A while back, Omar6471 asked whether Paul was sincere. It occurs to me that we all implicitly agreed that we have enough information about Paul to have some sort of opinion. I for one read letters we believe to be genuine and written by Paul and get the feeling he was sincere. More than that, I have some ideas, right or wrong, about his character and personality. As I watched the actor who played Paul in the recent A.D. miniseries, it seemed to me he was doing a good job. He portrayed Paul with enormous certitude if not arrogance combined with religious fervor – a driven man not fond of compromise, either before or after his conversion. Seems right to me, but that is not my question.
Is there any New Testament figure or anyone else in the Bible besides Paul for whom we have enough information to form some opinion about his or her personality? As for Jesus, we only have things written about him and not by him.
Greg Matthews said
Perhaps Peter, but beyond that I’d say no. I’m sure Christians would say yes about Judas, but there’s hardly agreement on what drove him (unless you’re a Christian).
You know, I wish I could recall the name of it, but there was some documentary on Netflix, I believe, comparing the Judas in the NT
with the Gnostic Gospel.
I’ve sometimes wondered if there was enough info about Peter. It’s striking that the original disciples virtually disappear
Greg Matthews said
I don’t think there’s enough on Peter, but Christians would draw from I and II Peter.
Good point, but certainly the whole nickname, The Rock, and Peter could smell what Jesus was cooking
is suggested to be a joke given Peter’s behavior: The 3 denials and his walking on the water till he lost faith. But do either of
these hold up as reflecting the real Peter or stories to deal with doubts about faith. Hey even Peter stumbled (HA ! maybe those details are in 1 and 2 Peter?).
But iif 1 and 2 Peter are forgeries, does that mean they don’t contain reliable information about him?
Sorry Greg that’s a bit of a mess because how would we determine if it was relaible
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