Thursday, July 14, 2005
Biblical Speculation
Adrian Warnock is wondering if the Apostle Paul met Jesus before the road to Damascus.
Adrain says "yes" for psychological reasons and quotes Acts where Paul says he spent his youth in Jerusalem. His commenters at press time say "no," elsewhile, Paul would have mentioned it in his writings when establishing his bona fides. I would remind Adrian that Jesus spent very little time in Jerusalem during His life; that unless Paul was specifically a part of the Christ's trial and crucifixion the odds of an encounter are rather low.
However, I think the question is impossible to answer in any substantive sense. There is no evidence. So, while the question is interesting and fun, pondering it is pointless save for entertainment purposes. Which raises another interesting question -- are such entertaining questions fruitful? Should they be dismissed as "not-on-point?" What after all is to be gained by discussing, "If God is all powerful, can He make a rock so big that He cannot lift it?"
Well, this later question really is just silly, but Adrain's question may not be. Anyone taking the question seriously would have either know or look up Jesus movements during what we know of His life, and the same for Paul. That certainly forces one to discover the NT narrative in a certain depth.
But on the other hand, I have seen people waste enormous amounts of energy pursuing such questions, often using them as some sort of barrier to allowing the Holy Spirit to do the real work of God in their hearts. So, in the end, it is not the question, but what we do with it, that matters.
My question no becomes, "What are you doing to make sure you stay focused on the important, but leave room to enjoy the trivial?"
Adrain says "yes" for psychological reasons and quotes Acts where Paul says he spent his youth in Jerusalem. His commenters at press time say "no," elsewhile, Paul would have mentioned it in his writings when establishing his bona fides. I would remind Adrian that Jesus spent very little time in Jerusalem during His life; that unless Paul was specifically a part of the Christ's trial and crucifixion the odds of an encounter are rather low.
However, I think the question is impossible to answer in any substantive sense. There is no evidence. So, while the question is interesting and fun, pondering it is pointless save for entertainment purposes. Which raises another interesting question -- are such entertaining questions fruitful? Should they be dismissed as "not-on-point?" What after all is to be gained by discussing, "If God is all powerful, can He make a rock so big that He cannot lift it?"
Well, this later question really is just silly, but Adrain's question may not be. Anyone taking the question seriously would have either know or look up Jesus movements during what we know of His life, and the same for Paul. That certainly forces one to discover the NT narrative in a certain depth.
But on the other hand, I have seen people waste enormous amounts of energy pursuing such questions, often using them as some sort of barrier to allowing the Holy Spirit to do the real work of God in their hearts. So, in the end, it is not the question, but what we do with it, that matters.
My question no becomes, "What are you doing to make sure you stay focused on the important, but leave room to enjoy the trivial?"
