ABSTRACT
In Pity and Terror: Christianity and Tragedy, Ulrich E. Simon notes the extreme complexity behind the Gospels’ passion narratives. Exum insists that tragedy entails an imbalance between guilt and crime or sin because the punishment following the hero’s deeds appears excessive. In King Saul’s tragedy, the implied author certainly gives readers enough twists to the story to lead them to see that Saul is excessively condemned and punished. Tragedy as viewed by Paul and other New Testament writers needs examination in light of the fate theory prevalent among those ancient Greeks and Romans who believed the Fates controlled every life from beginning to end. Paul attempts to resolve the problem of injustice on God’s part by advancing the rather clear-cut thesis that God cannot be unjust or act unjustly. Contrary to the scenario created by some of the Jesus Seminar scholars, Paul did not misconstrue the message of a “historical Jesus” behind the distortions of the Gospels.
