MJB's handydandy Bible study: Titus 2

[MamaJunebug]

As it happens, I've heard a couple of Lutheran pastors discussing the 2nd chapter of the book of Titus. Guess what? There's more to it than the admonition for old ladies to encourage young ladies to be submissive! In fact, there are admonitions to the menfolk! Yes! Who *would* have known?

 

Just for fun, here's a little partitioning out of the subjects. I've taken out the verse numbers for ease of reading. Anybody who's interested in counting up the number of verses toward women vs. those toward men can find the original here

 

And just so I don't lose those of us who aren't interested in reading Scripture, here's why I'm posting this: I confess, throughout decades as a Christian, I've never studied Titus 2 nor heard much about it from the Lutheran pulpit.

 

Until this past weekend, "Titus 2" was interchangeable with "the older women should stay home and indoctrinate the younger."

 

There is, with apologies to the Botkinettes, SO MUCH MORE. Titus is told how to help the Christ-followers lead lives of peace and joy, so that people watching them will see that faith in Jesus produces good things.

 

Men are to be instructed, as are women. Young men are expected to develop self-control ... the very idea!

 

Mature men are to become *worthy* of respect - not demanding respect just because of their plumbing!

 

I'd write more but it's past bedtime. And the more I write the less some folks might read to the important part. Anyway, here it is. Who knew. Does Steve Maxwell????

 

Titus 2 New International Version (NIV)

 

What Titus should teach to his community in general:

 

You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.

In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness & and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

 

 

What he should teach the men (BTW, this is the second sentence in the chapter):

 

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

 

What he should teach the women:

 

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

 

What he should teach those Christ-followers who were enslaved:

 

Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

 

And why should he teach this? Indeed, so that people are attracted to the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth as they see the goodness in His followers:

 

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No"to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope; the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

 

These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

[IronicallyMaeve]

It's not KJV so it's wrong.

[salex]

Not that anyone will convince the Titus 2 spouters that these were not written by Paul and were trying to adapt the more liberal Christ/Paul into something palatable to the Romans.... not that truth would sway Steve M or Lori A.

There is, however, a massive consensus in modern scholarship that those three letters to Timothy and Titus were written in Paul's name but long after his death. It would seen, then, that around 1265 a Byzantine artist at Sopoćani already accepted that viewpoint -- hence, only 10 scrolls for 10 letters.

...

The problem is that those post-Pauline or Pseudo-Pauline letters are primarily counter-Pauline and anti-Pauline. What happens across those three sets of letters is that the radical Paul of the authentic seven letters (Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon) is slowly but steadily morphed into the conservative Paul of the probably inauthentic threesome (Ephesians Colossians, 2 Thessalonians) and finally into the reactionary Paul of those certainly inauthentic ones (1-2 Timothy, Titus).

In other words, the radical Paul is being deradicalized, sanitized and Romanized. His radical views on, for example, slavery and patriarchy, are being retrofitted into Roman cultural expectations and Roman social presuppositions.

John Dominic Crossan

Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, DePaul University

Email

The Search for the Historical Paul: Which Letters Did He Really Write?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-domi ... 90387.html

[2xx1xy1JD]

It seemed pretty clear to me that Paul-or-whoever-wrote-this intended the basic message to be "Let's make a good impression on the non-Christians and get some good PR". The advice reflects the existing social structure of Greco-Roman society, where patriarchs ruled their families and slavery was common.

[salex]

It seemed pretty clear to me that Paul-or-whoever-wrote-this intended the basic message to be "Let's make a good impression on the non-Christians and get some good PR". The advice reflects the existing social structure of Greco-Roman society, where patriarchs ruled their families and slavery was common.

Can't grow the brand if you piss of the potential market base....

[2xx1xy1JD]

Can't grow the brand if you piss of the potential market base....

...especially if they happen to rule the world (or at least, the parts that you know and care about) and might feed you to the lions.

They weren't trying to get along with the Roman power structure because it was GOOD. They were trying to avoid pissing them off too much because they were BAD, and they had a legitimate fear of being killed.

[MamaJunebug]

...especially if they happen to rule the world (or at least, the parts that you know and care about) and might feed you to the lions.

They weren't trying to get along with the Roman power structure because it was GOOD. They were trying to avoid pissing them off too much because they were BAD, and they had a legitimate fear of being killed.

No argument with either of you. Folks gotta do what folks gotta do to survive.

My point in posting this is to show those who might think Titus 2 is all about teaching the women their lace, that it's much more than that. Any body who teaches Titus 2 without giving *at least* equal emphasis to the instructions regarding men is not teaching it completely.

[anniebgood]

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

We're going to hit Titus later in the Spring. Acts is our next book to go through.

As for me I shall endeavour not to be addicted to much wine. Just a little wine, how about that?