Getting the message: Elizabeth Coleman has more biblical history

7 Mar 2024 | by Elizabeth Coleman

‘There is a distinction between law and moral behaviour.’

‘Paul believed that salvation should not be limited to those who accepted Jewish culture.’ | Photo: Fifth-century belt buckle depicting Peter and Paul, discovered beneath the cathedral of Castellammare

As we discussed in ‘Cracking a book’ (16 February), many Quakers are highly educated, but our knowledge of the Bible tends to be rather limited. Some of us studied the Bible at school, Sunday school, and church, but what we were taught may be misleading and incorrect. For example, we may have learned that Jewish people in the time of Jesus believed that they had to follow every detail of Jewish law to be saved, and this was very burdensome to them, causing much anxiety. Then, we were told, Jesus came, and taught that we are saved by grace, not by following the law, thus freeing Jewish people from this burden, and making it easier for non-Jews to join the congregation of the saved.

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