i was interested by your quotation of the apostle peter from the new testament. many of us who try to address the problem of anachronicity in bible worship point to the old testament where it is easy to find examples of statements that were considered common sense in those days that appear totally outrageous to any normal person today, especially deuteronomy, in which god ordains crimes against humanity. however, we all seem to have a rather benevolent regard on the message of love, peace and understanding from the new testament which many feel can be still be applied to society today. we tend to forget that the new testament also accepted slavery and polygamy and the subjugation of women as normal behavior.
i recently attended mass with a friend and i was mildly amused by the sermon that was based on the letter of saint paul to the colossians, 3rd chapter, verses 12 to 21, in which he says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." the priest then spent 20 minutes trying to explain that a wife's submission was actually a kind of equality because the husband was also enjoined to be tolerant.
that was funny enough from a 21st century perspective, but when i got home and actually looked up the chapter in the bible, i discovered that the priest had very deftly left out the following verse, number 22 which was addressed to the slaves and said, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." you could almost make this more quotable by saying something like, "servitude is near to holiness." this is quite a bit more insidious and would have been harder to explain away in a country (france, where i live) which owes the existence to its republic and democracy to an uprising of oppressed people against their masters.
i think these two chapters, from peter and paul, are perfect illustrations of how the church has been instrumental in the oppression of ordinary citizens by their political masters.
i was interested by your quotation of the apostle peter from the new testament. many of us who try to address the problem of anachronicity in bible worship point to the old testament where it is easy to find examples of statements that were considered common sense in those days that appear totally outrageous to any normal person today, especially deuteronomy, in which god ordains crimes against humanity. however, we all seem to have a rather benevolent regard on the message of love, peace and understanding from the new testament which many feel can be still be applied to society today. we tend to forget that the new testament also accepted slavery and polygamy and the subjugation of women as normal behavior.
i recently attended mass with a friend and i was mildly amused by the sermon that was based on the letter of saint paul to the colossians, 3rd chapter, verses 12 to 21, in which he says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." the priest then spent 20 minutes trying to explain that a wife's submission was actually a kind of equality because the husband was also enjoined to be tolerant.
that was funny enough from a 21st century perspective, but when i got home and actually looked up the chapter in the bible, i discovered that the priest had very deftly left out the following verse, number 22 which was addressed to the slaves and said, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." you could almost make this more quotable by saying something like, "servitude is near to holiness." this is quite a bit more insidious and would have been harder to explain away in a country (france, where i live) which owes the existence to its republic and democracy to an uprising of oppressed people against their masters.
i think these two chapters, from peter and paul, are perfect illustrations of how the church has been instrumental in the oppression of ordinary citizens by their political masters.