lesson 7 stuff Flashcards
how many books in the NT are related to the apostle Paul?
13 out of 27
what did Paul think of Christianity at first?
at the outset he was violently and actively hostile to the spreading Christian church
For Paul, the faith in Jesus was reserved for whom?
it was a faith for all persons, Jews and Gentiles alike
–> rooted in the belief that Jesus had died and been raised for the salvation of the world, not just of Israel
the difference between the difficulties of reconstructing the life and teachings of the historical Paul and reconstructing the life and teachings of the historical Jesus
Jesus left us no writings, whereas Paul did
The Problem of Pauline Pseudepigrapha
scholars have good reasons for thinking that some of Paul’s writings were not written by Paul
–> this comes as no shock to historians
Writings under a false name
pseudepigrapha
All of the writings not written by Paul under Paul’s name
- the three Pastoral epistles
2. the three epistles of Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians
Deutero-Pauline
the three epistles of Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians thought to have been written by a second Paul
the seven letters that virtually all scholars agree were written by Paul himself
Romans
1 and 2 Corinthians
Galatians
Philippians
1 Thessalonians
Philemon
For a historically accurate account of what Paul said and did, can we rely on Luke’s narrative in the book of acts?
in the book of Acts, Paul’s words and deeds have been modified in accordance with Luke’s own perspective
–> Just like he did with his Gospel
–> Acts can tell us a great deal about how Luke understood Paul, but less about what Paul himself actually said and did
how similar is the book of Acts to Paul’s letters?
In virtually every instance in which the book of Acts can be compared with Paul’s letters in terms of biographical detail, differences emerge
–> Sometimes these differences involve minor disagreements concerning where Paul was at a certain time and with whom
—-> ex: Did he leave Timothy and Yllas or did they go with Paul to Athens with him?
–> Other differences are of greater importance
—-> ex: Did he he go to Jerusalem and meet with the apostles or was the message received directly from Jesus?
–> Did Paul actually never break the jewish law or did he not give a damn?
true or false
Paul’s teachings in Acts are the same as in his own letters
false
Paul’s teachings in Acts differ in significant ways from what he says in his own letters
difference between pagan knowledge of the one true God in acts and Paul’s letters
Acts: Pagan had no way of knowing about the one true God so its chill if they didn’t practice Judaism
Letters: Pagans should have know since the beginning of the one true God
the most important insight into the Pauline epistles in modern scholarship
that all of them are “occasional”
–> hey are actual communications to particular individuals and communities, sent through the ancient equivalent of the mail
why did Paul write his epistles?
Paul wrote these letters to address problems that arose in the Christian communities he established
Paul visualized his past in his letter in which three stages?
his life as a Pharisee prior to faith in Christ
his conversion experience itself,
his activities as an apostle afterwards
Paul the Pharisee
before converting, he was a Jew born to Jewish parents and that he was zealous for the Law, adhering strictly to the traditions endorsed by the Pharisees
he clearly did study the Jewish Scriptures extensively
he was so loyal, that he even persecuting Christians at some stage
the only writings to survive from the pen of a Pharisee
Paul’s letters
Were pharisees jewish apocalypticists?
yeee
they believed in reviving the dead
in one set of view, Paul tried to follow the Jewish laws so mush to the letter that it was too much for him
–> Paul saw the light when he realized that the solution to his guilt was not to intensify his efforts but to find forgive-ness of his sins in Christ, who died to set him free from the Law
–> Paul, in this view, converted from a religion of guilt to a religion of love, and so became Jesus’ faithful follower
what is wrong with thinking that this is what made Paul convert?
Prior to his faith in Christ, he considered himself to be blameless before the Law
–> this popular view of Paul derives more from a kind of implicit anti-Semitism—the Jews are burdened with an impossible Law and don’t do a good job in keeping it—than from Paul himself
The first thing to observe about Paul’s conversion
he traces it back to an encounter with the resurrected Jesus
–> he names himself as the last person to have seen Jesus raised from the dead and marks this as the beginning of his change from persecutor to apostle
two related matters that would show how Paul interpreted seeing Jesus resurrected
aspects of Paul’s worldview that would have been confirmed by an encounter with a man raised from the dead
aspects that would have been reformulated in light of the experience
The Confirmation of Paul’s Views in Light of Jesus’ Resurrection
As an apocalypticist, seeing Jesus resurrected meant what to Paul?
meant that the promised end had already begun
–> he believed that he was living in the end of time and that he would be alive when Jesus returned from heaven
–> For Paul, Jesus has already returned to life, which means that God has begun to defeat the power of death in him
What we need to understand The Reformulation of Paul’s Views in Light of Jesus’ Resurrection
Paul’s View of Jesus
Paul’s View of the Law
Paul’s View of Jews and Gentiles
How did Paul’s View of Jesus change?
