originally written for the course NT605 Pauline Literature, July 29, 2011, Ambrose University

The Colossian Hymn

The colossian hymn from the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossea has been the centre of considerable theological reflection. In fact copious amounts of metaphorical ink continue to be spilt even in this digital age in pursuit of this sections origins and intent. Colossians itself remains a focal point both for its centrality in early Christian christology and its disputed place within the pauline corpus. For this reason, whether authentically pauline or otherwise, the colossian hymn, as illustrative of a pre-existing christological statement, represents, for the modern reader, a unique opportunity to glimpse within the development of Christian thought beyond an exclusively pauline influence. This paper will attempt to place the writing of the Colossian letter contemporary with Paul, frame the larger context and intent in the writing of the letter and then explore within that intent the colossian hymn as a preexisting hymnic passage giving us insight into the christological development in the early church, illustrative of both the multiplicity of theological influences and the consistency with later developed orthodox christian thought. The scope of this paper will not extend into the broader theological implications of the passage beyond early Christian christology.

The authorship of Colossians is worthy of discussion not in that a conclusion confirms or denies the letter’s significance but in that our understanding of the letter’s origin helps us to draw conclusions about the development of Christian thought within the early church. If the letter is Pauline it seems to signify a development within Pauline thought that, depending on dating, implies a non-linear evolution in Paul’s theology. While this conjecture may seem odd, it could be argued that this simply represents a more natural perspective on Paul. Human thought rarely evolves in a unilinear fashion^[1] and static picture of Paul’s theology would simply not be appropriate^[2]. While it is clear that Paul provides the foundation for much of early Christian theology^[3], if the letter to the Colossians can be demonstrated to be outside the Pauline corpus it would seem to signal that the early church was developing along several interacting steams of thought. Despite this multiplicity of influences, rather than dissolve into factions, the Christian cult managed to integrate those streams towards a cohesive perspective that provided a platform for future theological development. This perspective has valuable implications for modern discussion.
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originally written for the course TH711 Christianity and Culture, April 6, 2011, Ambrose University

Narrative Trajectory

When we engage the relationship between Christianity and Culture there is an inevitable tension. While some would choose to forgo the unease and side with either Christ or culture even Niebuhr’s analysis, while acknowledging the possibility, would seem to push us towards a more nuanced understanding of the pair. Indeed this tension would seem to be a necessary part any time two ideas exist in relationship with each other. The question then becomes, “how do we hold this tension responsibly”.

Culture is not simply a fact of our present moment but of human history. It is neither monolithic, existing unphased throughout history, nor is it liminal, existing only in our current transitional moment. Culture includes any language, habits, ideas, beliefs, customs, organizations, artifacts (inherited or otherwise), technological developments and values that participate in the life of a people group^[1]. I would collectively define this collection of expressions as the evolved ability to represent and classify experiences with symbols and to act on those experiences creatively and imaginatively in the communal life of people groups. Therefore, culture, I would argue, is simply a representative term for the collection of independent frameworks on reality.

Christianity, in a similar fashion is far from monolithic. In fact, Christianity’s demonstrated an ability to transcend cultural stagnation and the broad translatability of the Christian faith would seem to suggest that the gospel itself is either a collection of loosely connected collection of cultural narratives or there is somehow a supra-culture core to the Christian story that has been able to leap from one cultural context into another. This muddies the waters of inquiry significantly because we are now required to ask not simply how does Christ interact with culture but how does Christ interact with each particular culture.

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