Titus

After several years of this project, I feel like the end is really in sight.  Only ten books to go after this, most of them pretty brief, but at least one of which promises to be impossible to parse.

1:1 Paul's greeting here is markedly less warm and familiar than certain others, especially those to Timothy. 

1:2 And where exactly did God make this promise of eternal life?  I suppose it could be inferred out of certain passages in the Hebrew texts, but it is certainly not self-evident.

1:7 Bishop and Elder seem to be used interchangeably here.  I am curious about first century ecclesiastical hierarchy.  When did such distinctions develop, and whose idea were they?

1:10,11 In this, widely regarded as Paul's last letter, we still find the specter of circumcision.  What possible "sordid gain" could advocates of such a practice hope for?  Are they like modern moyls in New York who form an influential guild?  Such a thing seems unlikely.

1:15 Now here is a fascinating verse, one that is open to a whole range of theological interpretation.  If "to the pure, all things are pure", as indeed Paul has indicated in other books with regard to consumption of things sacrificed to idols, how far does this principle extend?  Exactly how far can someone get in the name of good intentions?  For that matter, if to the corrupt all things are corrupt, then the idea of conversion, salvation, and generally trying to better one's self takes on a gloomily futile note. 

1:16 Rather than taking such a thing too far, however, it seems Paul simply means that we shouldn't trust the godly words/deeds of ill-indended people.

2:1-9 It is interesting to notice the different lights in which Paul views the members of the congregation.  Theoretically, what is good is good, whether one is a master or slave, male or female.  However the only things that Paul seems to see as univserally desirable are chastity and self-control, having administered this directive to all four groups.  Slaves and women are, of course, both advised to be reverent/obedient to those in authority, but it is perhaps advisable to file this with the other many examples of conextual and social influences on Paul's writing, and not to give it any particular theological weight. It is perhaps more revealing that Paul gives older women the additional directive to be kind, something that is evidently not required of men.  Such a belief can not so easily be filtered out; the idea that kindness is a virtue is not a modern invention, and indeed permeates Jesus' theology.  Lastly, I notice that younger women are not even mentioned, and can eveidently do whatever they like.

2:11-14 Paul is always concerned with purity and uprightness, but I don't recall it being quite so pervasive in his other writings.  Such a focus is, of course, a marked reversal in tone from the Gospels, which focused on such external, positive things as charity, love, and forgiveness.

3:9-11 As strident as the above admonitions could seem, it is good that Paul dials it back a notch here.  He is seemingly telling Titus no to take silly things too seriously, including the deluded words of others, and I find this approach much more in line with the Gospel than the combative direction in which he seemed to be heading.

3:13 As this seems to be Paul's last book before his death in Rome, it is a bit ominous that he is requesting Zenas the lawyer to be sent to him.