things for lesson 11: Writing in Paul's name Flashcards
A pseudonymous writing
is a book whose author writes under a false name
are there any pseudonymous writings in canon?
ye bruv
the two kinds of pseudonymous writing in the ancient world
some authors assume a pen name simply to keep their identity secret
some authors decep- tively claim to be someone famous
tho who was written written 2 Thessalonians
It was written to a group of Christians who were undergoing intense suffering for their faith
why was 2 Thessalonians written
written to a group of Christians who were undergoing intense suffering for their faith
some members of this Christian community had come to believe that the end of time had already come upon them
this letter was written to assure this congregation of Christians that the end was not yet upon them
in 2 Thessalonians, who needed to come before the whole rapture could commence
the anti christ
differences between what Paul and his imitator say in 2 Thessalonians
Paul would say that the end would come before anyone would even know it
–> Imitator says there is still time and not to expect it to come soon
Paul never taught them when he was there (other than in his first letter) that the end was not imminent and that it was normal if some would die before
–> imitator claims he taught them so
Paul never mentions the antichrist in other letters
–> imitator puts too much emphasis on him to be the actualPaul
why was Colossians written?
to address the false teachers in collosia
to say that one did nit have to follow the jewish customs
–> Jesus was the closest to the divine
The Colossians are therefore to enjoy the full experience of the divine as those who have been raised to the heavenly places in Christ
–> This does not mean, however, that they can neglect their physical lives in this world or behave as though their bodies no longer matter.
arguments saying Paul is not the author of Colossians
the writing style of Colossians differs markedly from that found in Paul’s undisputed letters
this author believes that Christians have participated with Christ not only in his death but also in his resurrection
–> Paul himself, however, is equally emphatic: even though Christians have “died” with Christ in their baptism, they have not yet been raised with him
the author is particularly concerned with the interactions of believers in their social arrangements, as wives and husbands, children and fathers, slaves and masters
–> we won’t find such things emphasized in Paul’s undisputed letters
–> For Paul, social arrangements were what they were, and there was no need for Christians to go out of their way to disrupt or sustain them.
the addressees of Ephesians
was this added after or original? why?
the saints who are in Ephesus
added after because at first, it was not meant specifically for anyone
it was meant to make Ephesians believe it was strictly for them
do scholars think Paul wrote Ephesians?
nah
from where is Paul supposedly writing Ephesians?
from prison
why is Ephesians said to be a circular letter?
because the author addresses no specific problem
The real difficulty with Ephesians
the details of what the author actually says and the way in which he says it
how is the writing style of Ephesians
very non-Pauline
this author uses a total of 116 words that are not found in any of Paul’s undisputed letters
he has too many sentences that are long af
a number of important Pauline themes in Ephesians
a person’s separation from God before being converted to Christ is spoken of as “death”
the devil is designated as “the ruler of the power of the air”
the grace of God brings salvation through faith, not works
the new existence leads to a moral life
differences between Ephesians and what Paul actually believes
in Ephesians, the author claims we are already resurrected and in the new kingdom with Jesus
–> Paul roasted this thought hardcore in Corinthians
Another interesting difference from Paul’s own letters is the way the author of Ephesians conceptualizes “works.”
–> In Paul’s gospel, Gentiles are made right with God not by doing the works of the Law but through faith in Christ’s death
–> Ephesians, however, no longer refers to the Jewish Law, but speaks instead of “good deeds”
Paul himself spoke proudly of his for- mer life as one in which he had kept the Jewish Law better than the zealous Pharisaic companions of his youth
–> the author of Ephesians says that were were all pagans once
conclusion of the author of Ephesians?
