The Red Letters

I am unabashedly Pauline. My goal is to follow Paul as he follows Christ.

Therefore:

I don't pray the Our Father (incorrectly known as "The Lord's Prayer"). It's not part of the instructions for me.

I don't forgive to get forgiven (Matt. 6:15). I forgive because I'm forgiven (Eph. 4:32, Col. 3:13).

I don't need to sell all, give to the poor, and literally follow Jesus (Matt. 19:21). I need to hold on loosely to what God has richly supplied me with (1 Tim 6:17), to be generous with it (1 Tim 6:18), and to give cheerfully from the heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion (2 Cor. 9:7-8).

James told Israelites that they would be justified by their works (James 2:24). Fine, but Paul told the Church that one is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law (Rom 3:28). James was not writing to me. Paul was.

I am suspicious of everything Tony Campolo and Richard Rohr say, since they explicitly deny the necessity of seeing the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the light of Pauline truth. And I distrust Scot McKnight for the same reason (though he might be a little less explicit in his denial).