This post, under the same title, has been edited and moved to 5 May, 2017. It now follows a post on primary sources on abortion from Judaism, the Graeco-Roman era, and early Christianity.
‘For freedom Christ has set us free’: The Gospel of Paul versus the Custodial Oversight of the Law and Human Philosophies
Introduction The culmination of Paul’s argument in Galatians, and particularly from 3.1-4.31, is: ‘ For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery’ (Galatians 5.1). This essay seeks to understand Paul’s opposition to a continuing custodial role for the Law and a use of human philosophies to deal with sinful passions and desires. His arguments against these are found in Galatians and Colossians. By focussing on the problem of the Law and of philosophy, we can better understand Paul’s theology. He believed that the Gospel was the only way to deal with sin not simply in terms of our actions but more basically in terms of our sinful desires and passions of the flesh. The task ahead is to understand several large-scale matters in Paul’s theology, those having to do with a right understanding of the human plight and a right understanding of God’s solution. So much Protestant theology has articulated...
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