Interpretations of Paul's Epistle to Titus

^{From chapter 1 of Titus, verses 10 through 16:}

 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.  One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”  This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith  and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

 Here, Paul is referencing the Cretan poet Epimenides, who wrote: 

They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one
The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!
But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever,
For in thee we live and move and have our being.

Discussions of Titus (online primarily) tend to contain back and forth discussions of Paul's seeming contempt for Cretan people in general, calling him associative with stereotyping or, in more extreme cases, racism, things of this nature. But this reading is uncharitable, and even goes against what Paul writes near the end of this very letter: 

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,  to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. (3:1-2)

So if this is the case, what is Paul implying by referencing Epimenides in this instance?

Some postulate Paul is being humorous, referencing the Epimenides Paradox. This paradox concerns the fact that Epimenides calls all Cretans prone to falsehood (or liars), when he himself is Cretan, so the basis of the truth of his claim comes into question. However, Epimenides likely did not mean for his words to be taken to this ironic extreme (liars that can only tell lies), but that Cretans were prone to lying when they acted like Zeus had died. In fact, Epimenides' statement was only associated with other liar paradoxes in the mid 18th century by Pierre Bayle, and even only then more as a sophism than a complete paradox, a stance manly still hold today since the original poem isn't technically entirely paradoxical. Therefore, this interpretation of Paul's words can be ruled out for the most part. 

Others bent on affirming the humor narrative to the text state that Saint Titus himself was a native of Crete (making Paul's reference more joking by association), but this statement is nowhere to be found in the books of the New Testament that mention him. At most, it can be inferred, but is never clearly stated in any canonical text. 

 Fringe groups will state that Paul is not slandering anyone, because he is telling the complete truth: 

Epimenides wasn’t the only one to describe Cretans in this way. Other ancient writers and philosophers concurred, and Paul’s assessment serves to confirm the Cretans’ character to be generally evil. The Roman poet Ovid referred to Crete as mendax Creta, or “lying Crete.” The Greeks used the verb cretize as a synonym for lie. All people are guilty of lying at one time or another, but not all are habitual liars, as it seems the ancient Cretans were. Lying seems to have been a governing vice among them. They were not only guilty of it in certain specific instances, but always. They were, in the vernacular of psychologists, compulsive liars, those who lie even when there is no external motive for the lie. Lying was their fallback behavior in all instances.

For a good article that serves as a collection of ancient descriptions of the word "cretize" (κρητίζω) and also stories that led people to associate Cretans with liars (which most if not all trace back to Idomeneus, king of Crete during the Trojan War), look here. Much of what we have of these ancient city states are the most polarizing myths they leave behind, much in the same way our collective memory of Sparta is absurdly warlike, when the real situation is obviously more complex. There is not much else to say on this evangelical site's take on the matter considering its appalling lack of depth or morality.

Whether or not Titus was specifically from Crete, he was definitely from the Greek world, and he grew up learning Greek philosophy and all these sorts of things. He would definitely know the context of the poem Paul quotes, and when we too know that deeper context, the usage of Paul's reference certainly can become more clear. 

Epimenides was writing about a group of Cretans who believed that Zeus had lived as a man and died all on their island, even erecting a physical tomb for him. Epimenides asserts their incorrectness; Zeus is immortal. Think about this position juxtaposed with misconceptions about Christ common in the time of Paul: that he had not really resurrected. This is the type of connection Paul was making; the lies of the Cretans in Epimenides and in the Epistle to Titus are in reference to religious heresies happening there -- not frivolous jokes or absurd condemnations of entire peoples.  

Addendum on the term 'cretin'

I also see many people conflate this word with Cretan, since in American pronunciation, they are homonyms. However, the word 'cretin' does not come from Crete, but 18th century France. Merriam-Webster puts the origins succinctly: 

Chronic iodine deficiencies in diet can result in malfunctions of the thyroid gland, the gland that produces hormones necessary for normal human development. Some mountainous regions, such as parts of the Alps, do not naturally provide their inhabitants with a diet rich enough in iodine, and the resultant hypothyroidism causes stunted growth and mental retardation. In Franco-Provençal (the Romance speech of French Switzerland and adjacent areas of France), a person affected by hypothyroidism was called a cretin, literally, “wretch, innocent victim,” The word meant simply “Christian” and emphasized the hypothyroid victim's basic humanity.

Grand Illusion (1937)

     Renoir's Grand Illusion focuses on French prisoners of war as try to escape German camps during World War I. Despite the sound of the premise, the film's focus is not so much action as it is interpersonal relationships and a commentary on class. Viewing Grand Illusion with Renoir's words here in mind illuminate much of the dialogue within: “If a French farmer found himself dining with a French financier, those two Frenchman would have nothing to say to each other. But if a French farmer meets a Chinese farmer they will find any amount to talk about.” 

    The beginning of the film introduces this exact juxtaposition. Lieutenant Maréchal and Captain Boeldieu, after being shot down from their plane by German pilots, are invited to a meal with them. This meal is amicable even though both sides of the war are seated. There, Maréchal befriends a German mechanic who worked at the same factory that he did; while other scenes show lower class French prisoners mocking Boeldieu at times due to his aristocratic upbringing and attitude. Two mechanics across borders are faster friends than two countrymen across classes. Later, Maréchal comments to his friend, Rosenthal, "I like Boeldieu, but I never truly feel comfortable with him. We've got different backgrounds, so there's a wall between us."

    Captain Boeldieu has this same foil in his relationship with the German officer of the prison camp, Rauffenstein. Two different countries' people, though they get along from their identical careers and backgrounds. However, Boeldieu, through having spent so much time in the camp with the other prisoners, has begun to come around to the idea of these types of divisions. Rauffenstein explains he wanted to talk to Boeldieu since they are both career officers, and Boeldieu responds by pointing out that the others with him are also fine soldiers. When Rauffenstein imagines that the upper class' relevancy will suffer after the war, Boeldieu says, "Maybe we're no longer needed."  

    Boeldieu ends up devising a plan that will distract the German guards enough to give time for Maréchal and Rosenthal to escape, though it will knowingly come at the cost of his own life. Even when Maréchal is trying to express his gratitude to Boeldieu he does not treat his actions as something to be anything other than expected. The differences between them still impair their communication with each other, but Boeldieu expresses his change of heart through actions rather than words.

    The guards gather the prisoners to an assembly after they all played flutes and banged pots and pans together to purposefully have this assembly happen. Once they call out Boeldieu's name, he does not declare he is present in the crowd. Rather, a flute plays and the camera pans to Boeldieu atop the fortress' balcony. He has a whimsical way about him like Pan as he sits atop the ledge and later marches while playing his song. Rauffenstein himself confronts Boeldieu atop a small cliff just outside the gates, and ends up killing him with a shot to the stomach that he later tells Boeldieu was meant for his legs.

    Boeldieu leaves the world telling Rauffenstein, "I am not the one to be pitied. For me, it will all be over soon. But you'll have to carry on."