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  • From: "Elli Elliott" <ellielliott AT email.msn.com>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Sacred cows
  • Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 11:48:42 -0600


Debbie Herring writes:
> Is there anything in the Pauline corpus which is a "sacred cow" in terms
> of interpretation? Are there any things which are beyond question or
> debate - and if there are, what are they and why?

The prevailing paradigm of the 7 undisputed letters is probably one, as
others have mentioned. A few people have argued that Paul did not write one
or the other of the 7, but the data and arguments offered have not so far
been convincing. The paradigm may stand because it's accurate.

While not necessarily "sacred cows," I think there are parameters of
discussion that have a certain inertia that keeps obvious questions from
being asked. Let me mention a few related to Galatians (admittedly my own
hobby-horses):

1) For Galatians, scholarly discussion tends to dwell on the identity of
Paul's opponents, frequently to the virtual exclusion of the audience or
their context.

2) Again for Galatians, there seems to be a certain avoidance of
circumcision as a concrete issue, even though there is general
acknowledgement that this is the central issue in the letter.

3) A growing minority of scholars is willing to look seriously at the
Greco-Roman and other "pagan" religious context of early Christianity as
relevant for interpretation of Paul's letters and the New Testament. While
many others seem to acknowledge the "gentile" context, there is a certain
inertia that keeps discussion focused on interpretation in relation to the
Jewish background(s), even where the "pagan" context is more relevant.
(J.Z. Smith's <Drudgery Divine> treats this issue well. It is hardly a new
book, but it still describes a lot of current scholarship.)

These are just a few.

Elli Elliott (elli AT ria.net)
Pastor, Zion United Church of Christ, Sterling, Colorado
PhD, New Testament & Early Christianity, Loyola University Chicago











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