Chapter 14

Chapter 14 gives understanding behind a few of the topics that tend to come up regarding Paul’s letters and his ministry. Paul was born in Tarsus and had formal education in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel, grandson and successor of the influential Hillel. Here he learnt the influential idea of encouraging Gentiles to come to know and understand God. He became a proud Jewish Pharisee and a prominent leader. He soon became a Christian upon meeting Jesus on the Damascus Road. The cultures, teachings and environment that Paul experienced from his adolescence to adulthood shaped the many letters he wrote that comprise almost half of the New Testament. Understanding these experiences gives insight to understanding his writing and why Paul uses certain types of language.
After his conversion, the Jewish religion and teachings remained prominent in his letters. Because of his Jewish background, Paul, had a longing for the Jewish people to see Jesus and expresses a belief that the Jewish people have an ‘important part to play in the whole history of salvation’ (227). Paul would go to the synagogue first upon arriving to a town in attempts to share the Gospel with a people that were heavy on his heart.
Because of his Pharisee past, Paul often discussed the Pharisee viewpoint in his letters and used his knowledge when on trial. Paul on occasion would use the Pharisee’s an example of religious legalism. People may misinterpret that Paul was condemning the entire Jewish culture. However, I believe he was merely using an example from his own life where he saw how legalism can lead us away from God and cause pain. Drane touches on the idea that with any religion there will be individuals who choose to live with a legalistic interpretation. He also elaborates on the idea that Paul doesn’t seem to dismiss Judaism or regret its impact on his life. These examples all point toward the idea that Paul was not anti-Semitic but instead longed for the Jewish people to know Jesus. Paul made a clear separation from Jewish religion however by proclaiming that to have salvation in God one had to accept Jesus as their Lord.
A couple other examples of how Paul’s background and environment influenced his writing would be: Greek literature, Stoic philosophy, and mystery religion. Several times in his letters Paul may use language or poems from the above examples. This however does not imply that he was closely tied with any other philosophies or religions. Drane investigates perhaps why Paul wrote the way he did and we can make a logical conclusion that it was because of the culture he was in at the time.