In the early years of the 16th century a young German monk by the name of Martin Luther came to believe that the shape of the established Church and its relationship to the State did not fit the needs of the world in which he was called to live and serve. He wrote a commentary to re-imagine faith and Church, based around the work of Paul and especially the Epistle to the Romans. In the early years of the 20th century a young Swiss pastor by the name of Karl Barth came to believe that the shape of the established Church and its relationship to the State did not fit the needs of the world in which he was called to live and serve. He wrote a commentary to re-imagine faith and Church, based around the work of Paul and especially the Epistle to the Romans. In the early years of the 21st century it is clear once more that the shape of the established Church and its relationship to the State no longer fits the needs of the world in which we are called to live and serve. It is time, once more, to re-imagine the role of faith, Church and its place in the public square, based around the work of Paul and especially the Epistle to the Romans.
We have misunderstood Paul, badly. We have read his words through our own set of assumptions. We need to begin with Paul's world view, to see things the way he saw them. - What if 'original sin' was never part of Paul's thinking? - What if the idea that we are saved by faith in Christ, as Luther argued, was based on a mistranslation of Paul's words and a misunderstanding of Paul's thinking? 'Over the centuries, ' writes Steve Chalke, 'the Church has repeatedly failed to communicate, or even understand, the core of Paul's message. Although Paul has often been presented as the champion of exclusion, he was the very opposite. He was the great includer.' Steve Chalke MBE is a Baptist minister, founder and leader of the Oasis Charitable Trust, and author of more than 50 books.
We have misunderstood Paul, badly. We have read his words through our own set of assumptions. We need to begin with Paul's world view, to see things the way he saw them. - What if 'original sin' was never part of Paul's thinking? - What if the idea that we are saved by faith in Christ, as Luther argued, was based on a mistranslation of Paul's words and a misunderstanding of Paul's thinking? 'Over the centuries, ' writes Steve Chalke, 'the Church has repeatedly failed to communicate, or even understand, the core of Paul's message. Although Paul has ofte