One of them, a
prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy
gluttons.”
Titus 1:12
Dear Heavenly
Father, thank you for Your provision and healing. Although there are bumps in the road, I know
that You are there. Please continue to
be with me and my family. Help us to
live for You. Grant us the knowledge and
wisdom to aspire to Your will for our lives.
We praise and glorify Your name.
In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.
We are still in the
body portion of the letter which focuses on doctrine and encouragement. We are examining who is not an elder. "A prophet of their own" refers to
Epimenides of Knossos who was a highly regarded 600 B.C. poet and philosopher
from Crete. Knossos known as the
location of the Labyrinth was originally called Gnossos which is the root word
for Gnostics. His description of his own
people had become a proverb. To bring deeper understanding to today's text,
let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.
"Prophet"
in the Greek is prophetes which means
interpreter, forth teller of divine will, poet (because poets were believed to
sing under divine inspiration). The
prophet referred to here is generally accepted as Epimenides who was a
philosopher poet. He is most famous for
his paradox or Liar's Paradox. In a
poem, Minos addresses Zeus who Epimenides considered immortal. The poem states "They fashioned a tomb
for you, holy and high one, Cretans, always
liars, evil beasts, idle bellies. But
you are not dead, you live and abide forever.
For you we live and move and have our being." So the question becomes, if Cretans always
lie and Epimenides is a Cretan, is anything he says true? Are the Cretans lying that Zeus is mortal or
is the prophet lying by saying Zeus is immortal? A better way to understand this paradox is in the Star Trek episode "I, Mudd."
Captain Kirk tells an android that Mudd is a liar. Then Mudd says, "I am lying." If Mudd is indeed lying, then Mudd is
telling the truth, which means Mudd just lied.
"Cretans"
in the Greek is Kres which means an
inhabitant of Crete. The island of Crete
is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and lies about 99 miles
south of the Greek mainland. It was the
center of the first civilization called the Minoans (2700 to 1420 BC). Over the years, they have be ruled by the
Mycenaens, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Venetians, and the Ottomans. The Labyrinth built there supposedly housed
the Minotaur who has a head and tail of a bull and a body of a man. "Cretan" often is confused with
"Cretin" which means a stupid person.
However, there is no etymological link between the words.
"Always"
in the Greek is aei which means
unceasingly, perpetually, on every occasion, constantly, incessantly. "Liars" in the Greek is pseutes which means deceiver, person who
falsifies, alter information and evidence so as to mislead, distorts,
misrepresents. At every opportunity,
Cretans lie.
"Evil" in
the Greek is kakos which means bad,
inward malice, inwardly foul, poisoned, morally rotten, wickedness, inner evil,
troublesome, injurious, pernicious, destructive, baneful, wildness, ferocity,
harmful effect. "Beasts" in the
Greek is therion which means wild
animal, brutal, bestial man, savage, ferocious.
Cretans are inwardly poisoned, wild, brutal, harmful men.
"Lazy" in
the Greek is argos which means inactive,
idle, thoughtless, unprofitable, injurious, likely to cause damage or harm,
shunning labor one ought to perform.
"Gluttons" in the Greek is gaster
which means the belly, the womb, stomach, a man who is as if he were all
stomach, gormandizer, eat good food to excess.
Cretans shun activities that they should perform in order to eat
endlessly.
Cretans are of the
World. Therefore from this verse, we see that the World focuses on
themselves, deceives others and themselves, are morally corrupt, are
unmotivated, and are concerned only with their own passions. Conversely, Christians focus on others, have
high moral standards, are role models, are ambitious, are zealous, and are
concerned for God's passion which is to see everyone saved. 2 Peter 3:9 states "The Lord is not
slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance." Obviously, there are
more "Cretans" than Christians. Only through God's grace can someone become a Christian. Only then through the Holy Spirit can a Christian be not of this World. Don't be a Cretan. Believe in Christ.
One of them
[Epimenides, a Cretan], a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always
liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Amplified Bible
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