Paul's Letters.

"There is no longer Jew nor Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, there is no longer male nor female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."  Galatians 3:28 (NRSV)

"In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all in all."  Colossians 3:11 (NRSV)

If we take these inclusive statements by Paul as the genuine spirit of his message then we are free to disregard the intolerant and misogynistic writings in his other letters.

They are also closer to his warm and respectful attitude to women of faith in the early Church.

Most scholars agree that Paul did not write all of the letters attributed to him in the New Testament.

One way of sorting the writings is by the spirit shown in a particular passage.

The spirit of inclusive love is the true spirit of God.

And this is shown in many of Paul's letters.

So, if we apply this method of discrimination there is much in Paul's letters that is of great value to the faith.

1 Corinthians 13 and other such writings are reflective of the spirit of unconditional love which is the true spirit of God.

This is not merely cherry picking but a legitimate method of sorting the true writings of St. Paul from what has been added by later writers in his name.


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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