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Why seven, one might ask? And why call them “pillars of wisdom” when Paul considered what his era deemed “wise” to be “foolishness” in the sight of God? Was not the wisdom he was offering totally different, indeed a “scandal” in the mind of his time?

As for the number seven, the answer is simple, if not disarming, and, in heart, twofold. The first is by way of inspiration from Prov 9:1, 3, 5–6:

Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars . . .

She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places . . .

Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.

Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.

Metaphorically, the above lines provide an intriguing glimpse into the soul of Paul. Both his world and thoughts, his mystical bent and directives, were a “mixture” of “bread and wine,” of cross and resurrection, resulting in a search for “maturity” and “insight” with the power to transform life. How much was Hebraic and interpolated from the variant perceptions of the kingdom of God, as either (1) foretold by the prophets, or (2) later inspired by the apocalyptic writings of the Hasmonean period, is still debatable. A similar question prevails concerning the extent to which his views were influenced by his Asian-Cilician background. Though current Pauline scholarship rejects the latter, internal evidence suggests otherwise. In truth, Paul’s Hebraic element dominates. Nonetheless, Paul’s focus on the death and rising again of the God-Man, Jesus, along with his mystical experiences and the empowerment they gave him, are characteristic features of the Hellenistic period. They form the silent background in which his appeal took root, thus making Paul’s interpretation of Christianity vital ever since his time.1

The second reason for seven pillars is more contemporary. Has the time not come for establishing a method of reassessing Paul’s message for an era long past his own, especially at a time when his presuppositions are foreign to the modern mind? Can one still find sufficient insight in his message—in his pillars of wisdom—to build one’s house of existence upon it? Even more demanding, can one separate Paul’s personal understanding of Christ Jesus—his link to the Eternal—from Jesus himself, and still have relevant pillars? Can there be a bonding of time and eternity that so unites the Universal and the particular as to preserve the integrity of the Eternal while fulfilling the longing of the finite, yet that still retains the value of Jesus’ historical life? Paul achieved such a synthesis for himself and proclaimed it across Asia Minor and as far west as Rome. For centuries after him, Paul’s message spoke to kings and kingdoms alike, achieving perhaps its greatest influence during the Reformation. But times have changed since then, though not the human plight. The Enlightenment provided other perspectives, along with the West’s discovery of the ascetic and philosophical views of Oriental religions. The latter offer enlightening perspectives on the phenomenon of transcendence and how it plays out in human life. Nonetheless, Paul’s pillars of wisdom still speak to the hearts of countless Christian communities, whether Catholic or Protestant, and even secular perspectives, if one takes a larger view.

One might ask, what are the seven pillars?

1. God and the Self: Transcendence

Paul’s first pillar is built upon the conviction that human beings live by more than a sense of quiet desperation, that life has always beckoned one toward something higher, however difficult it may be to discover or access. It is embedded in every moment of conscious self-searching. It dominates every facet of Paul’s thought and comes to fruition in the realization that the highest form of transcendence one can attain is living unto God in faith through Christ. For Paul, Christ is the focus, lest something less than Christ define transcendence and dilute one’s experience of wholeness and joy. It is his way of acknowledging the essence of Proverbs’ seven pillars of wisdom, that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One insight” (Prov 9:10)—the sum of the seven pillars.

2. The Consolation of Mysticism

Inseparable from transcendence is Paul’s appreciation of the ineffable, of the indefinable mystery of God that enriches life and sets imaginations free to live by the highest nuances that address the human plight. Again, for Paul, that possibility occurs only through Christ; nevertheless, in our contemporary arena, it can happen elsewhere whenever one’s heart is open to the mystery of the Eternal as one’s companion and not as one’s avenger or retaliator. The danger of the latter, however, raises the possibility of the loss of “God’s personality” as well as the “personality of the searcher,” especially if one becomes absorbed in the Ineffable Cloud of Unknowing. For that reason, philosophy has rightly questioned whether one’s contact with the Transcendent is with “reality,” or merely an epiphenomenal experience of one’s loneliest loneliness. Theology presses the question one step further. If the Transcendent has not, nor cannot, initiate the contact, nor can “interact in history,” then humankind’s experiences of the Transcendent are purely “mental ascents” of one’s own, thus communicating nothing about God, let alone resulting in a “unitive” experience. This “bias” on the part of theology, however, has to be countered on behalf of human experience in general. Any form of “revelation” as such is always a form of transcendence, and its “proof” or “disproof” of a reality beyond the self is a matter of faith and interpretation. The sheer experience of transcendence is often its own reward.

3. The Righteousness of God

For Paul and modern psychology, few orders of the spirit are equal to the healing power of grace. It was present all along in Judaism’s experience of God’s hesed love and redeeming zedek, but it took Jesus’ death to awaken Paul’s eyes to the greatest event of his time. For Paul, the righteousness of God—embedded in the story of Abraham and available now to all through faith in Christ—is the answer to what alone redeems life and gives it meaning. It alone is what makes the kingdom of God a reality now, though its consummation is yet to come.

The question today, however, remains different for us. Simply stated: Is Paul’s approach valid for the “universality of humankind”? Can the effectiveness of forgiveness endure, shorn from its rootage in the mystery of God’s personality, or in the power of the living God’s unique redemptive event in Christ, without reducing it to a mere ideal or a powerful psychological phenomenon? And if the latter occurs, then what of the remarkable life of him who inspired it: Jesus of Nazareth? Was his cross a tragic accident of history, or a genuine conduit of God’s eternal grace? In the end, only faith can answer that question.

4. Apollonian Restraint in a Dionysian Age

The fourth pillar is founded on the understanding that a life without restraint loses its liberty, its potential for full growth and for self-fulfillment. Paul’s was an age that wavered between Gnosticism, a vaunted wisdom for the few and elite, and antinomian libertinism, which knew no bounds of indulgence—an age not wholly unlike our own. It was also an age “between the times,” between the end of the Old Testament era and the coming of the kingdom of God. To both Gnostics and Antinomians, Paul had to say, “No.” On what basis may we say the same?

5. Toward Universals That Transform Life

Paul’s fifth pillar of wisdom recognizes that there are definable universal values that are commensurate with self-attainment without mitigating the mystical and transcendent forces that nurture the inward person. Paul knew his era longed for such values, even desiring to live by them, but that it was caught in a web of darkness that blinded its inner vision and paralyzed its will. Beyond the higher values he would come to espouse, Paul would add his immortal three: faith, hope, and love.

6. The Delay of the Angels

No one knows the future, yet to live open to the power of the Transcendent to shape one’s future is essential. Granted, today, Pauline eschatology is deemed too remote and esoteric to take seriously; nonetheless, for Paul it was an integral aspect of wisdom. Does it still illuminate existence for our postmodern world?

7. Human Fate: Fulfillment and Destiny

Paul’s seventh pillar rests on the understanding that human fate, or one’s destiny, does not have to end in despair. For Paul, thanks to Christ, individuals may now grasp their destiny with vigor and courage, making their lives a tabernacle for good. To that extent, each individual is responsible for what he or she believes, does, or becomes, thus underscoring both the reality of the phenomenon of transcendence and its recognition as essential to human fulfillment.

In truth, the seven pillars are interrelated and interwoven throughout Paul’s letters. Though the following study attempts to single each out for discussion, the shadows and nuances of the others are always present.

With the above in mind, we proceed to a critique of Paul’s theology and its enduring value.

1. Furnish, Moral Teaching, 15.