Epistle to the Colossians

2022: from my notes from my seminary class:
-Unknown date, probably about a generation after Paul.
-This is the legacy of Paul.
-Maybe after Ephesians? We don't know for sure
-In the city of Colossi there seem to be competing philosophies. Roman emperors saw themselves as appointed by the gods and their wealth and success were evidence of their divine appointment. So they had temples built to the Roman emperors (Imperial ideology/cult - religious philosophies; religious festivals and games)
-There were also “mystery cults” forming. Groups of people who are dedicated to a particular religious figure, like Isis, Baachas, the god of wine.
-The word “mystery” is used 3 times in Colossians - might be a reference to these competing philosophies in Colossi.
-In some ways the author of Colossians is presenting Jesus Christ as a better option than the mystery cults and the Roman emperor cults, using their language
-In the mystery cults, followers would go through initiation rites and an answer to a question



2020: re-reading through the NT at the end of 2020. (The Message paraphrase)

This seems especially relevant to me right now, from Chapter 2:

“God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.

So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.”