On Reading Others' Letters

1986 ◽  
Vol 79 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 137-146
Author(s):  
Lars Hartman
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
As If

“My mother taught me that reading others' letters isn't nice.” Those, or something like them, were the words of Krister Stendahl when he once tried to open the eyes of his audience to some of the hermeneutical problems which pertain to the fact that Christians read Paul's letters as if they were addressed to themselves rather than to their original recipients. The following reflections deal with these problems, and they are meant as a humble tribute to my first teacher in New Testament exegesis. I begin by recalling a few facts that are intriguing once one puts them together. This will lead me to the suggestion that, when he wrote his letters, Paul had a wider usage in mind than we usually assume. Against such a background I shall discuss, in a rather unsophisticated way, some conditions that may apply to a rereading of the Pauline letters and some possible consequences for so-called historical exegesis.

Jeremiah and His Prophecies in the New Testament

2021 ◽  
pp. 519-538
Author(s):  
Catrin H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Gospel Of Matthew ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
New Covenant ◽  
Epistle To The Hebrews ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters

This chapter examines the various modes of reference to Jeremiah in the writings of the New Testament. It begins with an investigation of the three explicit references to the prophet Jeremiah in the Gospel of Matthew before expanding the discussion to examine various allusions to the content of Jeremiah’s prophecies in the four canonical gospels. The study will then consider the contribution of Jeremiah to Paul’s understanding of his apostolic ministry and also focus on the influence of the Jeremianic concept of “new covenant” on the understanding of the salvific significance of Christ both in Paul’s letters and in the epistle to the Hebrews. It concludes with an exploration of the various ways in which Jeremiah’s prophecies are employed in the book of Revelation, including the oracles of judgment against Babylon.

Pauline Chronology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Reasoner
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Life Story ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
Relative Chronology ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
To Come ◽  
Book Of Acts ◽  
Real Places

Pauline chronology, the chronological framework in which Paul’s life and letters are situated, is a significant prolegomenon for the interpretation of his letters and the book of Acts that prompts study for several reasons. First, readers of Paul’s letters inevitably construct a life story through which to read the letters, since humans learn through narrative. Second, the Christian idea of incarnation drives Scripture readers to connect its narratives with “real” places and dates in our world. Thus, New Testament readers feel compelled to work out an absolute chronology of Paul’s life, which dates his letters in relation to dates and events from the outside world of the 1st century. Third, questions arise from the book of Acts, which in its second half follows Paul exclusively. Did the events in Acts really happen? Did the author of Acts, who sometimes uses “we” pronouns when describing Paul’s travels (16:10–17; 20:5–21:18; 27:1–28:16), really accompany Paul? How is Acts related to the letters of Paul? Fourth, questions arise within Paul’s letters that beg for a chronology. There are enough differences in Paul’s letters to demand that one form at least a relative chronology of Paul’s life to ascertain the sequence of the letters’ composition. Paul sent a letter to the churches in Galatia and collected money from them (Galatians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 16:1), but it is unclear exactly where these churches were located and when Paul founded them. The letters of 1 and 2 Corinthians prompt readers to reconstruct a chronology of Paul’s visits and communication with the church in Corinth. The Pastoral Epistles, 1–2 Timothy and Titus, appear to come from a different voice than Paul’s other letters, but adjustments in Pauline chronology allow some to situate this difference within Paul’s lifetime. In this bibliography, adjectives “Acts-friendly” or “Acts-receptive” mean that the interpreter is relying on Acts as providing valid historiographical data for chronology. “Acts-critical” or “Acts-cautious” mean that the interpreter has heeded the most influential piece in this bibliography, John Knox’s seminal book, Chapters in a Life of Paul, which takes seriously and popularizes the skepticism of F. C. Bauer (1792–1860) toward the historical value of Acts. Knox’s book calls for New Testament readers to reconstruct Pauline chronology primarily from Paul’s letters. Knox thus challenges all New Testament readers to make deliberate arguments for the regard they give to Acts when responding to questions of Pauline chronology.

Thessalonians

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ascough
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sexual Morality ◽  
Problematic Behavior ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
Fear And Anxiety ◽  
The City ◽  
Community Relationships

The two letters written to the Christian group at the city of Thessalonica occupy the thirteenth and fourteenth places in the canon of the New Testament; they are eighth and ninth in the sequence of Paul’s letters. There is little doubt that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, and many scholars consider it to be one of his earliest letters. In contrast, the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians is much contested, with scholars split between ascribing it to Paul and ascribing it to a later writer using Paul’s name. On the other hand, the textual integrity of 2 Thessalonians is secure, while 1 Thessalonians is argued by some to be a combination of two or more letters, or at the very least, they suggest, it contains a nonauthentic interpolation at 2:13–16. The primary aim of 1 Thessalonians is to encourage Jesus’ believers to continue to progress in their faith, and Paul addresses some practical concerns to that effect: sexual morality, community relationships, and Jesus’ return. In 2 Thessalonians the emphasis lies on addressing fear and anxiety over the return of Jesus and some problematic behavior within the group.