he was one of his churches’ followers
he lived after Paul
the overall problems addressed in the Pastoral epistles
(a) false teachers who are creating problems for the congregations
(b) the internal organization of the communities and their leaders
the pastoral epistles
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
why are the pastoral epistles grouped together
because each claims to be written by Paul to a person he has appointed to lead one of his churches: Timothy and Titus
who is Timothy
Paul’s young companion left to minister among the Christians in Ephesus
who is Titus
Paul’s companion left on the island of Crete
1 Timothy
correspondingly lambastes false teachers because they “forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods”
–> basically roasts Gnostic beliefs
–> to “avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge”
Men should be in charge of anything church related and taking care of the false prophets
The author evidently thinks that women in general and widows in particular have stirred up problems and are not to be trusted
2 Timothy
It too is written by “Paul” to Timothy
Now, however, “Paul” is in prison in Rome
–> his location in 1 Timothy was not specified, and he is clearly expecting to be put to death soon
There is even less evidence concerning the nature of the false teaching here than in 1 Timothy
He writes to Timothy not only to encourage him to continue his pastoral ministry and to root the false teachers out of his church but also to ask him to join him as soon as possible
in 2 Timothy, how is Timothy portrayed
portrayed as a third-generation Christian, having been preceded in the faith by his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois
He was trained in the Scriptures from his childhood and as an adult became a companion of “Paul”
Timothy is charged with overcoming those who lead the saints astray with their idle talk and corrupt lives
Titus
more like the first Pastoral epistle than the second
“Paul” is now writing in order to urge Titus to correct the false teachings promoted by Jewish-Christian believers, which appear to involve both complicated “mythologies” that confuse the faithful and “genealogies and quarrels about the law”
–> may involve Gnosticism as in 1 Timothy
what do scholars think about the authorship of the pastoral epistles?
Most scholars are reasonably convinced that all three Pastoral epistles were written by the same author
the Apostle Paul didn’t write them
evidence that Paul did not write the pastoral epistles
Language used in the epistles is not the same than in Paul’s time
–> like Shakespeare and our modern English
we find an inordinate number of non-Pauline words, most of which do occur in later Christians writings
–> over one-third of the vocabulary is not Pauline. Strikingly, over two-thirds of these non-Pauline words are used by Christian authors of the second century
some of the words that Paul does use in his own letters take on different meanings in the Pastorals
It seems that the letters mostly roast Gnosticism, but he first Christian Gnostics that we know by name lived in the early to mid second century
–> there is almost no evidence to suggest that they were spouting “myths and endless genealogies” that sanctioned strictly ascetic lifestyles or that they were otherwise plaguing the Christian congregations during the lifetime of Paul himself
the main aspects that made photo orthodox Christianity sexier than the rest
(a) a rigorous administrative hierarchy that protected and conveyed the truth of the religion
(b) insisting that all true Christians profess a set body of doctrines promoted by these leaders (the Christian creeds)
(c) appealing to a set of authoritative books of Scripture as bearers of these inspired doctrinal truths
the proto-orthodox won these conflicts by insisting on the validity of the clergy, the creed, and the canon
The one Pauline community whose inner workings we know in some detail
the church in Corinth
the church in Corinth
a troubled church
one that was rife with inner turmoil
characterized by what Paul considered to be personal immorality
subject to what he regarded to be false teaching
nobody in charge because charismatic community
why were there no people in charge in Paul’s churches?
because they were charismatic
congregations of people who believed that they had been endowed with God’s Spirit and so been given “gifts” (Greek charismata) to enable them to minister to one another as teachers, prophets, evangelists, healers, almsgivers, tongues speakers, tongues-interpreters, and so on
what did Bishop mean when it was first considered a position in the Christian church
an overseer
The development of the Clergy
- at first, not true leader
- over time, after Paul’s deaths, some people start taking certain responsibilities and leadership
- these people develop positions and make them official (such as Bishop)
- over time, it becomes the organized Clergy
the proto-orthodox creed
was acclaimed as a creation of the apostles themselves
–> the Apostles’ Creed
The proto-orthodox creeds affirmed beliefs that were denied by other groups who claimed to be Christian, and they repudiated beliefs that these other groups affirmed
The Canon
The movement toward a canon was already afoot somewhat earlier, in writers who quoted the words of Jesus and the writings of the apostles as authoritative in matters pertaining to doctrine and practice
hey came to be seen as standing on a par with the Jewish Scriptures themselves, which the Christians continued to revere and study
all the reasons for thinking pastoral epistles came after Paul’s death
their preoccupation with social arrangements in this world and the Christians’ respectability in the eyes of outsiders rather than with the apocalypse that is soon to come
their insistence that the leaders of the church be married rather than single and celibate
their assumption that Timothy is a third-generation Christian preceded in the faith by both his mother and grandmother
their concern to silence women who have, in the author’s view, gotten out of hand
their vocabulary and concerns reflect what was transpiring among proto-orthodox Christians a generation or two after Paul’s death
the most important reason for thinking pastoral epistles came after Paul’s death
their vocabulary and concerns reflect what was transpiring among proto-ortho- dox Christians a generation or two after Paul’s death.