Rather than being the cursed of God (Paul’s original view), Jesus must be the one specially blessed by God
–> he was the one God raised from the dead to conquer the cosmic forces of sin and death
–> Since Jesus was the one whom God vindicated, for Paul he must have been that righteous one who suffered
Paul’s newfound belief in the law
it seems clear that Paul came to believe that a person could not be put into a right standing before God by keeping the Law
–> only faith in Christ could do this
–> he maintained that this view was not contrary to the Law but, perhaps ironically, was precisely what the Law itself taught
he came to believe that the Law points to the problem of human sinfulness against God on the one hand but does not provide the power necessary to overcome that sinfulness on the other
–> humans are enslaved by powers opposed to God, specifically the cosmic powers of sin and death, and the Law can do nothing to bring about their release
Paul’s newfound belief in what the pagans and gentiles has to believe in
he came to believe that the other nations would become God’s people not through converting to the Law but through converting to Christ
the original covenant given to Abraham was meant for all people, not just the Jew
they had to follow Jesus, and not the Law of Moses itself
Throughout his career as a preacher of the gospel, Paul saw himself as the postal to whom?
to the Gentiles
–> he meant that he had been appointed by God to bring the good news of salvation through faith in Christ to those who were not Jews
can we be relatively certain that members of Paul’s churches told stories about the earthly Jesus?
yes
–> The author of the book of Acts, after all, belonged to one of these churches (at least we can assume so since Paul was the hero of his narrative), and he also wrote a Gospel
did Paul say a lot about what Jesus said or did historically?
nah bruv
the only info Paul gives about Jesus
He says that Jesus was born from a woman
Jesus was born a Jew reputedly from the line of King David
Jesus had brothers
–> now was James
Jesus had twelve disciples and conducted his ministry among Jews
He had a last meal with his disciples on the night on which he was betrayed
Are the sayings of Jesus from Paul similar to the in the Gospels?
yeee
Is Paul a good source for historians?
nah bruv
three possible reasons why Paul did not talk a lot about what Jesus did or said historically
- Paul knew a large number of traditions about Jesus but never spoke of them in his surviving letters because he had no occasion to do so
- Paul knew more of the traditions of Jesus but considered them irrelevant to his mission
- Paul didn’t mention more about Jesus’ words and deeds because he didn’t know very much more
perhaps the easiest way to explain why Paul scarcely ever mentions the events of Jesus’ life
what could explain this?
Paul knew a large number of traditions about Jesus but never spoke of them in his surviving letters because he had no occasion to do so
–> Paul never told Jesus’ stories because he assumed that his converts already knew them
Someone who takes this line could point out that Paul evidently knew other apostles who must have told him stories about Jesus
a flaw in the thinking that Paul never had the occasion to talk about what Jesus did
Paul spends a good amount of time in his letters reminding his converts of what he taught them when he was among them
–> If he had taught them about the historical Jesus, why would he not remind them of these stories also?
when the need arose, Paul was inclined to cite stories of Jesus to authorize his views as those promoted by Jesus himself, the ultimate Lord of the community
–> ex: when the Corinthians were celebrating the Lord’s Supper in a way that Paul found offensive, he reminded them of how Jesus instituted it among his disciples
–> why does he not do so more often?
he problem with this first option is that Paul had plenty of occasions to mention traditions about Jesus to buttress his views, but he scarcely ever took the opportunity
if Paul knew more of the traditions of Jesus but considered them irrelevant to his mission is the right option to why he rarely spoke of Jesus, what can we consider his most important priorities from Jesus?
