Episode 104--Hard Sayings of Paul, Part 1

As they continue looking at some of the most challenging sayings and passages in the New Testament, pastors and friends in ministry Sarah, Erica, and Steve turn to some of the "hard sayings" of Paul from the New Testament.  Paul's letters are tricky as a whole because they are basically "other people's mail" that we are reading two thousand years later in communities and in a world that are very different from Paul's world, and sometimes we can only tease out what Paul and his readers were talking about.  And then on top of that, sometimes the specific words and ideas of Paul are tricky on their own terms.  So as a place to start, our trio of faithful adventurers look at a curious place in Paul's correspondence with the Corinthians where he says, "It is a good for a man not to touch a woman."  How do we tease out what the original quest was, why this was an issue, and what it means for Christians two millennia later? For early Christians who were convinced that Jesus was coming back at any time, they had to rethink whether they should put all of their lives on hold, leave their families, or quit their jobs, or whether they should keep living regular lives, including marriage and family.  Paul writes as someone who had to leave behind his roots and hometown to go share the Good News, and someone who knew he might spend a lot of time in prison, or even die for his faith, and he knew that he was free not to have to worry about putting food on the table for a wife and kids at home.  And yet at the same time, Paul sees value in continuing our family relationships, friendships, and daily lives, even while we know Jesus may come again at any moment.  Join us for this episode as we look at some hard sayings of Paul.