Corpus-Paul

["Liz Fried" <lizfried AT umich.edu>]

Quoting from J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination, "an apocalypse is
defined as a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in
which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human
recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar
as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial insofar as it involves
another supernatural world."

I think it is important to remember that apocalypse and apocalyptic refer to
literary documents not to movements or to people. Paul's letters are not
examples of apocalyptic even tho he mentions that he went to Heaven.

This has nothing to do with the belief that God would save the Jews from
foreign oppressors. I think most everyone believed that.  The war against
Rome would not have been started by Eleazar (the Sadducee) and supported by
the majority of the populace if they did not believe that God would protect
the temple and the city from Rome.  This belief is not what is meant by
apocalyptic.

Liz

Lisbeth S. Fried
Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies
New York University
51 Washington Sq. S.
New York, NY 10012
lqf9256 AT is3.nyu.edu
lizfried AT umich.edu


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim West [mailto:jwest AT highland.net]
> Sent: Friday, May 07, 1999 12:01 PM
> To: Corpus-paul
> Subject: RE:Apocalyptic
>
>
> At 11:49 AM 5/7/99 -0400, you wrote:
>
> >I understand apocalyptic in this discussion to refer to the
> possession of a
> >secret knowledge. Is that correct?
>
> I did not so take it.  That would be esoteric strands of Judaism.  The two
> are not mutually exclusive, but they are different.
>
> >I understand we have the Essenes at Qumran and the various apocalyptic
> >writings. I don't see that we can generalize from these.
> Josephus did not
> >have an apocalypic view of the world.  He seems more
> representative to me,
> >but it is impossible to know.
>
> I take it just the other way.  Judaism was fragmented and the overwhelming
> majority of movements had in view the victory of God over the godless
> heathen oppressors.  Apocalyptic was born of crisis, and sought an end to
> the crisis in the direct intervention of God.  Christianity too was such a
> movement in its early days.
>
> >We have no writings from the Pharisees.
>
> Not quite correct.  We have lots of stuff from a certain Pharisee
> named Paul!
>
> P.S.- Liz- I am going to be in NYC the first week of June.  (On vacation).
> Any hints as to what to do beside the regular stuff?
>
> Best,
>
> Jim
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Jim West, ThD
> Petros Baptist Church- Pastor
> Quartz Hill School of Theology- Adjunct Prof. of Bible
>
> fax- 978-231-5986
> email- jwest AT highland.net
> web page-  http://web.infoave.net/~jwest
>
>
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