Today we have a new guest post from Simon C.:

The religious worldview is often one of binaries, particularly with religions that have a strong proselytizing zeal. But we know the reality is far different. The world is nuanced and complex, with lots of points along a continuum. The religious will often frame life, society and the world in terms of some existential cosmic battle between good and evil, with good guys and bad guys, and few in between. And it’s only going to get worse. Most people however are decent folk who are just going about their daily business, focused understandably on the bread-and-butter issues of living. Or just trying to be happy.

The narratives of the scriptures can also follow these binaries, revolving around central characters as the engines that drive the story forward. For them, at the canter of their spiritual world, everything seems to be a matter of spiritual life and death. The generalizing language of the scriptures also paints a world of high contrast: the Jews did this, the Romans did that; the Greeks, on the other hand, did something else. But the narratives often undermine themselves with their own complexity. Around the periphery of the story are the marginal characters who pop in and out. They are the curious who dip their toe. They are those who are baffled or amused by the events that are going on around them and the people they come into contact with. They may even invest some time and energy and be on the cusp of believing but ultimately decide it’s not for them. They often do and say things that are surprising for their respective ‘type’ of person. They are the ones who are standing at the back, think they heard ‘Blessed are the cheesemakers…’and start debating whether this was meant literally or whether the guy on the hill meant any manufacturers of dairy products! In other words, they are most people. Of course, these characters are often serving a narrative function, but their presence rings true precisely because this is what life is really like.

I’m fascinated by these people. Which brings us to King Agrippa…

‘Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am’ (Acts 26.28-29, KJV)

Believing Christians can celebrate the power of Paul’s witness: standing in chains as a prisoner, boldly teaching and almost—almost!—persuading the Jewish king to believe in the King of the Jews. It’s an arresting scene and an equally arresting admission from Agrippa. But as always with the Bible our perceptions are often based on a specific translation, in this case the mighty KJV. Here are a couple of other takes:

‘Are you so quickly persuading me to be a Christian?’ (NRSV)

‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ (NIV)

The underlying Greek has the idea of a short space of time, or in few words, or easily. The KJV gives a different sense, in the form of a statement, that Agrippa was almost convinced. By turning it into a question Agrippa can be seen instead to be anything from intrigued and bemused (or even amused) by Paul’s approach—‘Hang on, are you trying to convert me?’—to something that is more dismissive—‘You really think you can convince me in such a short space of time. Is that all you’ve got?’ Most translations I looked at pose a question and lean towards this latter sense, in one way or another.

Acts was likely composed in the early second century, years after all the characters in this episode were dead. The author could have said anything he liked about what exchange took place—Agrippa wasn’t around anymore to dispute! But that’s beside the point. This exchange serves a wider narrative function in Acts that takes the disciples of Christ, and most notably Paul, on a journey from Jerusalem to Rome, teaching and testifying to Jews, Greeks and Romans, and standing before Jewish kings, Roman governors and ultimately, as the narrative infers, the Roman Emperor himself. It fulfils the pronouncements of the risen Christ that his apostles in Jerusalem ‘shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the world’ (Acts 1.😎 and that Paul was ‘a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel’ (Acts 9.15).

Whatever Agrippa actually said and whatever he actually thought of what Paul was teaching, he is a marginal character in the story who is sufficiently curious about the prisoner in Festus’ custody that he requests an audience. He pops in, takes a look, and then goes on his way. For Paul this was one of many important moments on his spiritual mission. For Agrippa it was just another day at the office. There are plenty of ‘almost’ people in the New Testament. I think of the young rich man who almost did everything that was asked of him. Then there’s the centurion at the foot of the cross who unexpectedly admits ‘Surely this man was the son of God’. I wonder what happened in their lives after their brushes with the Christian story. Maybe you can think of others.

What relevance is all this to us today? Whatever your level of religious conviction, the reality of life is that most people do not agree with you and never will. Some may be curious and some may be outright dismissive. You may feel you are locked in a battle to save souls. Most may just feel they need to focus on feeding their children. You may feel that the world is on a downward spiral of wickedness. Most will see themselves as decent people who try and do the right thing by others. If you have served a mission, you likely experienced this scenario every day: you at the center of your incredibly important spiritual narrative, while others saw you as just another interesting encounter.

In the world of religion, I think it’s good that not everyone agrees with you (respectfully, hopefully, as conflict is never a good thing. Religious conflict is particularly ugly). How boring would life be otherwise? It keeps you on your toes. It provides a reality check. Occasionally it may serve the useful purpose of bringing you down a peg or two and warning you not to believe too much in your own hype. Just as you have your convictions, people have theirs. And some people just aren’t interested in these things one way or another. I don’t blame them. There is something quite noble in someone saying: I just don’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I need to see more than what you are offering… Good on them, I say!

In my current agnosticism I’m not sure how God would exactly operate in the world. But the pattern offered by Patrick Mason in his 2020 book Restoration, where everyone by divine design has their own role to play in the master plan, both inside and outside the Mormon Church, makes the most sense to me. Then again, the world may be the way it is just because that’s the way it is…

  • What examples of ‘almost’ people do you find interesting from the scriptures?
  • Have you yourself been an ‘almost’ person in a situation, whether in a religious context or otherwise? How did others react to you?
  • What do you think we can learn from ‘almost’ people? Is there someone in your own life that has taught you a lot?

Discuss.