Scriptures Final Exam

Paul's Letters Divided into TWO Groups

Undisputed (7) - Written by Paul Disputed Letters (6) - Written by Someone Else 13 Total

Paul's Primary Sources (Undisputed Letters)

1 & 2 Corinthians and Galatians

Paul's secondary source (disputed letters)

Ephesians and 1 & 2 Timothy

Acts

Not written by Paul Not a primary source, but helps with the gaps & chronology

Why are they called Disputed Letters?

There is enough of minority opinion for it to be disputed, but it still has authority. NOT A PRIMARY SOURCE!

Paul's Life Before Christianity

1. Upbringing as a Diaspora Judaism, Tarsus -- Outside of Israel

2. Pharisee, zealous for the Torah and its traditions

3. Persecutor of the Christian Community

Where does Paul Encounter Jesus/Holy Spirit?

Damascus Road Experience

Is the Damascus Road Experience a conversion or a calling?

Paul describes the experience as a Prophetic CALLING. God has sent him to be a prophet to the Gentiles.

Why is the DRE a calling and not a conversion?

Paul was not being converted to a different religion. He was changing from a Pharisee to "the way." Paul was gaining a new interpretation of the Crucified Messiah > Changes his way of thinking.

Paul's Missionary Journeys

He had THREE, all of which began in Antioch.

What happened to Paul in Rome?

He was under house arrest.

Paul's Mission Strategy

1. Urban Centers

2. Marketplace - Leatherworkers, Tentmakers

3. Network of Ministers - "Workers of the Gospel"

Women

Paul worked with a network of other ministers that included...

Ancient Letter Form

4 PARTS: Salutation - Sender(s), Recipient(s), Greeting

Thanksgiving/Prayer

Body of Letter

Final Instructions Closing - Greetings (REPEAT), Parting Prayer/Grace

Paul's CHRISTIANIZING of Formal Features

"Grace"/"Peace" to you instead of "greetings" to you Thanksgiving section.

Nature of Paul's Letters

OCCASIONAL -- They addressed specific churches at specific times about specific issues.

Two Ways the Jews think about the End Times

Prophetic Eschatology and Apocalyptic Eschatology

Prophetic Eschatology

Historical Continuity Deals with the Nations

1. BEFORE - Israel is oppressed/exiled by other nations

2. God's intervention - Judgement of the nations

3. AFTER - Israel as #1, with all other nations serving Israel and their god.

Apocalyptic Eschatology

Historical Discontinuity Cosmic is scope

1. "Present Evil Age" w/death, sin, evil

2. God's intervention - Will not let evil have it's way History as we know it is no more

3. "Age to Come" - Transformation of heaven and earth to "New Heaven and Earth"

Paul's Christian Adaptation of Apocalyptic Eschatology

1. Begins with "Present Evil Age" - sin, evil, death

2. God's Intervention: a. Begins with the cross/resurrection of Jesus (the sign that the end is near) b. Juncture of the Ages - Paul is "living between the times." c. Parousia - "the coming/arrival"

3. "New Creation" - w/spirit, righteousness, goodness, and life.

Corinthians Correspondence (Letters)

There is thought to be a previous “lost letter” written to the people in Corinth before 1 and 2 Corinthians

Occasion of 1 Corinthians

1. The "oral reports" by Chole's People - Paul had heard bad things.

2. Paul's response to the Corinthian Letter - "Peri de"

"Peri de"

Means "now concerning" Serves as a rhetorical markers to signal a question or topic raised by the Corinthians in their letter (Ex. virgins, food offered to idols, etc.)

Rhetorical Use of Corinthian Assertions

Paul QUOTES the Corinthians and then CORRECTS them. (Ex. Sex within Marriage)

Marital Sex is Appropriate

Marital sex is mutual and abstinence can only occur between a married couple when agreed upon and not forever. Paul’s advice not a command.

Reconciling 1 Corinthians 11, 14

A. Textual Issue - Paul write 11, didn't write 14 (scribal note) B. Corinthian Slogan - Paul's position in 11, Corinthian's position in 14 C. Unmarried vs. Married Women - 11 assumes unmarried women, 14 assumes married women

Occasion of Galatians

The people are being influenced by "another gospel" being preached "Judaizers" > Preaching to the Gentiles to become Jewish. This gospel speaks of doing things to go along with faith in order to be saved which is a false teaching (ex: circumcision, dietary laws etc.)

Justified by Faith of Jesus: Justified/Justification

Justified/Justification -To be justified is to be in a right relationship with God -- To be part of the PEOPLE OF GOD. -Both Jews and Gentiles are in a Covenant Relationship with God.

Justified by Faith of Jesus: Faith/Believe

Biblical faith/believe is not a mental affirmation Faith/Believe = Trust and Obey in a way that leads to action (Ex. Trust Fall)

Translation Issue: "Faith of Jesus Christ"

"Faith in Jesus Christ" > Jesus is the object of our human faith. "Jesus Christ's faith(fulness)" > Jesus is the subject of the act of faith (in God).

