Authority VI

I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. 

 - From Galatians 1

The Apostle Paul had an interesting mix of motivations. In his pre-epiphany stage, he hated the Church of Christ. He despised it. He found it deplorable. It was more than an inconvenience to him . . . he could wipe out the life of a Christian, as easily as a modern New York government official could wipe out the life of a potential human being, full of promise and as-yet untarnished by the world.

Saul Paulus, the Apostle-to-be, was his generation's archetypal anti-Christian. He was so offended by the Truth of selfless love, service to others, and eternal life, that he found it obvious that the embryonic Christian movement must be aborted, before it caused one more moment of discomfort to somebody.

Behold the solidarity of Saul the Pharisee, with modern anti-Christians.

But Saul Paulus also appealed, always, to authority. He was zealous for the traditions of his ancestors. Many modernists could care less for their ancestors. For whatever reason, they have no reason to follow in the footsteps of anyone that came before. Their heroes are not Washington, Lincoln, and Churchill. Their heroes really aren't even King, Jr.

But their heroes might be Beyonce, Macklemore, and Kaepernick.

Why would I care about a dead person?

Saul Paulus was full of hate . . . but his devotion to elders proved that he had a soul that could be redirected to Truth, Real Love, and Holiness. At risk of wording this the wrong way - - -

Although Saul Paulus was violently hateful toward the Church, he had the right kind of hate . . . because it was framed by a regard for authority, and tradition.

It was the kind of hate God could turn around.

But we're in trouble when we have haters that don't defer to any authority. This is a blind, directionless, random form of hate. It cannot be steered toward something good.

No filters, no boundaries, no ground rules. It is a recipe for people that fight dirty.

In the kind of street brawl that typifies modern politics, people that have no traditions or regard for any elders, and that are driven by hate . . . have an unfair advantage.

Give me haters that revere their grandparents over haters that don't, any day. They can be reasoned with.

And in the long run, they are way more successful in advancing their goals . . . without violence, than haters with neither root nor branch.