Jesus himself
Jesus crucified
one serious problem with the view that Paul knew more of the traditions of Jesus but considered them irrelevant to his mission
If it were true that Paul did not consider the words and deeds of Jesus to be important, we would be unable to explain why Paul sometimes does appeal to these words and deeds when he is insisting on proper behavior among his congregations
how important was Jesus to Paul if we choose to believe that Paul didn’t mention more about Jesus’ words and deeds because he didn’t know very much more?
the life of Jesus was not only unimportant to Paul when he established his churches and addressed their problems
–> it was also unimportant to him personally
the problem with going with the idea that Paul didn’t mention more about Jesus’ words and deeds because he didn’t know very much more
Paul sometimes uses Jesus’ words as an authority for his own views but usually does not
Some of the Similarities between Jesus and Paul
The Historical Jesus:
Born and raised Jewish, and never saw self as departing from the truth of Judaism and the Jewish God
Proclaimed an apocalyptic form of Judaism
Expected the Son of Man to come from heaven in judgment during the lifetime of his own disciples
Dismissed the Pharisaic concern for scrupulous observance of the Law in order to have salvation
Taught the need for faith in God and saw the love of one’s neighbor as the summing up of the Law
The Apostle Paul:
Born and raised Jewish, and never saw self as departing from the truth of Judaism and the Jewish God
Proclaimed an apocalyptic faith in Christ
Expected Jesus to come from heaven in judgment during his (Paul’s) own lifetime
Dismissed the need to observe the practices of the Jewish Law in order to have salvation
Taught the need for faith in Christ and saw the love of one’s neighbor as the summing up of the Law
Jesus and Paul: Some of the Differences
The Historical Jesus:
The coming judge of the earth is the Son of Man.
To escape judgment, a person must keep the central teachings of the Law as Jesus himself interpreted them.
Faith involves trusting God to bring his (future) kingdom to his people.
Jesus’ own importance lies in his proclamation of the coming of the end and in his correct interpretation of the Law.
The end of the age began in the lives of Jesus’ followers, who accepted his teachings and began to implement them in their lives.
The Apostle Paul:
The coming judge of the earth is Jesus himself.
To escape judgment, a person must believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and not rely on observance of the Law.
Faith involves believing in the (past) death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus’ importance lies in his death and resurrection for sins.
The end of the age began with the defeat of the power of sin at the cross of Jesus.
Major difference between Paul and James
For Paul, “a person is justified by faith apart from the works prescribed by the law”
–> Abraham was justified by faith
for James, “a person is justified by works, not by faith alone”
–> Abraham was justified by works
Paul claims that faith in Christ is all one needs to be justified, and James argues that one needs more than faith
what does “Faith” mean for Paul?
it means a trusting acceptance of Christ’s death to put one into a right relationship with God
what does “Works” mean for Paul?
the works of the Jewish Law,
–> aspects of the Law that make Jews distinctive as the people of Israel
what does “Faith” mean for James?
“intellectual assent to a proposition.”
–> not enough to justify anyone
ex: even demons believe in god
those who have true faith will do “works”
what does “Works” mean for James?
“good deeds,” such as feeding the hungry and helping the destitute
Paul’s female disciple
Thecla
is Paul sex tolerant
nah nah
Paul is portrayed as a hardcore advocate of sexual renunciation, an apostle who preaches the joys of abstinence
why did Thecla follow Paul?
Women were more fond of the message of sexual abstinence
–> Engaged to a wealthy man of the upper classes, she hears Paul’s disquisition and breaks her engagement
the teacher of the infamous Gnostic Valentinus
Theudas
Valentinus
Gnostic
claimed to have acquired special knowledge of this theology from Theudas
Theudas
the teacher of the infamous Gnostic Valentinus
Disciple of Paul
–> like some other gnostics, appealed to Paul as his ultimate authority
why should we consider Paul’s teachings as Pauline Christianities?
there as a huge diversity of christian sub groups in the first two centuries
–> scholars prefer to speak of early Christianities rather than early Christianity
–> Pauline Christianity not one subset of this larger whole (or wholes) but as a number of subsets: Pauline Christianities
the last person to have seen Jesus raised form the dead according to Paul?
himself
How did Paul confirm his new view of Jesus (him being blessed)?
Paul searched for Jewish literature to confirm his newfound belief
if the law could not bring us in right standing to God according to Paul, what did?
faith in christ
