Religion 314 Paul Dr. Donald N. Penny

1. Religion 314PaulDr. Donald N. Penny

2. Topic 1 Introduction • Significance of Paul – most significant figure in NT after Jesus • Quantity of material • 13 “Pauline” letters; half of Acts. • About 1/3 of NT (by page count). • Scope of his missionary activity • Vision of evangelizing whole world. • Planted churches in key Hellenistic cities. • Influence of his theology • Keenest theologian of early church – made gospel relevant to Gentiles. • Influential on Christian theology. Was Paul the “second (or “real”) founder” of Christianity?

3. Sources • Apocryphal literature (2nd cent. and later) • Letters: Laodiceans; 3 Corinthians; Correspondence between Paul and Seneca. • Acts of Paul and Thecla – physical description of Paul. • Tell more about 2nd-cent. Christian movements which produced them than about Paul himself. • NT • Acts – detailed account of Paul’s career. • Letters – insight into Paul’s theology. • Cannot simply take Acts for Paul’s life and combine with letters for his thought. • Letters – primary sources for both life and thought • Authenticity – Which letters did Paul actually write? • “Occasional” nature • Responding to particular situations/problems/questions. • Not writing systematic theology – thought comes piecemeal, ad hoc; much left unsaid (issue: contingency vs. coherence).

4. Sources • Acts – secondary source for Paul(interpret in light of letters) • Date – late 1st cent.; memories fuzzy; details in conflict with letters. • Authorship • Tradition: Luke the physician, companion of Paul (Phlm. 24; Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:11). • Some cite “we-passages” (Acts 16:10-17; etc.) as evidence of eye-witness authorship. • Others: “we-passages” could reflect use of source or literary device; author not well acquainted with Paul’s theology. • Sources • May have used written sources; no agreement on exact nature. • Perhaps used Jerusalem source; Antiochene source; travelogue or diary of Paul’s journeys. • Theological perspective • Writes “theological history” of church to commend gospel to Gentiles. • Shows expansion of church from Jerusalem to Rome. • Selective, compressed account; idealizes early church.

5. Sources • Acts – cont. • Views on historicity of Acts: • Naïve historicism – uncritical view; assumes historical accuracy; discrepancies must be harmonized; not good method. • Extreme skepticism – some older critics took Acts as pious, edifying fiction; accepted nothing from Acts unless corroborated by letters; such skepticism is unwarranted. • Prevailing view – contains reliable information; use cautiously, critically to supplement letters; always interpret Acts in light of letters.

6. Paul’s Early Life– A Man of Two Cultures • Paul’s Jewish Roots • Jewish family (born c. 1-10 A. D.) – explicit in Acts and letters • Acts 22:3 – “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God…” • Phil. 3:5 – “…circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews…” • Disproves Ebionite charge that Paul was a Greek who converted to Judaism to marry a priest’s daughter. • Family has close ties to Palestine: • “Hebrew born of Hebrews.” • Sister and nephew in Jerusalem (Ac. 23:16). • Jerome: tradition that Paul’s parents had migrated from Gischala (in Galilee) to Tarsus. • Jewish name “Saul”– only in Acts • Venerable Jewish name going back to king Saul (also a Benjaminite). • Acts uses “Saul” up to 13:9; then switches to “Paul.” • Not pre-Christian and Christian names, but Jewish and Hellenistic (Roman) names. • “Saul” not used in letters because of Hellenistic context.

7. Paul’s Early Life– A Man of Two Cultures • Paul’s Jewish Roots – cont. • Pharisee, devoted to Jewish law – explicit in Acts and letters • Acts 26:5 – “According to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee” (cf. 23:6). • Letters – strict Jew; Pharisee; zealous for law. • Gal. 1:14 – “I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.” • Phil. 3:4-6 – “…as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” • Educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel – only in Acts • Acts 22:3 – “…brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel.” • Prominent Pharisaic teacher; grandson of the great Hillel. • Represents moderate/lenient wing of Pharisees (cf. Acts 5:34ff.). • Letters do not mention Gamaliel or rabbinic studies in Jerusalem; absence from Gal. 1, Phil. 3, 2 Cor. 10-13 is curious. • Gal. 1:22 (“unknown by sight to churches of Judea”) often taken to dispute education in Jerusalem. • Letters indirectly attest knowledge of rabbinic teaching and methodology.

8. Paul’s Early Life– A Man of Two Cultures • Paul’s Jewish Roots – cont. • Trade as tentmaker – explicit only in Acts • Acts 18:3 – skēnopoios = “tent-maker” or “leather-worker.” • Letters do not mention tent-making; Paul does boast of being self-supporting through work at a trade (1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:7-8; 1 Cor. 9:6). • Later rabbinic practice was to learn a trade in order to support oneself and be manager of own time. • Marital status • Clearly not married when he wrote 1 Cor. 7:7-8; 9:5. • Normal for Jewish men to marry. Was Paul divorced? a widower? • Acts 26:10 (“I cast my vote against them”) has been taken to imply that Paul was member of Sanhedrin, and therefore married – highly questionable.

9. Paul’s Early Life– A Man of Two Cultures 2. Paul’s Hellenistic Roots • Native of Tarsus in Cilicia– explicit only in Acts • Tarsus (Acts 21:39; 22:3; cf. “Syria and Cilicia” in Gal. 1:21). • Capital of Cilicia; strategically located; important commercial center; famous for high culture; center of Stoic teaching; schools of rhetoric. • Debated whether Paul would have attended such schools; surely heard popular philosophical preachers in streets. • Roman citizen – only in Acts • Acts 16:35-39; 22:25-29; 25:11-12. • Citizenship could be attained by inheritance; military service; liberation from slavery; purchase; political favor; etc. • Carried social status and legal rights (proper trial; appeal to emperor). • Often disputed on basis of 2 Cor. 11:25 (“three times beaten with rods”) – a Roman punishment not allowed on citizens. • Roman name “Paul” – both Acts and letters • Roman name with Greek spelling; “Paulus” = “very small.” • Acts 13:9 switches to Paul – not at conversion but 14 years later; as mission moves into Hellenistic environment. • Letters use only “Paul” – writing in Greek for Hellenistic readers.

10. Paul’s Early Life– A Man of Two Cultures 2. Paul’s Hellenistic Roots – cont. • Greek language – both Acts and letters • Letters show Greek was first language; writes fluently; quotes Scripture from LXX. • Acts 21:37-40; 22:2 – also knew Hebrew and/or Aramaic. • Hellenistic culture and philosophy– Acts and letters • Acts 17:22-31 – Luke’s Paul quotes Greek poets and borrows themes from Stoic philosophy. • Letters show Paul familiar with Hellenistic culture – Greek language; rhetorical skills; Greek philosophical/ethical terms; military and athletic imagery. • Conclusion • Was Paul shaped by Judaism or Hellenism? • Evidence for both – debated which is dominant. • Can’t really separate the two – Judaism itself was hellenized. • Paul’s dual culture ideally fitted him to bring God of Israel to Gentile world.

11. Acts of Paul and Thecla (c. 160) Physical Description of Paul “And he saw Paul coming, a man small of stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness; for now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel.” (Hennecke-Schneemelcher, NT Apocrypha, Vol. 2, p. 354) Return

12. Authenticity of Paul’s Letters Implications for methodology: • Use undisputed letters to reconstruct the historical Paul and his theology. • Use disputed letters more cautiously as witness to Paul’s influence. (“Deutero-Paulines”) Return