I have to say that my favorite chapter in the entire Bible has to be 1 Corinthians 13. Paul's address on love is both a rejection of legalism: "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" and an expression of the extreme value of love: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails." In my mind, it stands as a very humanistic statement.
In fact, throughout the Old Testament, we find that there is a definite emphasis on faith and following the law. Yet Christ's (and Christian) teachings seems to emphasize the value of humanity over law. This perhaps nowhere more clearly evident than in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and by his statement in Matthew 12: If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent." In this way, authentic Christian teaching seems very attractive.
It is interesting to note that the Paul who wrote 1 Corinthians 7, which says - "It is good for a man not to marry" in the NIV translation, or in the Harper Collins: "It is well for a man not to touch a woman". Continuing, "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion." His stance on marriage as a concession to the weak seems very cold and very anti-humanistic. Yet in 1 Corinthians 13, we see another side of Paul. This is the Paul who tells us of the power of love, not the evils of lust. And while the love that Paul speaks of is different in both cases, his humanity resonates in the second.
Love never fails." In my mind, it stands as a very humanistic statement.
In fact, throughout the Old Testament, we find that there is a definite emphasis on faith and following the law. Yet Christ's (and Christian) teachings seems to emphasize the value of humanity over law. This perhaps nowhere more clearly evident than in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and by his statement in Matthew 12: If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent." In this way, authentic Christian teaching seems very attractive.
It is interesting to note that the Paul who wrote 1 Corinthians 7, which says - "It is good for a man not to marry" in the NIV translation, or in the Harper Collins: "It is well for a man not to touch a woman". Continuing, "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion." His stance on marriage as a concession to the weak seems very cold and very anti-humanistic. Yet in 1 Corinthians 13, we see another side of Paul. This is the Paul who tells us of the power of love, not the evils of lust. And while the love that Paul speaks of is different in both cases, his humanity resonates in the second.
posted by Matt McLeod at 6:55 PM
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