Friday, October 12, 2012

Romans 1-5 criticism

Romans 1

New International Version (NIV)
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God
 
[2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[a] was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power[b] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from[c] faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.] (interpolation by an author using the letters of Ignatius of Antioch).

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, believers,[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes

[: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.] (interpolation against the concept of impartiality)

17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last

[,[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith."] (interpolation intended to Judaize, inserted from the Habbukuk pesher in the dead sea scrolls by infiltrators).

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

[19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.] (interpolation by a Latin redactor. Suspect: Tertullian of Carthage).



Romans 2

God’s Righteous Judgment

[2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.] (interpolation by a Latin redactor. Suspect: Tertullian of Carthage).
 
2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself

[for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done."] (senseless interpolation to Judaize and overemphasize the Old Testament which is not the purpose of Paul's Epistle). 

7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:

[first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;] (interpolation) 

10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good

[: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.]

11 [For] God does not show favoritism.
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (note here that Paul's idea of the Law is not the Jews idea of the Law. See Ptolemy to Flora).

14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)

[16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.]

The Jews and the Law

17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[b] (This passage is likely authentic as it is Paul using Isaiah to show the hypocrisy of the Jews as Jesus did.)

25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.


Romans 3

God’s Faithfulness

[1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”[a]

5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!] (this argument was never made by infidels so this passage is quite problematic.)

No One Is Righteous

9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that [Jews] Barbarians and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10

As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”[b]
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”[c]
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[d]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[e]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[f]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[g]
 
(Above he uses Psalms and Isaiah against the Jews and it is quite authentically Paul)
 
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Righteousness Through Faith

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (This stance is seen as overriding the law and accusations were made that this derides the prophets. However, many of the prophets like Isaiah know of no such law of Moses).

22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (add: to cover all our sins with his love).

25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.] (interpolation by Pharisees at Rome who editted the letter received from Paul at one of the Roman synagogues).


27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God [,] who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.



Romans 4

Abraham Justified by Faith (Marcion was accused of cutting "Abraha out of the inheritance" and we find many arguments on this in 1Clement, James, etc.)

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about.
 
[—but not before God.]
 
3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]
4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”[b]
 
9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
 
11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. (This can be read as cutting Abraham out of being in line with the Jews as his inheritance. This is why the church fathers hated Marcion's stance on Abraham).
 
[12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.] (interpolation used to clean up the passage and sanitize for Orthodox consumption).
 
13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all
 
[Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[c] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.] (interpolation for Orthodox consumption).

[18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.] (likely interpolation) 


22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness

[—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.] (Paul did believe Christ was raised but he never made this statement, it does not fit here, and it is irrelevant to the topic at hand.)

(It is not Abraham cut off from the inheritance but rather his natural born children who do not approach God in faith and accept Christ his son).



Romans 5

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through [our Lord Jesus] Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
 
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (highly problematic passage)

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. (the passage is ambiguous and could be read as saying that Adam did not transgress a command).
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.

17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (see P46 Chester Beatty)




 




12 comments:

  1. This is a silly statement: "(Above he uses Psalms and Isaiah against the Jews and it is quite authentically Paul)".

    Would an apostle really rip all these OT passages out of context? The reason Marcion's version was missing all the Old Testament quotations was not really that Marcion was against the Old Testament or believed in two gods -- that is just Catholic spin -- the real reason is all this moronic twisting of the Old Testament was added by Catholics after the days of Marcion. The apostle himself would not twist a bunch of OT passages out of a context where they speak about atheists and make them out to be about humanity in general, nor would Marcion do such a thing -- only a Catholic seeking to establishing original sin and all the other puerile foolishness Catholicism is made up of would do that! Romans 3:9-18 is certainly a post-marcion Catholic interpolation.

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    1. For illustrative purposes yes. Jesus does the same sort of thing in Luke.

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  2. Jesus actually alludes to similar passages in Isaiah to attack the Pharisees. I see no reason to think Paul would not do the same thing to the Roman synagogue.

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    1. Please tell me where. The problem here is not that he uses a passage from the Psalms to show hypocrisy. The problem is he has ripped out of context several passages from Psalms and Proverbs which assert that it is impossible for ATHEISTS to be righteous, and he has applied them to EVERYONE to establish the false doctrine that nobody can be righteous, and therefore lets all just give up and be justified by some fruity faith alone crap. It is nothing more nor less than twisting the Old Testament in favor of libertinism.

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    2. Paul is not saying no one can be righteous. He is saying that by human effort alone no one is made righteous.

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    3. Paul never supports libertinism.

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    4. You ignore the fact that the passages you are referring to are obviously from the LXX whereas the ones I have labeled likely authentic do not.

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  3. "Paul never supports libertinism." Only because his epistles have been rerouched by the proto-orthodox to add in little disclaimers intended to prevent the readers from following the original "Paul" to his argument's logical conclusions.

    When he has essentially argued to the point where we must conclude "the Law is sin" the proto-orthodox interpolator throws in "is the Law sin then? God forbid."

    When he has got to the point where we must conclude that faith destroys the Law, the proto-orthodox interpolator throws in "Do we void the Law by faith? Nay we establish it."

    But these little interpolations are lies. If we follow the Pauline theology we do void the Law, and we do treat the Law as sin. If anyone, for example, decides to get circumcised, we say to them with Paul from Galatians, "If you get circumcised Christ will profit you nothing." If someone decides to keep the Sabbath, we treat them as a sinner! So don't give me that crap!

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    1. Well those proto-Orthodox were Judaizers trying to get people to believe Jesus taught to follow the Law kind of like you're doing. How are you any different? Also, why do you feel compelled to argue with me over a blog? This is not a debate forum.

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  4. And if we stick exclusively to talking about the moral law, since your claim is "Paul never supports libertinism," what of the passage where Paul says "ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL TO ME?" Now that's a strange one. He has just finished saying that fornicators, adulterers, murderers, drunkards, etc. will not inherit the kingdom of God...and then in the next breath, "ALL THINGS ARE LAWFUL TO ME, but all are not expedient." Can anyone really contradict themselves that bad????????? The original "Paul," the Gnostic author of the epistles, clearly was teaching libertinism, that everything is lawful to a Christian including adultery etc. but the proto-orthodox added this passage about those people going to hell to the text to keep us from seeing it. The real Paul was a hell-bound heretic.

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  5. This is the value of Marcion. The history about Marcion and his shorter edition of the Paulina demonstrates that what we have of Paul is not authentic, and therefore not authoritative for Christians. We have no need to listen to Paul or build our soteriology and his confused babblings. The Paulina is a Gnostic work lightly retouched and nothing more.

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    1. Your line of reason can easily lead to the conclusion that Jesus did not exist. The problem here is that the gospels you likly will claim are Christian, were written after Paul's letters.

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