Corpus-Paul

[Chris Smith <cmsmith AT flashcom.net>]

Hi Ray,
This is a wonderful coincidence to make contact in such an unusual manner 
after so many years! 

Let me first offer some input on your queries. As you know, Luke accentuates 
a Paul from and in continual contact with the Jerusualem church as it fits 
with his theological agenda. Yet, Paul himself not infrequently underscores 
Jewish priority in the same breath as he argues for the universality of the 
gospel AND his urgent mission to gentiles. The obvious classic text is Romans 
1:16. Surprisingly, Cranfield in his Romans commentary (ICC, vol 1, pp. 90-91 
and nn.) actually has some suggestive comments in this regard. 

Other sources worth a glance on the broad debate are the articles by IH 
Marshall, "Luke's View of Paul" in Southwestern Journal of Theology 33 
(1990), pp. 41-50; FF Bruce, "Chronological Questions in the Acts of the 
Apostles" BJRL 67(1986), pp. 273-95; and appropriate sections in 
Witherington's socio-rhetorical commentary on Acts. Admittedly, one knows 
pretty much the presuppositions of these three but you still may find them 
useful. 

For the life of me I can't recall where I just read helpful, current material 
pertinent to your question regarding Paul's connection w/ the Jewish 
communities in the cities of his established churches. If I remember the 
source, I'll pass it along later. 

There are two references worth mentioning that do come to mind:
1) the chapter on "Synagogues" in What Are They Saying About The Formation of 
Pauline Churches, by Richard Ascough (Paulist Press, 1998); and 2) the 
article by Howard Clark Kee in The Bible in the 21st Century (American Bible 
Society, 1993 also edited by him) entitled "New Finds That Illuminate The 
World and The Text of The Bible: The Greco-Roman Era", pp. 89-108. The title 
of Kee's article is misleading. It's actually an illuminating discussion of 
the nature and meaning of the term "Synagogue" in the NT. His discussion 
includes cities in the Jewish diaspora which Paul visited. 

On another front, I recently obtained a copy of your book The Cross in 
Corinth and have been reading it. I'm really enjoying it and would like 
discussing it further w/ you if you should have time.

I just took a position last Fall at Bethany College as Associate Professor of 
NT here in Scotts Valley, CA. I would love to catch up on our histories at 
some point, again, if you should have time.

Hopefully, some of the above can be of service.
I am pleased to have our paths cross, even if in cyberspace!

God richly bless you and your family,
In Christ,
Chris Smith   







On Mon, 22 May 2000, Ray Pickett wrote:

> 
> I have been working my way through Riesner's PAUL'S EARLY PERIOD in
> which he uses Acts as a supplement to the letters to construct the
> chronology and strategy of Paul's mission. Hengel has been advocating
> this for years. However, to my knowledge, it has only been in recent
> years that others have adopted this approach. I am thinking not only of
> Murphy-O'Connor (PAUL: A CRITICAL LIFE), but also classicists like
> Wallace and Williams (THE THREE WORLDS OF PAUL OF TARSUS) and the
> Russian classicist Irina Levinskaya (THE BOOK OF ACTS IN ITS FIRST
> CENTURY SETTING: DIASPORA SETTING). It's interesting that classical
> historians have typically found Acts
> to be a more reliable historical source than NT scholars, even though
> they are not naive about Luke's theological agenda.
> 
> I am wondering what list members think about the critical use of Acts in
> reconstructing Paul's missionary endeavors. Do you use Acts at all (and
> if so how) in trying to piece together Paul's missionary journeys? There
> are obvious inconsistencies, and I assume preference would be given to
> the letters. But in those places where the data agrees, is
> there any reason not to use Acts critically?
> 
> The fundamental difference which I can't seem to reconcile is that Paul
> gives the impression that he is interacting primarily with pagans while
> Acts has him in the synagogues. Yet it seems plausible to me that Paul
> and his communities have
> some kind of relationship with the Jewish communities in these cities. 2
> Cor. 11:24 would seem to confirm this, though in a way that corroborates
> a negative Jewish response as is
> depicted in Acts. What do list members think about Paul's relationship
> with Jewish communities in the cities where he established communities?
> How do you imagine Paul interacting with Gentiles, and what, if any,
> relationship do he and converts have with the synagogues?
> 
> Ray Pickett
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to corpus-paul as: cmsmith AT flashcom.net
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to $subst('Email.Unsub')