Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

corpus-paul - Re: Paul's persecution of the Church

corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Corpus-Paul

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Mark D. Nanos" <nanosmd AT comcast.net>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Paul's persecution of the Church
  • Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 08:26:48 -0500


on 6/3/02 2:46 AM, RSBrenchley AT aol.com at RSBrenchley AT aol.com wrote:

> snip...On the other hand, if, say, Gal 5:1-6 is all original, who would have
> been arguing for justification by the Law? snip...

Dear Robert,
Without wishing to interfere with the real thrust of your question, I do
want to bring out that this sentence involves an assumption about the
situation and the logic of Paul's point that I think are questionable.

1) the contextual issue is not justification by Law, but justification in
the sense of legitimation of identity apart from circumcision, that is, from
being a member of Israel. This should not be conflated with
Torah-observance, which comes after the identity issue is settled, since it
applies to Israelites and not those of the other nations. In simple terms,
circumcision is a matter of (male) Israelite/Jewish identity,
Torah-observance is a matter of behavior for those (males) who are
identified by circumcision as Isrealites/Jewish.

2) Paul's rhetorical points should not be assumed to answer directly the
mirror/reverse image of someone else's points; rhetoric is much more
complicated than that, involving invention, anticipation, polemic, irony,
etc. The supposed people/groups on the other side of Paul's arguments might
have been surprised to have been represented in the way that is implied, if
Paul's argument is understood to mean that they hold the precisely opposite
view. This is a major area of the traditional exegetical methodology that is
undergoing revision, even among interpreters who seek to uphold the
traditional conclusions for Paul's theology.

So I would suggest that your question be revised to ask:
If... what groups might be expected to oppose Paul's position, and instead
maintain that non-Jewish people need to become Jewish (proselytes) in order
to be justified (legitimated) as full-members of the people of God?

[the answer, in my view: any Jewish group of that period of which we are
aware, except Christ-believing groups of that period of which we are aware
(the lone exception being some Christ-believing Pharisees mentioned in Acts
15, but their position was quickly ruled against by the Jerusalem
authorities of the Christ-believing coalition, the argumentative thrust of
that same passage)]

Regards,
Mark
--
Mark D. Nanos, Ph.D.
313 NE Landings Dr.
Lee's Summit, MO 64064
USA
nanosmd AT comcast.net





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page