Paul's Message to the Romans: Faith, Evil, and Destiny

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Unlike the other churches like Galatians, when Paul writes to Romans, he is writing to a group of Christian converts that he has never actually met before. Despite not knowing his audience personally, his message to the Romans is similar to that of the Galatians- a bad destiny comes to those who do not remain faithful and follow evil and God determines the fate of those who have faith. Near the beginning of Paul’s incredibly long letter to the Romans, he warns them outright of their destinies if they reject all that is true and commit sins, proclaiming, “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for …show more content…

When early Christians wonder what their fate is, what controls their destiny, and what happens by chance or by choice, Paul uses his theology to explain that God’s hand is at play in their lives and that God is responsible for their paths. How do people explain the things that happen that changed the entire trajectory of their lives in the film Amélie? They do not know it, but Amélie is the one trying to bring happiness to their lives and somehow everything she does for people magically works out- through magic realism. An example of magic realism can be seen in one part of the film when the protagonist, Amélie, sees two lonely people- a hypochondriac waitress who works with Amélie in a café and a man who is stalking his ex-girlfriend, and manages to magically get them to fall in love. Paul’s explanation for the events that have no earthly explanation is God. For Paul, God is the reason why certain things in life happen. He specifically brings this up in his letter to Philemon, saying, “perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother (Philemon 1:15-16).” He believes that there is a reason why particular events occur and in this instance, he thinks that Philemon’s slave Onesimus was away from him for a reason that was determined by God. Humans naturally question their destinies and control of their lives; they search for answers. Throughout history people have always tried to provide some answers- back when Paul was talking to early Christians and even now in the modern world through movies like Amélie. They make people wonder if they have an Amélie, God, the universe, or some other force controlling things in their lives. Nearly all of humanity believes that there is something out there controlling some portion of

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