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  • From: "Dieter Mitternacht" <dieter.mitternacht AT teol.lu.se>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Opponents as strawmen
  • Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 21:03:03 +0200



Anders writes:
> 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." ....
> 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?

Mark responds:
a)
>Do you mean to say "strawmen," as though no people in Galatia are
>persuading the addressees to another message, whatever that may be,
>and however they may be doing so? That Paul is making up their
>existence and promotion of another message of good for them?
b)
>Now whether what the author perceives is an accurate portrayal
>according to the perceptions of others, such as the addressees or
>those whom he accuses for their motivations and methods as well as
>message, that is up for interpretation.


I agree with Marks comments on (a) and (b).
However, there also are categories (c) and (d) of strawmen identification.
While (b) builds on the assumption, that the author wanted to give an
accurate portrayal of those he accuses, (c) would concern itself with the use
of vilification topoi in ancient rhetoric. Among these topoi of accusation
are: hypocricy, falsehood, dubious characters, sorcery, moral depravity,
destructive influence, etc (all to be found in Gal). Topical accusation was
taken with a grain of sand, its purpose was to dennote not to connote. In a
sense, then, there can have been a certain amount of phantom agreement
between sender and receiver of such vilification.


Category (d): If a large number of accusations contains almost nothing that
is situation specific, but a lot that has the character of superlative
vilification, i.e. if a description lacks in distinct detail and indulges in
generalisation, it should be a warning sign as to how much the sender
actually knows about what is going on. Now, it has been suggested by many
interpreters, that there is suprisingly little if not nothing Paul is saying
about the influencers, that he couldn't have said in just about any
controversial situation. The one thing that is specific, as far as I can see,
is 6.12, and here we touch at the heart of the matter, persecution.

Regards
Dieter







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