Samir Paul

On College Christian ecumenism

Let me preface these thoughts by saying that I came back to Christian faith in a college Christian community and have been shown intense love over the past few years. And so it is with an equal love that I hope to think about some problems in how campus Christian fellowships relate to other Christians.
I… more »

Editor’s Note: What is it Good For?

Editor’s Note
What is it Good For?
I was seven when I first saw war.  It was 1995, and NATO had recently entered Bosnia, joining a conflict marked by incredibly brazen war crimes, including ethnic cleansing and brutal mass rape.
As the conflict raged on that September, I watched from the safety of my living room in DC’s… more »

The Dispatch II: When Should Christians Go To War?

Samir Paul, Harvard
Let us reframe the question: Do we take the hope of Christ seriously enough actually to trust in it?
Nonviolence is a consequence of hearing the glad tidings of the Gospel. It follows from obedience to the messiah who would rather die than take up the sword of revolutionary violence, the God who does… more »

He that Cometh VI: The King

In this series, I attempt to assess Second-Temple-era Jewish messianic expectation.  Start at Part I or see all parts in the series.
Perhaps the most familiar conception of the messiah—both to contemporary thinkers and to Second Temple Jews—was the royal figure of the Davidic line: a King. After the Israelite conquest of Canaan, the former… more »

5.1 – Fall 2009 – Table of Contents

Links to stories coming soon.
In the meantime, click image above for a PDF.
- Editor’s Note -
What is it Good For?
by Samir Paul ‘10

– The Dispatch –
II: When Should Christians Go To War?
by Samir Paul ‘10; Hans Anderson, Yale ‘10; Jinju Pottenger, Princeton ‘10; and Charles Clark, Dartmouth ‘11

– Opinions –
Bonhoeffer… more »

He that Cometh V: The Prophet

The notion of the messiah as a prophet is similarly criticized, but there is strong evidence in Jewish scripture that the Prophet was a role the Messiah would fill. Historically, a prophet in the Israelite tradition is literally a spokesperson—he or she is a representative of God to the people. The prophet works… more »

He that Cometh IV: The Priest

In this series, I attempt to assess Second-Temple-era Jewish messianic expectation.  Start at Part I or see all parts in the series.

The case for Jesus as a messianic priest figure is most explicitly laid out in the anonymous letter to the Hebrews. The author devotes a chapter to framing Jesus as a High Priest…. more »