Cautious about Conatives

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-321
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Malone
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Worked Examples ◽  
As If

Abstract It has long been recognized that the imperfect and present tenses can communicate a conative sense. The category is sufficiently established that New Testament commentaries can brusquely identify “a conative imperfect” or “imperfectum de conatu” as if (1) the terminology conveys a uniform meaning and (2) such meaning is established by the verb’s tense. A fresh inspection of the phenomenon suggests neither assumption is accurate. With worked examples we can observe that at least two competing nuances are understood by the label “conative” and that the verb’s tense is far from the determinative factor. Whether in generating claims about the conative sense or in digesting others’ analyses, interpreters need to be alert to the pitfalls associated with this category.

scholarly journals The Evolution of the Pauline Canon

1997 ◽  
Vol 53 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Price
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters

The article aims at reviewing theories of how the Pauline Corpus first came to be. A taxonomy consisting of four families of theories is established: Paul himself collected his writings; after his death Paul lived forth in the form of a collection of his writings; an intercourse between one Pauline center and another gradually led to the exchange of copies of letters; the collection of Paul's letters gave him pothumously a centrality which he lacked in his own time until about 90 C E. The article concludes with the disputed question whether all of Paul's writings in the New Testament descend or diverge from a particular, definitive edition of the Pauline Corpus.

The “Sic et Non” of Stephanus Gobarus

1923 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-234
Author(s):  
Adolf von Harnack
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Church History ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Come ◽  
History Of Doctrine ◽  
As If

In the older, as well as in the current, books on church history, and at some points in New Testament introduction, patristics, and the history of doctrine, a certain work is referred to under the name of “Stephanus Gobarus.” The problems arising out of the quotations from this book are of great interest; but we are given virtually no information about the author beyond his name, and the book itself remains a complete mystery. Only the industry of Walch, in Part VIII of his “Entwurf einer vollständigen Historie der Ketzereien” (1778, pp. 877 ff.) has analyzed it, or, rather, made unsatisfactory and incorrect extracts from it, to which he has added a few observations of his own. With this exception, it seems as if ever since the tenth century scholars had entered into a conspiracy to maintain complete silence about this work, or at least to content themselves with a few scanty remarks.In the following pages I shall endeavor to come closer to the work and its author. I do not undertake to give a commentary, for that would require a book; but shall confine myself to the main points, going into detail only with reference to passages that relate to the literature of the first three centuries.

scholarly journals Eros and Agape – a Critique of Anders Nygren

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-29
Author(s):  
Torstein Theodor Tollefsen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Christian Understanding ◽  
New Religion ◽  
As If

Nygren’s book Eros och Agape was first published in Sweden in 1930/36. It was then published in English translation in 1953 under the title Agape and Eros. The author’s idea was to describe the development of the Christian concept of love through the centuries. Nygren argued that eros is the term for Platonic, self-centred love that strives for union with the divine realities, while agape, denoting the Christian concept of love, is the free, divine movement towards human beings. Agape is unselfish and is not motivated by any value in the recipient. This distinction drawn by Nygren has been so influential that it has been taken for granted in a lot of Christian contexts worldwide, even if one does not associate it with the name Nygren. In this paper his methodology and the distinction he draws are criticised. He finds in eros and agape two so-called “fundamental motifs” that, as he sees it, unfortunately merge in Christian tradition and thereby obscure the original Christian understanding of love that emerges in its purest form in St Paul and later in Luther. There are a lot of problems in Nygren’s book. He argues, for instance, that Christianity emerges from Judaism as a completely new religion, and separates the Old and the New Testament as if they had nothing in common. Agape as the divine gift to human beings excludes all human activity since God has freely and graciously chosen human persons as his slaves. In the present paper it is argued that Nygren’s methodology is unsound and that his conclusions are not even in agreement with the New Testament.

Procreation, Children, and Family

2019 ◽  
pp. 538-556
Author(s):  
Robert H. von Thaden
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters

This chapter situates the rhetoric surrounding procreation, children, and family within the New Testament in its ancient context. Eschewing claims of uniqueness, it describes recent research into ancient understandings of family and children centered in the oikos, or household. It examines this rhetoric found in the Synoptic Gospels, Paul’s letters, and the Pastoral Epistles and the different ways that the communities that produced these texts participate in and reconfigure norms and expectations from surrounding Hellenistic, Roman, and Jewish cultures. It notes the tension, also found in non-Christian ancient cultures, between positive portrayals of family and children (as in the Household Codes) and negative evaluations of the same (in texts expressing an apocalyptic eschatological hope). It concludes by noting that early Christ-believing communities did not radically alter the situation of children in antiquity, even as they did create theological rationales for avoiding practices such as exposure and infanticide.

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