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In the speech of the above paragraph Paul (as
recounted by Luke) raises the massive question of "Justification by
Faith." This has been a linch
pin in the position of Protestants since they broke from the 'Roman'
Church about five hundred years ago.
But perhaps the position of both groups is similar and it comes
down to a matter of degree as to which of two "prongs" each of
them emphasise. How does this fit in with the line of logic as portrayed
in Reality Search? As a re-cap, the two societies, one
of which is based on law or time and the other which is based upon order
or place are both inadequate.
People in a 'law-based only' society are likely to realise
this. Probably as people listened
to Paul they knew that even though they kept to the law of Moses as
prescribed in Jewish society they were still guilty of failing to come up
to the quality of life that was intended in the Ultimate Plan of the
Universe. So did the
non-Jews. And so they were still
as it were "off-key" to some
extent. On the other hand the way
of life as proclaimed in "the Word" about Jesus would help them
to attain a
more balanced approach. In the speech above, the best of both types of
societies are presented and people are warned about the inadequacies of
each of them. By keeping to the "Way" of life as exemplified by
Jesus, that is by keeping faith in himself and
what he stood for, people are more likely to be able to function
according to the Ultimate Plan of the Universe. Thus they are less likely to be
alienated from it.
In the
above passage Jesus is presented as a Source of Life as well. As Paul said to the Jews, it was
fitting to proclaim 'the Word' relating to Jesus to themselves
first of all. This was because,
like the down-beam of the cross, natural law as such forms the basis of
any society, starting with the animal world. At the same time 'the Word' relating to
the way of life of Jesus contains within itself sufficient wisdom about
law including the moral law, for it to move out from Judaism into the
wider world.
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