Corpus-Paul

["Mark Goodacre" <M.S.GOODACRE AT bham.ac.uk>]

On 15 Apr 99 at 7:17, Daniel Grolin wrote:

> I am soliciting comments on what is being described in 2 Cor 12. Is it 
> Pauls own experience? Who is the "person in Christ" and "such a one"?

The "person in Christ" is almost universally taken to be Paul himself, being 
humble.  The exception to this is Michael Goulder, "Vision and Knowledge", 
_JSNT_ 56 (1994), pp. 53-71, the abstract for which is as follows:

    "Far from being the 'man in Christ' who was ravished to heaven (2 Cor.
    12.1-5), Paul had had no such experience himself, and disapproved of the
    abuse of such visions to manipulate the churches (Col. 2.18).  The
    visionaries were Jewish Christians who used their visionary authority to
    force Gentiles to observer *halakha*; and they claimed to see God and his
    Glory, Image, Beginning, and so forth.  But it is Christ, says Paul, to
    whom these titles refer, and it is through him that God created
    everything.  The same polemic runs through 1 Timothy, Ephesians, 1 John
    and John's Gospel; and though Matthew and Revelation find a place for the
    vision of God, it is closely controlled." 

I would like to add that a fine Oxford DPhil thesis was recently written on 1 
Cor. 12 by Paula Gooder, full details from the Bodleian catalogue as follows:

_Only the third heaven? : 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 and heavenly ascent_ 
Author Gooder, Paula R. 
Publisher 1998. 
Description ix, 304 leaves ; 31 cm. 
Notes Thesis (D.Phil.)--University of Oxford, 1998.
Bibliography: leaves [267]-304. 

Mark Goodacre
--------------------------------------
Dr Mark Goodacre                mailto:M.S.Goodacre AT bham.ac.uk
  Dept of Theology                tel: +44 121 414 7512
  University of Birmingham     fax: +44 121 414 6866
  Birmingham  B15 2TT  United Kingdom

http://www.bham.ac.uk/theology/goodacre
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