1st and 2nd Thessalonians

Sociology and Geography

• (Thessalonica) Very popular, prosperous port city

  • On the water, so ships would stop there to replenish supplies

• Much of Paul’s audience were merchants (ppl who sell things)

  • required to be in a civic association/guild/union

• Active cultic and civic life made Greco-Roman “associations” and religious associations (got together to worship gods/patron deities) very popular

Mystery Cults

• Did weird stuff behind closed doors, so ppl thought Christians were apart of these because they didn’t understand what was going on

  • Isis, Osiris, Serapis, Cabirus, Dionysus, Jewish Synagogues 

    • Dionysus- drunken frenzy

    • Isis and Osiris- orgy

Date and Authorship: 1 Thessalonians

• Written in 50-51 CE

• Earliest of Paul’s letters, of books in the NT, and of all surviving Christian texts

• Undisputed Pauline letter (authorship)

Date and Authorship: 2 Thessalonians

• if authentic written about 52-53

• if inauthentic written after Paul’s death, 80-100 CE

• 50-60% of scholars believe IT WAS authored by Paul 

• Authorship is disputed bcs:

  • content is strangely similar to 1 Thess.

  • tone is slightly harsher than 1 Thess.

  • may be concerned with a misinterpretation of Paul’s letters

  • Claim about Paul’s greeting in his own hand isn’t consistent across his other letters

Major Theological Themes

• Eschatology (Belief about the end or end of time)

• Election and Call (God chooses and calls us)

• Ethics (How we should live)

• Prayer (How we should speak and relate to God)

Already / Not yet

Salvation is already there (available in the present), but isn’t completed/actualized until Jesus returns (not yet)

Fate of the dead

(Paul’s answer) The dead aren’t dad forever, they’ll be resurrected at Christ’s return (Positive Eschatology)

Paul’s Eschatology

• Positive! It’s hopeful

• Jesus’s return bring God’s judgement and wrath of injustice and persecution 

  • His wrath is a rectifying wrath (righting wrongs)

• His return also brings God’s glory and joy, where believers will participate

Election and Calling 

The believing community is chosen and called by God (manifested by deliverance of the coming judgement)

Mimetic Ethics

• Wants the Thessalonians to imitate Paul

• Historical Circumstances: Merchant converts will face “tribulations” for their faith. Advice: “work your way out of it” until Jesus returns

• Theological Significance: Paul’s eschatology is the foundation of the ethic. Jesus will come to judge the world, so do good work while we wait

Countercultural Ethics 

Thessalonians should turn away from idols, and their previous sexual and religious norms (to distance themselves from mystery cults)

Prayer

Paul encourages them to pray in thanks to God (w/ a joyful attitude), w/o ceasing, night and day. Not just words