"Jesus Christ's Faith(fulness)"

A. Consistent with Paul's CHRISTOCENTRIC view of salvation (what Christ did on the cross) B. As opposed to an ANTHROPOCENTRIC view of salvation (centered on Human decision)

Is there a Human Response to faith?

YES! But any Human Faith is established first by Christ's faithfulness.

Galatians = An Apocalyptic Inclusio

Beings with "present evil age", ends with "new creation" Present evil enslaves us to sin and is solved by God’s liberation of us from sin

Why are Ephesians and 1 Timothy Disputed?

1. Writing Style & Language/Vocabulary

2. Theology

3. Historical Perspective (Looking back @ time)

Why use a pseudonym?

A disciple intent on faithfully applying Paul's teaching to a new situation; acknowledges apostolic (Paul) origin.

Occasion of Ephesians

not written for any particular problem/situation. Appears to be a circular letter to be sent to numerous churches.

Theme of Ephesians

Cosmic significance of the church in God's Plan

Literary Context of Ephesians

General instructions adopted for household relations, how to lead a worthy life.Ex. "Be submissive to one another in fear of Christ. The wives to their own husband as to the Lord."

Cultural Context of Ephesians

Instructions for household relationships are simply adopted from the Greco-Roman culture and infuse their relationships with Christian theology.

Two Ways to Infuse Social Patterns/Relationships

1. Addresses the SUBORDINATE person (wives, children, slaves) as moral agents who much CHOOSE to "be subject."

2. Household code uses RECIPROCITY FROM HUSBAND/FATHER/MASTER and charges them to act with love/patience/kindness.

Theme/Occasion of 1 Timothy

Occasion: THE THREAT OF FALSE TEACHING Theme: To guard/combat false teaching by managing the conduct of the church as the household of God.

Context in 1 Timothy

Threat of False Teachings

Who is doing the false teaching in 1 Timothy

A group of young women are the inside source through which false teaching is effecting the church.

1 Timothy Conclusion

Women are directed to be silent > not on the basis of GENDER but as an attempt to stop false teachings.

Occasion of 1 Peter

Although a circular letter, 1 Peter is occasioned by the "suffering"/persecution of Christians living in Asia Minor

What kind of persecution was experienced by Early Christians in 1 Peter?

Local/Sporadic-Periodic Persecution by Local Citizens and Officials

Two Case Studies on Persecution

1. Acts 19:23-14 Motivation of Mob Action: Economic (losing money), Religious (Artemis losing followers), Political *LOCAL CITIZEN PERSECUTION

2. Correspondence of Pliny the Younger and Trajan (Roman Emperor) Pliny was unfamiliar with trials of Christians, Christians were being brought to him by others, and Christians obeyed the edict that prohibited meetings a night.

The suffering in 1 Peter can be described as...

1. Social harassment and discrimination by a majority group to a minority group

2. Verbal abuse in terms of slander and stereotypes

3. Confiscation of Property

4. Imprisonment and Beatings

5. Occasionally > Execution

Strategy of 1 Peter

1. Preserve Group Cohesion/Unity by emphasizing Group Identity (Christians felt like aliens)

2. Promoting Social Adaptability/Accommodation

How were the people promoting social adaptability in 1 Peter?

A. "Honor the Emperor" > Honoring for Benefaction ("memory") or as a God (worshipping) B. Observe Household Codes (Women/Children/Slaves were encouraged to follow subordinate norms)

Two Interpretive Approaches of Revelation

Predictive and Historical

What is the predictive approach to Revelation

Predicts the events in the end time, Has always been wrong, Only applies for the last generation.

What is the historical approach to Revelation

Reading revelation as it was written to 7 churches, addresses their issues (how it was originally read and how we should read it)

Apocalypse writing

Genre of Revelation

Apocalypse literature

A type of literature where a revelation is given to someone about future events or a transcendent reality

Transcendent Reality

On earth > we are "confused" Attempts to interpret earthly circumstances and to alter the understanding and behavior of the audience.

Other Book in Bible that is an Apocalypse

DANIEL

Symbolism in Rev.

symbols and imagery are used to articulate a sense of feeling about the world. Some are explained by angels or are self explanatory to those acquainted with the OT, and others are common images found in general apocalyptic literature.

Problems with Symbolism

Symbols that are not explained nor found in other literature must be interpreted in light of context and clearer symbols.

Numerology in Rev.

The symbolic use of numbers was common in antiquity.

summarizing in Rev.

Not a strict chronological forward order but often repeats the same subject matter but with variation.

Purpose of Rev: Two Interpretations

Persecution Literature and Anti-Assimilation Literature

What is persecution literature?

Was written because of persecution under Domitian and is designed to be a call to endurance in the midst of suffering.

What is anti-assimilation literature?

Written because some people were assimilating to the pagan culture around them when they are supposed to stand out and face persecution.

Conclusion of Rev.

not to predict the future but to interpret the situation of the 7 Churches of Roman Asia and to call for endurance.

Paul

What New Testament figure is known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles” because of his championing the idea that Gentiles are included in the covenant?

none

Scholars have access to _______ of the original manuscripts of the books of the Bible