Bad Theology

Text for today: II Thessalonians 2 ix-xii

Someone claiming to be Paul the Apostle writes to the Thessalonian branch of the cult, prophesying with arch irony that a bad man will appear and be vanquished by the Saviour's breath and the appearance of His coming, rather than by the coming itself.The writer notes that, while the bad man is Satan's minion, those delusions of the unrighteous which will provoke his arrival are sent by God.

The opening and closing of the epistle contain several clues to its ironic intentions, of which perhaps the least subtle is the repeated emphasis on the writer's authenticity at the end. At the beginning, rather than warning against doubt or even against sexual immorality, the writer flatters his audience for its faith and steadfastness: even the customary riveting discussions of church protocol are omitted in favour of complimenting the Thessalonians on their fanaticism and commiserating about unenlightened neighbours. The writer subtly calls attention to these non-Pauline touches with the statement that he boasts to other churches about the Thessalonians: the only subject worthy of boasting by the real Paul was the deeds of Paul himself. A fitting climax to the critique of self-deception and unwarranted pride comes in the explicit statement that the delusions of the sinful are the work of God: a reference to those occasions when God hardens the hearts of human beings in order that He may punish them without sullying His moral perfection.

The second epistle to the Thessalonians is a small satirical masterpiece, mixing bombshells of blatant absurdity and stabs of subtle irony to undermine and dissect the follies of its targets. Its presence in the canon is a tribute to the solemnity of faith and the humourlessness of editorial committees.