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  • From: "David C. Hindley" <dhindley AT compuserve.com>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: The Dutch Radical Approach to the Pauline Epistles
  • Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 15:31:19 -0400


Fabrizio,

>>(Van Manen proposed a Pauline school, not Marcion as the author).<<

I over simplified. <g>

>>Moreover, Detering propose a theory about the origin of the pauline
legend, which finds his roots in Simon Magus. [...] The Kerygmata
Petri and the PseudoClementines are understandable from this standing
point.<<

I wish I could read the article (or the English rendering you
mentioned). The English rendering is not on-line, is it?

So, is Detering suggesting that Paul is a mythical creation derived
from the Pseudo-Clementines (or the hypothetical Preaching of Peter
that is supposed to underlay the PC), and meant to serve as its
theological antithesis? Or were the PS composed to serve as a means to
overturn the Paul myth created by Marcion, and associate him with the
heretic Simon Magus?

If the first case is true then I will have some problems with that.
While the Pseudo-Clementine literature is often believed to preserve

some form of Ebionite teachings, I am skeptical. In fact the whole
"Ebionite" movement as described by the church heresiologists comes
across to me as odd. The type of Judaism it supposedly expresses seems
closest to that of Philo, while still remaining far away from it. The
story of Simon Magus as a disciple of John the Baptist has no
corroboration elsewhere, such as Josephus. Even the character of Simon
Magus is quite different than that portrayed in Acts. The organization
of his sect reminds me of second & third century heresiologists'
descriptions of Gnostic sects and their cosmology. The story, when it
speaks of Simon's female consort, even seems to overlap a bit with
stories about Helena, Queen of Adiabene. It is as if it was cobbled
together from here and there to serve as a foil.

If the latter case is true, then I could see it as a possibility. Then
the Jewish-Christian world of Peter and James is just an artificial
construct intended to serve as a vehicle for snipes at Paul (in the
guise of Simon). But that would mean the PS is some sort of genuine
Jewish-Christian creation. Do you think the Jewish-Christian world
described in the PS is genuine, or even close to genuine? To me, Simon
Peter chasing Simon Magus about the Mediterranean in order to refute
his doctrine suggests that the PS were composed to absolve Peter of
any magical or sophistic charges. The world it describes seems more
like what one might expect from non-Jews who were trying to imagine,
long after the fact, what "Jewish-Christianity" must have been like.

What they say is: "No, no, no! That wasn't Simon *Peter* in those
places saying/doing such nonsense, but Simon *Magus* whom Simon Peter
was chasing to refute with correct doctrine!" Then the supposed
anti-Paul snipes are actually part of the plot structure transferring
blame for heretical teachings associated with the name of Peter to the
newly created arch-heretic, Simon Magus, and not to Paul at all.
However, there is still no independent corroboration (like there is
for Jesus) for the idea that Peter preached heresy or performed magic.
Still, maybe the stories of Peter's healings (several), or his cursing
of Ananias (Acts 5), or his miraculous escape from prison (Acts 12) in
Acts were also in reaction to this kind of reputation.

>>Could you have the patience to wait [until after my holiday]?<<

Sure. <g>

Respectfully,

Dave Hindley
Cleveland, Ohio, USA






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