"I am astonished that you have..."
St Paul's shock opening to his letter to the Galatians could be applied to any number of events in 2016.
That Trump swept to power on a tide of evangelical backing. The UK's vote to leave the European Union. The confusion over the refugee crisis. The apathy over the ongoing disaster in Yemen.
Politico's year review struggles to capture the full extent of division, conflict and hatred that has risen up in the past 12 to 18 months, let alone try to offer a forward looking response.
For New Testament theologian and lecturer at London School of Theology Conrad Gempf, the Apostle Paul's example in how to handle conflict is something to learn from.
There is no doubt in Gempf's mind that Paul "is a really difficult character to work with".
In an interview with Christian Today he said: "Paul being Paul it is very likely he gets angry and then decides whether he should calm down or not."
But he always retains the awareness "that something bigger than himself is at stake".
This attitude is crucial as eyes turn ahead to 2017 and the continued fall out from conflicts from this year, he said.
"As Christians we shouldn't be trying to win. As Christians we should be trying to do what is most consistent with Christianity."
There is no doubt that Paul's feisty character does not hold back: "There are places where the gospel is threatened and in those places Paul just goes beserk," said Gempf.
But there are other places where Paul displays remarkable awareness of when to get angry and when not.
"He is a very complex guy," said Gempf. "It is not just that he forgives after conflict, it is that everything he does, even in disagreements, are in submission to his values of spreading the gospel.
"There are places, like in Corinthians, where his own pride or his superiority is at stake. There he doesn't go beserk.
Gempf sums up Paul's attitude: "If you're neutral about the church that is cool. But if you're neutral about Jesus that is not cool."
A strident critic of Trump and admirer of Obama, Gempf said this approach can be taken and applied into the response to Trump's presidency and the emergence of the far right in Europe.
"Do I just want my own people to win and things to look the way I want them or are there some serious, deep values at stake which are not only wrong views but dangerous values as well?
"The letter of Philemon shows us that part of being a Christian leader is admitting you don't know the right way to dealing with the problem but showing the guidelines."
Gempf makes the point that Paul never tells the slave-owner Philemon whether he should keep his slave or whether he should let him go free. He leaves the decision to him but is clear that he is appealing "on the basis of love".
Gempf said: "Paul is genuinely leaving the door open. The force of his argument is you can't do the non-Christian thing and kill this guy or treat him poorly.
"You have to do something good to him – you have to treat him like a brother whether that is taking him as a slave or setting him free."
Paul leaves it up to Philemon to decide what that "good" is because he is the only one in that situation to know what the Christian response is.
As an American, Gempf adds: "There are times with Brexit that that is the best I can do – to say to folks who are in that situation, 'You will be able to tell what the Christian thing to do is and what the best thing that furthers gospel values is.'
"Christian leadership doesn't always mean making the decision and trusting other people to live them out. Christian leadership sometimes means setting the boundaries and trusting other people to make the decisions to live them out within those boundaries."
When it comes to Trump's fledgling administration, the negotiations over Brexit and the attitude towards refuges, Gempf said: "The Church is in a position to say this is too far or that is too far.
"But there should be a generosity between that that isn't born out of weakness but out of a strength of conviction. Paul's forceful language is not 'Do the right thing or else...' but there is an openness of what the right thing to do is.
"Paul expects to be surprised by a Christian making a decision in a difficult situation. He expect to be surprised to see how the love of Christ and also the strictness of Christ plays out in their decision."
With this in mind Gempf says he has been impressed with how Obama has handled the transition time, giving Trump a chance while at the same time leaving room to come back as a critic if he goes wrong.
"It's not 'Do what you want, pal.' You can bet in that transition there is some guiding and explaining going on."
Similarly Gempf concludes: "There is no hands-off policy for Christians. But there is a freedom extended that is born out of a sense of I don't have all the answers.
"There is a hope that the diversity of people living to honour the deep values of Christianity can come up with creative ways of doing it and coming up with ways I would not have thought of."
