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  • From: "Michael T. MacDonell" <sendero AT pcsinter.net>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Paul as the beloved disciple
  • Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 13:46:55 -0800


At 02:53 AM 1/7/01, Mark D. Nanos wrote:

Loren Rossen replied:
> Paul simply mentions in Gal. 1:22 that he was unknown
> ?by sight? in Judea. After being away for three years,
> this isn?t so strange. As a former Peace Corps
> volunteer, who saw ex-volunteers come and go in a host
> country, re-visiting years later, etc, I can say there
> is nothing ?inconceivable? about what you object to
> here.

I too was struck by the failure of logic behind such a strong assertion for
the implications of Gal. 1:22. Whether Paul did or did not persecute in
Judea or as told by Luke, this would not be proven or disproved by reference
to Gal. 1:22.

Loren, your analogy is extremely weak. Paul as persecutor of Christians in Judea would hardly be as anonymous a subject passing in a crowd as an ex-peace corps volunteer. And I believe that a statement like "And I was still not known by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea" provides a reasonably strong piece of evidence that Luke's portrayal of Paul as persecutor may not be accurate. Why do we accept Paul's characterization by Luke with such confidence? Could we NOT expect some corroboration from Paul of his past villany if it were true? It isn't as if Paul hesitated to criticize himself.

There is no reason why not to pursue Bornkamm's line of reasoning and see where it takes us. Given, for the moment, that Paul was not the persecutor Luke made him out to be, why might Luke have portrayed him as such? I don't have a clear answer to that one, either, but I am not willing to dismiss the possibility that Paul was ill-portrayed by Luke just on the assumption that Luke was telling it straight.

Best Regards,
Mike
___________________________________________
Michael T. MacDonell, Ph.D.
Ransom Hill Bioscience, Inc.
1130 D Street, Ramona, CA 92065
___________________________________________
Dieu mésure le froid à la brebis tondue.
H. Estienne (1594) Les Prémices, etc. p. 47
___________________________________________





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