Corpus-Paul

["George Blaisdell" <maqhth AT hotmail.com>]

>From: "Chris Cutler" 

>George Blaisdell: [snip]
>> 
>> Certainly his associates cannot see                                
>>Christ living within Paul with their 
>> eyes.  They can see what he does,                                  
>>and what happens subjectively within 
>> themselves in his presence, but the                                
>>Source is not visible to normal 
>> vision.  How could it be?  
>> 
>> And likewise for Paul.  Is not his                                 
>>experience of Christ living within 
>> him by definition subjective?  

>One interpretation would be that Christ                              
>is not the historical Jesus

Chris ~

I can't imagine anyone arguing that the 'historical Jesus' is what 
Paul was describing by Christ within him.  This was post crucifixion! 
I would have to think that he is referring to Christ resurrected, 
which is a spiritual present which we all have.  None of us has the 
historical Jesus ~ Those who did have long since died!

Paul never, to my knowledge [slim], referred to seeing Christ in the 
resurrected flesh, so I have to conclude that his experience is with  
Christ's Spirit, and that that is an inward event, hence not 
'objective' in ordinary understanding, where one could see with their 
eyes what Paul is referring to.  Paul's Source is interior to Paul, 
and not exterior to the world.  Paul's exegetical Source is eisegetic. 
[Which gives this understanding a rather strange formulation!]  And so 
is inner prayer and God's response to it inwardly, for that matter, 
for us all.

>but a state of high spiritual consciousness                          
>of which HJ was the example par exellence.

Well, if the state of Paul's spiritual consciousness was provided by 
the Spirit of Christ within him, I would understand it as high 
indeed!!  HJ [historical Jesus, I presume!] would then be the source, 
rather than merely an example, of this level of consciousness.

>Christ living in Paul would mean that he to had (or he
>considered that he had) reached a similar level of consciousness.

So that Paul's 'high level of consciousness' is Paul's achievement, 
just like Christ's was His???  

I hardly think so.  Even Christ's was sourced from the Father, my 
friend.  And Paul's from post-crucifixion Christ.  How could it be 
other?

George
George Blaisdell
Roslyn, WA

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