We’re finishing our study of the letters of Paul in the Disciples III series and learning about the clashes among Peter, Paul, and James. His travels and letters took a minor Jewish sect in a remote corner of the Roman Empire and spread it throughout the known world of the time. In reading and trying to interpret Paul we’ve learned how important it is to understand the context of the times and the issues he was dealing with. For example, how to bridge the gap between the Gentiles and the Jews. It not only was a question of differences in theology and philosophy but also history and tradition. They represented very different cultures.

Easter was a good time to be studying Paul because of his emphasis upon the central significance of the Resurrection of Jesus. It is the distinguishing characteristic of Christianity from all of the other religions of the world. Although his views of some of the social issues of the time are difficult to understand in the context of modern society, he was a “liberal” for his day. It was a patriarchal society for both Gentile and Jew, and slavery not only was an accepted part of life but also was considered just. It was a very different world than the one we live in so trying to understand the meaning of his letters in the context of our times can be complicated.

I wrote last month about gay marriage because it is so much in the news these days. I’m tired of the discussion already. We have so many other issues to deal with: employment discrimination, arbitrary and capricious discharge of military service personnel, harassment and threatening of school children, and murder and suicide of GLBT people. When you’ve dealt with many of these issues firsthand, it gives you a very different perspective of what’s important. Sometimes I feel like I can relate more to the Jews during the Middle Ages than I can to being a white American male in the 21st Century. GLBT folks aren’t herded into ghettos like we were 40 years ago, and we’ve become mainstream in the media, but the religious right still hates us and uses us as the bogeyman to promote a political agenda. (Don’t get me started on Jesse Helms.)

Laurie informed us that the Phelps hate gang is coming to Durham tomorrow and that we ought to counter his outrageous statements that the media like to feed on to promote controversy. I say just let him fade away into the ignominious footnote to history that he so richly deserves. He’s just a nut case who should be institutionalized rather than glorified with more media attention. His 15 minutes of notoriety already has gone on too long so why give him any more attention. You can’t reason with hate-filled people, and you can’t discuss “two sides of the issue.” He simply hates everyone and spreads hatred everywhere to flame the fires of hell on earth with his rhetoric. So let’s just cool it.