Unity Church of Tucson

A brief recap of this series of articles shows after the crucifixion of Jesus the Jerusalem church was comprised predominantly of Jews who believed he was the promised messiah and for several generations it was led by his disciples, family and others who had actual memory of him. They saw Jesus’ teachings as being mainly relevant to the Palestinian Jews, who they believed to be the chosen people. In the years to follow they would also include the Diaspora Jews who were returning to Jerusalem. They believed in the end of time with the physical return of Jesus during their lifetime but later as their expectations were not being fulfilled as hoped, they began to see their mission in a more expanded view to include those non-Jews who were willing to keep the Jewish law. The importance of converts being willing to keep Jewish law was due to the long held belief that anyone not doing so was unclean and not to be associated with. However, as the first generation of leaders aged and the next generations did not have the same Jewish connection, these and many more things would change.

One of the most influential persons in the history of Christianity was a man named Saul, a member of a group of zealous Jews (Pharisees) who were actively trying to stamp out Jesus’ followers. Saul was a product of the Jewish Diaspora, born a Jew in Tarsus and officially a Roman citizen.  He was different from most of the followers, not only because he never met Jesus, but because they were from Palestine and he was not. Saul experienced a conversion which he reported to be the result of a non-physical encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Known by the name Paul after the experience, he began putting his fervor into spreading the message of Jesus. Realistic or not, he seemed to think that because of his conversion he would be welcomed to work along side the other leaders of the Jerusalem church. This proved not to be as easy as he thought, not only because of his past as a Pharisee but also because his approach was focused more on the spirit of, rather than the letter of, the Jewish law.

There was bitter controversy between Paul and the others until finally a compromise was arrived at in the Council in Jerusalem around 50 C.E.  Paul realized he had to take the message beyond the territory of the Judeo Christians and Gnostic Christians. He became a pioneer as he traveled beyond the physical but also the philosophical community of Jerusalem. In his travels he came across many cultural practices among the Greeks and Romans which were not in keeping with Jewish law. When he found individuals who were interested in the message, but not interested in abiding by Jewish law concerning diet and circumcision, Paul would compromise and bring them in to the church.  For he felt the spirit of the law was more important than the letter of the law. He was able to find a compromise and incorporate ideas from the other religions, especially if doing it brought about the expansion of the church.

Because of Paul’s experience with living in the multi-cultural communities of the Greek world, he was able to establish groups wherever he went. He was educated and articulate, and was able to write encouragement to those groups while under house arrest or imprisonment by authorities in Rome. Those letters and epistles have been incorporated in what is referred to as The New Testament and today many who call themselves Christian base their beliefs more on Paul’s teachings than the teachings of Jesus. For example, Paul’s teachings about women remaining silent in the church, as well as his condoning slavery, seem very much at odds with the teachings of Jesus.

To be continued