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  • From: Antti V J Mustakallio <amustaka AT cc.helsinki.fi>
  • To: Corpus-Paul <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] The audience of Romans
  • Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 12:40:13 +0300 (EEST)


Justin and Lee,

Thank you for your comments. Your answers prove that the question is a
difficult one: Justin favours a mixed audience whereas Lee opts for
Gentile believers. Lee, what you failed to answer, as far as I can see,
was my question concerning v. 1:7 and ch. 16. (You are in a good company:
Stowers does not answer it either.) In the letter adscription, 1:7, one
can find the identification of the recipients. PASIN TOIS OUSIN EN RWMH
AGAPHTOIS QEOU KLHTOIS hAGIOIS seems to mean all (PASIN) the Christ
believers in Rome. Stowers reproaches quite emphatically advocates of
mixed audience (esp. Kümmel and Dunn) for a methodological mistake:
namely, to conjure up a picture of Roman Christianity in the 50s, and then
identify that picture with the intended audience. I think that Stowers is
absolutely right but he nowhere addresses the question: did Paul think
that there were Jewish Christians in Rome. To me it seems certain that
Paul recognized their presence (ch. 16). And because the letter is
addressed to "all" the believers that must necessarily include Jewish
Christians. Could you please comment on this, Lee.

Another question to Lee: how do you identify the weak and the strong in
ch. 14. In 14:10 Paul seems to address weak believers. If one is following
a traditional identification (the weak consists mainly of Jewish
Christians) then it seems that Paul addresses Jewish Christians here. And
another question: do not you think that it is rather weird that Paul
writes "Now I am speaking to you Gentiles" (11:13), if he has spoken to
them from the very beginning of the letter? Does not this rather indicate
that he turns to a specific segment of the mixed audience, that is,
Gentile Christians? I, BTW, disagree with Stowers' "rereading" of ch. 7:
there was no such rhetorical device in antiquity that excluded the speaker
when he said "I". Prosopopoiia (Stowers' suggestion) did not work like
that. (See Lauri Thurén's article 'Romans 7 Derhetorized' in Rhetorical
Criticism and the Bible, JSNTS 195, 2002; or Derhetorizing Paul by the
same author.)

Justin, I do not think that I am overreading or misunderstanding the
introduction. I wonder how you can write that "it's neither gentile or Jew
specific" while it clearly is "gentile specific" (1:5-6; 13-15). That is
widely recognized among Roman scholars. It seems that you make the
methodological mistake of which Stowers (and many other) have warned:
namely, to identify a historical reconstruction of Roman Christianity with
the letter audience. But is not it possible that Paul may have sent the
letter only to some individuals (or a group of individuals) in Rome? If
one studies the question of the audience of any letter the introduction
(or exordium if you wish) is essential. It is clearly secondary with whom
he identifies himself in other parts of the letter. How do you, Justin,
identify the weak and the strong in ch. 14? Are not there any indications
of conflict? All in all, Justin, you did not persuade me (yet).

Antti Mustakallio
Helsinki,
Finland






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