Paul was born about A.D. 10, of a Jewish family living among 'the Greeks' at Tarsus, a Roman municipality in Cilicia. He was educated as a Pharisee in Jerusalem. He was converted to belief in Christ about A.D. 34 and many particulars of his life as an apostle can be found in his letters and in Acts. The letters may be dated A.D. 50-60. Paul was imprisonment in Rome, A.D. 61-63 and set free for want of evidence, a second imprisonment in Rome ended according to a very ancient tradition in martyrdom by execution, probably in the year 67.
Paul's letters show him as a man of sensitive temperament and warm emotions, completely dedicated to the spreading of the 'Good News' that Christ by his death and resurrection was proved to be the one universal saviour of Jew and 'Greek' alike. Crises and controversies led him to explain the message of the gospel in ways adapted to the needs of his readers and so to bring into play his remarkable powers of theological analysis and his grasp of profundities.
His letters, in a fluent Greek which was his second mother-tongue were generally a response to a particular situation in a particular church and although some passages in them were obviously written after long and careful thought, more often the style suggests spontaneity and urgency. The letters were usually dictated and then signed by Paul with a short personal greetings.
The order in which the letters are printed in this Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is the traditional one which arranges them in order of diminishing length. If they are read in the order in which they were written the development in Paul's theological thinking can be seen as he finds expression for further depths and implications in the gospel.
What Paul proclaimed was in all essentials the apostolic 'kerygma' i.e. that Christ had been crucified and had risen from the dead and that this had been foretold in the scriptures. What he calls 'his' Good News was identical with the faith commonly held but emphasised the conversion of pagans, in line with the missionary policy initiated at Antioch. Paul accepts and sometimes appeals to the apostolic tradition to which he was deeply indebted. Though he probably never met Jesus during his earthly life, Paul was familiar with his teaching and confidently claimed to have seen the risen Christ not only on the Damascus road but on several occasions subsequently. He also had revelations and ecstasies but everything he had received from apostolic tradition he could also attribute, and justly, to direct communication from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Page 32
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
No comments:
Post a Comment