Paul the Lawless Christian

I've been looking at I Corinthians (and other segments of Paul's work), prodded to interest with my continued research into the idea of the Lawless Christian.

Paul is rather definite throughout most of the works. Almost commanding, but then he puts in this verse:

"We are free to do all things, but there are things which it is not wise to do. We are free to do all things, but not all things are for the common good." (1 Corinthians 10:23 BBE)

I think that most of the texture of Paul's writings are from his indelible personality, and schooling as a Pharisee; though he had strong beliefs of what was right and wrong, he also knew that under the new Word of Love (The Fulfillment of the Law), there were no real rules laid down, and so with this verse, he let's us know that all of his don't and do's are really just guidelines. A rather long winded way of saying "Hey, don't hurt each other!"

I really like the change from "right" "wrong" verbiage to "wise" and "unwise" though most translations don't use those words. There is a huge list of actions that I balk at thinking "wrong" or "right" about, but am fine with seeing them as "wise" or "unwise".

Something I find very "unwise" is justifying my desires or my conscience by using razored off verses from the Bible. Something I have always found distasteful is building up belief structures using verses as the foundation stone. It is so easy to go astray, especially in the works of a man like Paul, whose authoritative tone spans thousands of years to our ears today; and so easy to forget to read a bit further..