Colossians

I recall studying this book in detail when I was a teenager in my local Southern Baptist Church. I wish I still remembered the basic thrust of the lessons we went through, but I was a love-sick puppy, and not much actually got through to me. The book appears to be a pretty standard appeal of a mystery religion to keep the initiates from listening to anyone on the outside (and probably a very popular lesson to teach teenagers, I'd think!), just as Judaism did, as well as all the other religions that have branched off from its parental trunk over the centuries.

Col 1:15-17 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Now, I know that Christians think the world of Jesus, but I think this might be going just a little overboard. I mean, after all, this last thing seems to be saying that Jesus is gravity!

Col 1:21-23 - And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him- provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
Once again, Paul engages in hyperbole. Claiming that the gospel has already been proclaimed to all people is far from the truth. This was especially so, in the time that Paul was writing.

Col 2:4,5 - I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Paul once again engages in claiming to be omnipresent! He's just like Santa Claus - watching over these believers, making sure they are cheerful and firmly keeping to their faith! Also, I wonder exactly why Paul would think it necessary to guard against plausible arguments? I would have thought that if someone had a good argument that could stand up under scrutiny, it should be considered honestly and openly. However, that's not Paul's style - nor is it the style of the Christian church!

Col 2:8 - See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.
Once again, Paul tells his followers to stick their heads in the sand in case someone actually comes along and asks them to think through what they believe and decide on an issue rationally!

Col 2:20,21 - If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"?
Oddly enough, Paul in other letters encouraged the believers to submit to earthly authorities, and to follow they rules, since such authorities could only do what God wants them to do. Paul must have forgotten that he said that.

Col 3:18-22 - Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart.
Wives and children sure get the short end of the stick here. In Paul's way of doing things, fathers and husbands are under no obligation to family members, other than to keep from abusing them. If abuse does occur, this gives family members no room for recourse, as Paul was dead set against divorce, and the idea of child abuse appears to have been completely foreign to all the writers of the Bible!

Col 4:1 - Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Yet another supportive reference for slavery. Paul apparently was aware that some "owners" could be harsh with their "property" - but he'd apparently never dream that such "property" should ever be set free as a moral issue!