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  • From: Anders Eriksson <anders.eriksson AT teol.lu.se>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Opponents as strawmen
  • Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 09:11:04 +0200


Jerry, Mark and Dieter,

I have read your interactions concerning the "opponents" in the Galatian
situation with interest. Jerry Sumney is the expert on the problem with
mirror reading, cf. his "Identifying Paul's Opponents". Both Mark Nanos
and Dieter Mitternacht (my colleague here in Lund) raise the issue of the
rhetorical purpose that occasioned the text we now have, a purpose that
makes reconstruction of the opponents very difficult, cf. Dieters section
about vilification in his dissertation Forum für Sprachlose. May I just
mention the recent work by Lauri Thuren who attempts to de-rhetorize Paul's
argumentation in Galatians, De-Rhetorizing Paul WUNT 124. Thuren seems to
do exactly what you are discussing, whether we agree with his analysis is
another matter.

The problem of reconstructing opponents has been acentuated for myself in
my recent translation of Aphthonius progymnasmata. The thirteenth exercise
is called thesis, "a logical examination of any matter under inspection."
This is the first exercise that include antithesis and solution of the
question. The antithesis is an objection to the thesis by an imaginary
opponent.

In the example Aphthonius has chosen "whether one should marry" the speaker
defends marriage. The first antithesis is "marriage is a cause of
misfortune," the second "marriage has made women widows and children
orphans," the third "marriage is wearisome." These statements by
interlocutors are in my mind similar to the statements by interlocutors we
find in Paul's letters.

The problem arises when we try to reconstruct the views of the
interlocutors. In the progymnasmatic exercise the are simply the advocates
of the opposing viewpoint. Whether or not such viewpoints actually were
advanced by someone in antiquity we do not know. Of course the whole
exercise would have been much more relevant if there were such advocates,
and as far as we know theses chosen were controversial subjects were
opposing viewpoints existed. But were those who opposed marriage
celibats? or advocates of sexual permissiveness? Were they epicureans? Or
maybe just an anxious young man who deliberates about the limitations put
upon his freedom if he marries? These questions are hard to answer.

How much more evidence do we have in the Galatian situation that Paul is
"not just" creating strawmen?

Anders Eriksson

Dr Anders Eriksson,
Faculty of Theology
Lund University, Sweden






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