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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
The apostle Paul was mistaken
on the Issue of Jesus' return
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Preview and Summary: The letters of Paul are considered to be part of the "infallible" Bible. But inerrancy must be severely discounted when Paul says one thing in one letter but something else later on.
In I Thessalonians 4:15 Paul includes himself in the group that would witness the return of Jesus: "we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord"; meaning, Paul believed that Jesus would return within his own lifetime.
This expectation created a sense of urgency for Paul, later reflected in his advice to the church; e.g., in I Corinthians 7 where he counsels his people not to worry too much about their socio-economic status (vss. 17f.) as this was to be endured in the "present distress," a time of temporary suffering for Christians, soon to end with the Second Coming.
But by II Timothy 4:6 Paul understands that things would work out differently. He will die a martyr's death, and we see him asking for help to put his affairs in final order (vs. 13).
I have spent a great many years studying the letters of Paul; and, frankly, he is one of my heroes of history - not a perfect man, but a courageous man, willing to suffering to promote the common good.
When we read Paul's letters, however, we should not think of them as "infallible writings" dropped from heaven. Such assertion would have earned a blast of disapproval from Paul, one who couldn't emphasize enough how "living in the spirit" was far more important than any legalistic-ritualistic path to God.
Paul's writings represent the evolving thoughts of a man who was seeking for God. As he grew, in perception of life as led by "the Spirit of truth," he sometimes changed his mind on important issues. This is what normal and rational people do who are learning more all the time.
To say that Paul's writings, as part of the Bible, are "infallible" is just plain-vanilla error. How can you have an "infallible book" when the writers themselves change their minds on what is real? In other words, the writers themselves said that what they'd written earlier was wrong.
And yet we witness a buffoonery attempt, on the part of moderns, to present ancient writings, with a level of exactitude, which the original writers themselves denied!
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