Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ, His Life and Work, His Epistles and His Doctrine. A Contribution to a Critical History of Primitive Christianity. Vol. 1

386 Pages·2016·20.7 MB·English

by  Baur Ferdinand.

PAUL
THE APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST,
HIS LIFE AND WORK, HIS EPISTLES AND HIS DOCTRINE.
A CONTRIBUTION
TO A
CRITICAL HISTORY OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY
BY
DE. FERDINAND CHRISTIAN BAUR,
PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TUBINGEN.
TRANSLATED FROM THE SECOND GERMAN EDITION,
EDITED AFTER THE DEATH OF THE AUTHOR BY
DR. EDUARD ZELLER.
VOL. I.
SECOND EDITION.
tt/a
"
REVISED BY REV. A. MENZIES.
WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,
14 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON;
AND 20 SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.
1876.
^
AND A. CONSTABLE,
. PBINTEES
TO HER MAJESTY.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION (1845).
FOK considerable number of I have been engaged in
a years
critical investigations chiefly of the Pauline Epistles and the Acts,
with a view to a better understanding of the life and work of the
Apostle Paul, and of his historical position and importance. The
first fruits of these studies appeared in the year 1831, in the
Tiibinger Zeitschrift fur Theologie, 1831, p. 4, and was an essay
entitled " The Christ-party in the Corinthian Church, the opposition
of Petrine and Pauline Christianity in the Primitive Church, the
Apostle Peter in Eome." In this I advanced the assertion
paper
which I have since maintained and furnished with additional
evidence, that the harmonious relation which is commonly assumed
to have existed between the Apostle Paul and the Jewish
Christians with the older Apostles at their head, is unhistorical,
and that the conflict of the two parties whom we have to recog
nise this field entered deeply into the life of the
upon more
early Church than has been hitherto supposed. Many points of
this noticed by Neander in the first edition of his
essay were
" Planting and Training of the Christian Church by the Apostles,"
which appeared soon afterwards, in 1832 ; and it certainly did
something to bring about better understanding of several questions
a
of early Church History. The road which had thus been opened
vi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
soon led me to further results,which I laid before the world in
my work on the Pastoral Epistles,1835, and in the essay on the
Epistleto the Komans, Tub. Ztschr. fur Theol. 1836, Part 3.
I have long meant to republishthe two which appeared
essays
in our Magazine here,unitingthem into a connected work with
other cognate discussions. This is what the reader has before
now
him ; in fact the greatlyextended compass of the presentwork
entitles it to the positionof monograph the ApostlePaul. It
a on
may also claim to be a specialexamination of a movement in the
early development of Christianityt,he understandingof
proper
which is certainlysurrounded with greatdifficultiebsut, is never
theless indispensablefor the solution of the greatquestionof our
time,w hat Christianityoriginallwyas, and essentialliys.
I may assume that my method of historical criticism is well
known. The doubtful honour has latelybeen paid of being
me
called the founder and master of a new critical school ; against
which, if I thought the compliment seriouslyintended,
even was
I could do nothing but protest. It would be a poor account of
former criticism,if the principlesI have followed could with
justicebe called new ones. It cannot be the novelty of the
principlesthat has given offence it must be the results to which
;
they lead when well applied,which have caused the criticism of
the new school to be called negativeand destructive. What do
these formidable epithetsamount to ? What would criticism be
if denuded of the rightto deny and to destroy? The questioncan
only be,what is denied,what is destroyed,and if there is good
reason for doingit. And is not that criticism,which is held to be
nothingbut negativeand destructive,reallyin the best sense con
servative ? Does it not proceedon the simpleprinciplethat every
man is to get and to keep what belongsto him, and nothing but
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. vii
what belongs to him ? To this limitation the conservative principle
is essentially subject, and feeling this, I can have no wish to ac
knowledge claims which indefensible, to defend traditional
are
opinions which are unfounded and untrue, or to ignore contra
dictions which evident and palpable. There distinctions
are are
and differences which require to be clearly set forth, if the
matter in hand is to be understood at all; and I cannot be a
party to smoothing them over and obliterating them, in order to
keep things comfortable the surface, and the labour of
on save
thought. If this negative and destructive road has led me to
results which conflict with the ordinary conceptions, let it be shown
that they let them be examined and refuted, if that is
are wrong ;
possible, let them be denied and destroyed by the of facts
power
and arguments, if any one feels that he can do so !
There is no limit to controversy on points of detail. The abstract
possibility of this and that detail be disproved but
can never :
this is not the way to dispose of a comprehensive historical theory.
Such a theory appeals to its broad general truth, to which details
are subordinate, and on which they depend : to the logical co
herence of the whole, the preponderating inner probability and
necessity of the it impresses itself quietly the
case, as upon
thoughtful mind and against this the party interests of the day
;
will sooner or later cease to assert themselves. In this conviction
I leave this work to make its own way.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION. The Standpoint of the Inquiry The Acts
" "
of the Apostles the of the Apostle Paul's
as source
History Division of the whole subject, 1
" . .
Jtrat $art
THE LIFE AND WORK OF THE APOSTLE PAUL.
CHAPTER I.
The Church at Jerusalem before the Apostle's Conversion
(Acts of the Apostles iii.-v.), 15
. . . .
CHAPTER II.
Stephen the Predecessor of the Apostle Paul (Acts of the
Apostles vi. vii.), 42
. . . . . .
CHAPTER III.
The Conversion of the Apostle Paul (Acts of the Apostles
ix., xxii., xxvi.),
......
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
PAGE
The First MissionaryJourney of the Apostle(Acts of the
Apostlesxiii.xiv.), 90
. . . . . .
CHAPTER V.
The Transactions between the Apostle Paul and the elder
Apostles at Jerusalem (Acts of the Apostlesxv.,
Galatians ii.), .105
.....
CHAPTER VI.
The Second Missionary Journey of the Apostle(Actsof
the Apostlesxvi.), .146
. . . .
CHAPTER VII.
The Apostle in Athens, Corinth,Ephesus His Journey
"
to Jerusalem by Miletus (Acts of the Apostles
xvii.-xx.), 168
. . . . . . .
CHAPTER VIII.
The Arrest of the Apostle in Jerusalem (Acts of the
Apostlesxxi.), 195
. ...
CHAPTER IX.
The Apostlein Eonie His Imprisonment and Martyrdom, 2 16
"
CONTENTS. xi
Seconfc ipart
THE EPISTLES OF THE APOSTLE PAUL.
PAGE
Introduction, 245
.
FIRST CLASS OF PAULINE EPISTLES.
The Epistles to the Galatians, the Corinthians, and the Eomans.
CHAPTER I.
The Epistle to the Galatians,
CHAPTER II.
The two Epistles to the Corinthians, 258
.
CHAPTER III.
The Epistle to the Eomans, 308
.....