Corpus-Paul

[David Barr <david.barr AT wright.edu>]

George Goolde wrote:
>(extract) 
> I wonder why such doubters
> would care who wrote them or what they said.
> 
> To put this another way, if the contents of the PE are worth believing and
> acting upon, why would notour best speculation be simply that they are
> authored by the one who is claimed to be the author: Paul.
>
> 
I'll not bother with the logical and historical fallacies of the last
part, but as a doubter, let me respond to the question of why I care. 
One gets a far different picture of Paul with the Pastorals than
without. The Paul of the undisputed letters is passionate, apocalyptic,
innovative, and remarkable open toward women.  All this is lacking in
the Pastorals.  To include the Pastorals in one's reconstruction of Paul
would radically alter that reconstruction (or perhaps I should say
"reactionarily" alter, since this Paul is much more suited to the
traditional values of the Greco-Roman world). Anyone interested in
knowing Paul must resolve the issues of authorship (which, incidentally,
are far more complex than the modern dichotomy of whether writing X is
or is not from Paul). That, at least, is why I care.  But isn't this all
material from an introductory class on Paul?

David
-- 
David L. Barr
Professor of Religion
Wright State University
Dayton, OH 45435
937-775-2274 or 2293
[937-775-2707 - FAX]
http://www.wright.edu/~dbarr/