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Paul [Biography of Apostle Paul] PDF

266 Pages·2016·0.93 MB·English
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99778811440055117788991144__11__pprreettoocc..iinndddd iiiiii 1100//77//22000099 33::2266::5555 PPMM Praise for Paul: A Brief History “Paul: A Brief History is a good guide to the quest for the ‘historical Paul.’ But it is more like Jaroslav Pelikan’s Jesus through the Centuries, whose subtitle is ‘Jesus’ place in the history of culture.’ Robert Seesengood provides an accessible narrative of inter- pretations and manifestations of Paul’s intellectual, religious, and political influence on history. He offers a ‘brief’ though impressive survey of the history of scholarship about Paul, and he unmasks myths, legends, and popular images of Paul. This excellent resource for undergraduate and seminary students will also be of interest to non-specialist general readers and to biblical scholars.” David J. Lull Wartburg Theological Seminary “This outstanding and accessible book is a welcome and timely contribution. At a time when writers beyond theologians and biblical scholars have begun to examine Paul’s thought and use his perceived ideas to discuss contemporary philosophical issues, this clear-eyed account and critique of the use (and abuse) of Paul through the centuries opens for students and sharpens for s cholars the worlds of historical method and postmodern cultural critique. With his skillful and judicious use of the tools of postmodern historiography, Seesengood goes beyond telling what interpreters said about Paul in various eras to showing why readers constructed Paul as they did. This text is a rich addition to the study of Paul through the ages and a paradigm for how to think about such matters.” Jerry L. Sumney Lexington Theological Seminary 99778811440055117788991144__11__pprreettoocc..iinndddd ii 1100//77//22000099 33::2266::5555 PPMM BLACKWELL BRIEF HISTORIES OF RELIGION SERIES This series offers brief, accessible, and lively accounts of key topics within theology and religion. Each volume presents both aca- demic and general readers with a selected history of topics which have had a profound effect on religious and cultural life. The word “history” is, therefore, understood in its broadest cultural and social sense. The volumes are based on serious scholarship but they are written engagingly and in terms readily understood by general readers. Other topics in the series Published Heaven Alister E. McGrath Heresy G. R. Evans Islam Tamara Sonn Death Douglas J. Davies Saints Lawrence S. Cunningham Christianity Carter Lindberg Dante Peter S. Hawkins Spirituality Philip Sheldrake Cults and New Religions D ouglas E. Cowan and David G. Bromley Love Carter Lindberg Christian Mission Dana L. Robert Christian Ethics Michael Banner Jesus W. Barnes Tatum Shinto John Breen and Mark Teeuwen Apocalypse Martha Himmelfarb Islam 2nd Edition Tamara Sonn Paul Robert Paul Seesengood Forthcoming The Reformation Kenneth Appold Monasticism Dennis D. Martin Sufism Nile Green 99778811440055117788991144__11__pprreettoocc..iinndddd iiii 1100//77//22000099 33::2266::5555 PPMM Paul A Brief History Robert Paul Seesengood A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication 99778811440055117788991144__11__pprreettoocc..iinndddd iiiiii 1100//77//22000099 33::2266::5555 PPMM This edition first published 2010 © 2010 Robert Paul Seesengood Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for informa- tion about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Robert Paul Seesengood to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative infor- mation in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent profes- sional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seesengood, Robert Paul. Paul : a brief history / Robert Paul Seesengood. p. cm. – (Blackwell brief histories of religion series) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-7891-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4051-7890-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Paul, the Apostle, Saint. 2. Bible. N. T. E pistles of Paul– Criticism, interpretation, etc.–History. I. Title. BS2506.3.S44 2010 225.9¢2–dc22 2009030387 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Set in 10/12.5pt Meridien by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Singapore 1 2010 99778811440055117788991144__11__pprreettoocc..iinndddd iivv 1100//77//22000099 33::2266::5566 PPMM Contents Acknowledgments viii Introduction: Meeting Paul Again for the First Time 1 1 What Do We Know About “Paul,” and How Do We Know It? 13 Who Is “Paul”? 