a rough time who were in serious personal, professional, and spiritual danger due to their new found faith.

As a man writing to men - he knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to get people's attention - he wanted emphasis - he wanted his direction & guidance to be remembered.


Excising a privy member - yea, men will remember your point with that reference.

You can be rough and direct - and then two verses later (Galatians 5:14) come back with this,
For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
That is the Christianity I understand. Are you concerned about too few men involved in Church? Well, bring a male mindset back in to your Church now and then. A painting of Jesus at the Temple throwing some tables around would be helpful too.

... and yes. Today is not Sunday, and yes, I am back in the Word again ... and any day is fine - so there. I'll thump when I want to.

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