Day 6

Bob’s Sabbatical

Day 6, September 5, 2009

 

            Today
our work began.  Holy Eucharist at 6:30
am.  Celebrant was a Roman Catholic Jesuit from Toronto (where 19
of our 31 students are from).   Very
similar to our Eucharist, and no problems with non-Catholics receiving.  I do look forward to an Episcopal Eucharist
soon!

            After
breakfast we met for a lecture.  Stephen
Neel, the Dean of St. George’s, and the leader of this course talked about St.
Paul, and especially the many mis-conceptions that surround our understanding
of him.  Without going into detail, Steve
said that Paul was a more positive, passionate and pastoral person than we
often perceive him.  Out of the 27 books
in the New Testament, 13 letters bear his name. 
In fact, the only ones that most scholars believe are his are Romans,
Galatians, 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians, Philippians, 1^st
Thessalonians and Philemon.  Actually, he
probably did not sit down and write any of them, rather dictated most of them,
so what he said and what got sent may well have been very different.

            We will
be following Paul’s footsteps in Turkey. 
He traveled much further.  Steve
maintains that the best way to understand Paul is to read his letters.  Steve also cautioned that reading in modern
English has its pitfalls.  He gave us two
images:

1.      Reading
Paul’s letters is like listening to one end of another person’s telephone
conversation – we really don’t know the whole context.

2.      Reading
Paul’s letters is like reading someone else's mail – he was writing to someone
else, not us – in another context and another language.

 

So, anytime we try to quote
Paul, or put words in his mouth, there is much room for  mis-interpretation.  What we will be concentrating on the next two
weeks is, What did he write, what was the context, and what did he mean?

 

We went on to the Ankara
Museum.  They have artifacts dating from
pre 10,000 B.C. Turkey’s geographical
location has meant it has been an important player in the development of
civilization. Here is a picture of the way Turks lived in 7000-6000 B.C.    Note that the living space was completely
enclosed.  The only entry was through the
roof.

 

One of the dramatic changes in
culture occurred c. 2000 B.C. when the pottery wheel was introduced during the
Assyrian Trade period.  Turkey was an
important part of the trade routes from the East to the West.  Pottery became a common form of “money”
during this period.

           

We boarded the bus and headed
south.  Along the way we stopped at the
salt lake, the second largest lake in Turkey. 
This time of year it is dry, and is like our Great Salt lake.

 

This is a vast country.  In the days ahead, I will be reflecting on
how in the world Paul could have traveled as extensively as he did, formed the
relationships he did, kept up with the Churches he founded and tried to deal
with the many conflicts this new Faith brought forth.  Our assignment last night was to think of one
word we would use to describe Paul.  Mine
was “tenacious.”  On the bus today, our guide,
Mehmet, said that his word for Paul would be “switch.”  Mehmet went on to say, “You know, when you have
a new house, and everything is installed, wiring and fixtures in place, you
still have to throw the switch.”  That is
what he sees St. Paul’s role in the development of Christianity.  Jesus, born, lived and resurrected, but Paul
was the one who got the movement going.

We are in what was once known as
Cappadocia, where some of the earliest Christian intellectuals lived.   Then on Monday we will begin tracing the
steps of Paul’s first missionary journey.