the brides of christ, sexual renunciation & "SIN"?


*

~Brides
of Christ~

'Jewishness
& the Pauline Origins
of Christian Sexual
Renunciation'

-

ROM 5-8
& The Family of GRACE


-


Romans 5-8
is often held to be
a digression in the argument
about the status of Israel
carried on in ROM 1-4 &
9-11.


-


ANOTHER line
of INTERPRETATION and 'theology'
regards THESE chapters as
the REAL center of Romans and all the REST
as ancillary material.


-


It can be argued
that these chapters
carry on in a direct way
the argument of 1-4
and lead directly in turn
into 9-11?


-


Kakatoev:
'ein tsadik, ein, gam-echad;
ein maskil, ein-doresj et-elohim;
hakol sar yachdav ne'elahoe, ein oseh-tov, ein, gam-echad;
kever patoeach geronam; lesjonam yachalikoen;
chamat achsjoev tachat sefateimo;
asjer alah pihem malee oemrorot;
ragleihem yemaharoe lisjpach-dam;
sjod vasjever bimsilotam;
vederech sjalom lo yada'oe;
ein-pachad elohim leneged
eineihem ...

~

[Zo staat er ook geschreven:
er is geen mens rechtvaardig, zelfs niet EEN,
er is geen mens verstandig, er is geen mens die "G*D" zoekt,
ALLEN hebben ze zich afgewend, heel de mensheid is verdorven en er is geen mens die nog het goede doet, er is er zelfs niet EEN;
hun keel is een open graf, hun tong is bedrieglijk;
achter hun lippen schuilt het gif van een adder en hun mond is vol van vervloeking en venijn;
ze haasten zich om bloed te vergieten,
brengen ellende en vernietiging;
de weg van de vrede kennen ze niet evenmin als
angst voor g*d ...]

~

{As it is written:
there is none righteous, no, not even ONE,
there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after "G*D",
they are ALL gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable &
there is none that does good, no, not even ONE;
their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used deceit;
the poison of asps is under their lips:
whose mouth is full of cursing & bitterness;
their feet are swift to shed blood,
destruction & misery are in their ways
and the way of peace they have not known:
there is no fear of g*d before
their eyes anymore ...}


-


IT is
the continuation of the SAME argument,
the necessary bridge between the discussion of the family of Avraham [or
Ibrahim for the Muslims among us?] defined by faith in Yehoshua haMashiach (3.21-4.25) AND the family of Avraham/Ibrahim defined by GRACE & NOT race
(9-11).


-


In general,
I agree with both THIS point
and some aspects
of the particular interpretation given
as well:
the position Paul is arguing,
just as in GAL 3,
is that the Torah has not alleviated,
but rather exacerbated,
the plight of Adamic
humanity.


-


THIS
can only mean
that the recipients of the Torah, i.e. Israel,
have found themselves to be under its judgment
BECAUSE of their participation in Adamic humanity.
SINCE therefore Christians have also left this realm in baptism,
they have also left the realm of Torah,
COMING OUT from the place whiere it could exert
a HOLD over
them.


-


I
absolutely
concur in THIS interpretation,
which accounts for much of the language of these chapters.
But I dissent from, or rather offer an alternative to,
this interpretation of what this means in terms of Paul's
religous world
view.


-


SOME
argue that the essential point in ROM 7 is
that the Torah has HAD the function of concentrating sin in Israel,
so that the 'Christ', MASHIACH/Redeemer of Israel,
could redeem the WHOLE world
as well.


-


What
I propose is
that the Torah has exacerbated the plight of Adamic humanity
ESSENTIALLY because of ONE provision it contains,
and NOT because of its character as law
as such.


-


This Law,
which Paul refers tp in verse 23 as "an Other Law",
is the command to procreate, and the desire that it produces
in its members.


-


DEALING
with THIS command
is the necessary bridge
that Paul must build
between the family of Israel
defined by race
AND that defined by GRACE,
since for old Israel
PROCREATION as the means of continuation
of "G*d's People"
was THE central and highest
of goods
AND of religious values,
but at the SAME time,
for Israel by the first century
SEXUALITY
had become thoroughly
anxiety-ridden and
guilty
as well.


-


MANY Jews
of the first century
had s sense that they were COMMANDED by "G*D"
to do that which 'g*d himself'
considered 'sinful.'


-


Palestinian Judaism
of Paul's time was strongly dualist
in MOOD and at the best powerfully AMBIVALENT
about sexuality.


-


Finally
then,
for now:
in
The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs,
a Hellenistic Jewish text from Palestine
dated to sometime approximately in the late second century B.C.,
EACH human being
is inhabited by
a 'good spirit' AND an
"evil spirit."

The evil spirit
is explicitly defined as sexuality and opposed by a good spirit,
which is anti-sexual:

"And the spirits of error
have no power over him [the genuine man],
since he does not include feminine beauty in the scope
of his vision."

"FOR
the person with a mind that is pure with love
does NOT look on a woman for the purpose of having
sexual relations!"


OTHER
passages
in this SAME text ALSO indicate
an extremely anxious affect
around sexuality.

The text
even speaks of seven "good spirits" inhabiting
human beings!

Of THESE,

the sixth
is the spirit of taste
for consuming food & drink;
by it comes strength,
because in FOOD is the substance
of strength!

The seventh
is the spirit of procreation & intercourse,
with which come sins through fondness
for pleasure.

For
THIS reason,
it was the LAST in the creation
& the FIRST in youth,
because it is filled with
IGNORANCE;
it leads the young person
like a blind man into
a DITCH
and like an ANIMAL
over a CLIFF.


With THESE
are commingled
the spirits of
ERROR!


FIRST
the spirit of PROMISCUITY
resides in the nature
and the SENSES.


A SECOND spirit
of INSATIABILITY,
in the
STOMACH!

verliefdliefdesverdrietverliefd
engel



19 jul 2005 - bewerkt op 13 mrt 2008 - meld ongepast verhaal
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