Getting Biblical in Daily Life
Roman Catholic Perspective
Catholics tend to dig Peter a little more than Paul (Peter was the first Pope after all, so they have to love that). But they also go to Paul for lots of church doctrine. Paul definitely loved waxing poetic on the whole Christian experience, and that's perfect for Catholicism.
1 Corinthians is home to the earliest mention of Jesus at the Last Supper offering prayers over bread and wine (remember, Paul's letters predate the writing of the gospels by at least two decades). Paul takes the Corinthians to task for not sharing in the Lord's Supper (which Catholics call Holy Communion) correctly. Then he reminds them of the proper way:
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Compare that to the prayer featured in the Catholic mass. This is the part where the bread and wine become body and blood of Christ:
On the day before he was to suffer he took bread in his holy and venerable hands, and with eyes raised to heaven to you, O God, his almighty Father, giving you thanks he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you, and eat of it: for this is my Body which will be given up for you. In a similar way, when the supper was ended, he took this precious chalice in his holy and venerable hands, and once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you, and drink from it: for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me. (source)
Two thousand years, and Paul's words are still influencing people.
Some Catholic theologians have also found some support for the existence of Purgatory in 1 Corinthians. Paul writes:
The work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)
Is Paul talking Purgatory here? As in a temporary punishment in the afterlife that cleanses a person from sin? And does he mean that those sins will be burned away by fire? No, probably not.
It's much more likely he's using a metaphor about building a house to describe his own ministry. Remember, Paul has built the foundation (which is Jesus), so when everything is burned away, only the Jesus that he laid down must remain in order for your house to be sturdy. The connection is tenuous at best, so not everyone points to this passage as evidence of a place of purification by fire.
Besides, Paul wasn't exactly a fire and brimstone kind of guy. You've gotta go to Revelation for that.
Mormon Perspective
Mormons believe that people can only get into Heaven if they are baptized. But what happens to all those people who didn't get baptized in their lifetime? Oh, no! Maybe Paul has the answer.
What will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? (1 Corinthians 15:29)
Today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches that a living person can be baptized on behalf of a dead person. The church believes that Paul is explaining a practice that was common among Christians and helped to insure that believers could meet their non-believing loved ones in the afterlife (source). It's good to have a little insurance. Even in after you die.
This practice has always been a bit controversial. The LDS church maintains such an extensive genealogical database, and in the past, members of the church have even combed through lists of people who died in the Holocaust to find names for baptism (source). Jewish groups were not pleased.
Some people consider the practice insulting and disrespectful to the faith of the deceased. In 1995, the Mormon Church put limits in place. Members are only supposed to submit names of non-baptized family members, though the church admitted that the sheer number of names makes this impossible to police. That is a lot of baptisms going down.
But as far as the Bible is concerned, if we look at the passage, it's not clear that Paul is actually offering his support for this practice. He is talking about how the dead will be raised on Judgment Day and wondering why, if people are out baptizing the dead, they don't believe this. If you're looking to ensure people's entrance to Heaven, you must think something pretty special is going down in the afterlife.
But really, Paul may be using this example just to make his point. Not necessarily to endorse what everyone is doing. Though, knowing Paul, if he didn't think this was a good idea, he probably would have said so.
Pentecostal Perspective
Pentecostal Christians and those who embrace the charismatic movement are usually big into the gifts of the Holy Spirit that Paul spends loads of time going over in 1 Corinthians:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit[…] To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:4, 8-10)
Glossolalia (which is the fancy name for speaking in tongues) is pretty popular among these believers. Some Pentecostals and charismatic Christians think that being able to speak in tongues is proof of baptism. That's a lot of pressure. Others, like W.G. MacDonald, agree with Paul and think that speaking in tongues is really the least desirable of all the gifts of the Spirit:
Designed for individual edification, glossolalia, when properly interpreted, rests at the bottom of the apostolic scale of gifts benefiting the congregation. (source)
Other gifts, like prophecy and healing, are considered rare, and members are cautioned to use them carefully. For example, don't quit your job tomorrow just because your neighbor Wanda thinks God wants you to. The hearer has to be open and really think about what is being said. It's not a good idea to just act blindly.
Carefully considering the gifts of the Spirit? Paul would approve.
Jewish Perspective
Paul's letters have caused a boatload of problems between Christians and Jews over the years.
Many not-so-cool folks have pointed to a few passages in Corinthians where Paul criticizes non-Christian Jews and declares that following Jewish law is no big deal:
- "For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:22-23).
- "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is [Jewish] law" (1 Corinthians 15:56).
- "Indeed, to this very day, when [the Jewish people] hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds" (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).
- "Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one" (2 Corinthians 11.24).
To them, these verses prove what they think: that Paul—and so, God—thinks it's cool to oppress Jews. Sigh.
But wait a second. What about the fact that Paul was Jewish? He even brags about his Jewish background when he's confronted with by the false apostles: "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I" (2 Corinthians 11:22). Paul also quotes Hebrew scripture (though not as much as he does in other letters, probably because he's talking to a mainly Gentile audience in Corinth). He occasionally appeals to Jewish law and Jewish figures like Moses to make his points. And don't forget, he worships Jesus—the guy he thinks of as the Jewish messiah. So yeah, this guy is definitely cool with Judaism.
Given all this, we're pretty sure Paul would be horrified at the way his letter have been used over the years. How's this for an example? Martin Luther wrote an essay called On the Jews and Their Lies. Sadly, he quotes from Corinthians to make some of his terrible, awful points.
We're guessing Paul's take would go something like this: you're doing it wrong.
Islamic Perspective
For all the deets on the Islamic take on Paul's writings, check out our guide to his Epistle to the Romans.