14 Sifting the Data: Five Starting Assumptions 20 More Problems: The Question of Canon 44 Sorting through the Data: The Range of Scholarly Views 47 (Finally) A Brief Tour of Paul’s Letters 53 The Acts of the Apostles 68 Hebrews 72 2 Paul in the Ante-Nicene Church 74 What is “Ante-Nicene” Christianity? 75 Some Ancient “Heretics”: Marcion and the Gnostics 77 Marcion’s Paul 79 Marcion’s Bible 81 Lessons from Marcion 83 Paul Outside the New Testament 84 Pseudepigraphy: A Closer Look 88 The Developing “Science” of Biblical Interpretation 91 99778811440055117788991144__22__ttoocc..iinndddd vv 1100//33//22000099 44::1177::5533 PPMM 3 Paul in Late Antiquity 98 Western and Eastern Christianity 98 Canon Closure 100 Augustine of Hippo 102 Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite 118 4 The Medieval Paul(s) 125 Paul and the Bible in the Middle Ages 126 Diversity of Thought in the Middle Ages 127 Paul as the Scholar 129 Paul and Medieval Cosmology and Anthropology 131 Paul and the Doctrine of Transubstantiation 132 Social and Civil Order 136 Paul and Medieval Anti-Judaism 140 Paul the Ascetic and Mystic 142 5 Paul and the Rise of Protestant Christianity 148 Luther’s Challenge 148 Sola Scriptura 150 The Science of Biblical Interpretation 154 Luther’s Reading of Paul’s View of the Jews 157 6 Paul in the Age of Colonization 165 The Rise of European Colonization 165 The Rise of Christian Missions 167 Debating Biblical Historicity 170 The Letter to Philemon and Debates over Slavery 174 7 Paul in the Twentieth Century 183 Late Modernism and Postmodernism 184 Early Twentieth-Century Biblical Scholarship 186 Counter-responses 188 Debates over the Bible and the Rise of Anti-Semitism 190 Redeeming Paul: Paul in the Later Twentieth Century 194 Paul and Subjectivity 195 The “New Perspective” on Paul (Paul and Judaism) 199 Paul and Gender 201 Paul and Sexual Preference 204 vi Contents 99778811440055117788991144__22__ttoocc..iinndddd vvii 1100//33//22000099 44::1177::5533 PPMM Paul and Politics and Ethnicity 207 The Historicity of the Pauline Writings and Acts (again) 208 Paul and the Fragmentation of the Twentieth Century 210 Paul and Postmodernity 211 Conclusion: The Quest for the Historical Paul; or, What did we find if we couldn’t find Paul? 214 (Auto)biography and Paul 214 Where Is Paul? 216 Questing 217 The Ethics of Historical Reconstructions 219 Comparing the Historical Data for Paul and for Jesus 223 Implications: The Language of Paul 227 Further Reading 230 Index of New Testament Citations 242 Index of Subjects and Proper Names 246 Contents vii 99778811440055117788991144__22__ttoocc..iinndddd vviiii 1100//33//22000099 44::1177::5533 PPMM Acknowledgments There are certain conventional parts, rhetorical forms, to any book’s “acknowledgments” section. Books on Paul seem to have their own sub-genre. I find myself rejecting, adopting, and adapt- ing many of these conventions. For example, biographies of Paul often make a great deal out of how the authors threw themselves into the Greek text of Paul, avoiding other works of scholarship which might infect or corrupt any independent reflection. I have not. Though I have spent more than a few hours going over – again, and again – Paul’s sometimes distracted Greek, I have wal- lowed in secondary scholarship, quaffing down great gulps of it at a time. This book is presented as a general “tourist guide” to that world of scholarship. I have left out much more than I include. It is written for the non-specialist, but I can’t help feeling my col- leagues’ eyes reading over our collective shoulders. I hope that I have been representative and accurate. I hope I have provided a few thoughts that my colleagues will find worthwhile amidst the general introductions. Yet I have written mostly for those eager to learn more. I have not been, in any way, comprehensive. I can hope nothing more than that I have begun more questions than I can answer. I begin my acknowledgments with a deeply felt expression of gratitude to those centuries of scholars who have gone before me and about whom I write. Very few – if any – of my own ideas arose just from my own reflection. A second convention is for the author to thank his competent midwives at the press, students, and scholarly colleagues. This one 99778811440055117788991144__33__ppoossttttoocc..iinndddd vviiiiii 1100//33//22000099 44::1188::4422 PPMM

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