Don't be a language bigot!

I have learned so much about Paul and his writings over the semester, mainly the way some of his writings should be viewed in the cultural context as well as how some have been taken out of context. The Pauline seminar. Wow. That experience blew any notion that I had that I was a mini quasi-biblical expert. I'm still not up to par by any means. It was awesome to have been provided the opportunity to combine what knowledge I have with the knowledge of others to write the letter to the Dystopians, sans Bible.

The fiery debates were fun as well. Especially the "called or converted?" debate. I had always thought what I had been taught in Sunday school about a billion and a half years ago that it was Paul's conversion on the Damascus road. I liked Dr. Foster's restatement of the question and then the simple answer of "yes". I had never thought of the event that way. This class has challenged me to think critically; to analyze thoroughly through the historical, grammatical...yada yada yada...those filters we learned about in the hermaneutics section of Bib Interp three forevers ago.

I have to admit that toward the end of the class I got to the point where I didn't want to pick up my Bible and read it simply because there was Paul in it and I viewed it as a textbook. It was because of the Pauline paper that I stood outside of the dorm with my fist up in the air yelling at God. I've taken the stress of these things and turned them into a challenge. I'm thinking that they're an indication that I need to grow spiritually. Wow. I think if I had to boil everything that I learned about this class down, I would have to say that it has taught me that I need to strive even harder to grow in every aspect of my faith and strengthen my relationship with Christ.

Thanks Paul.