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  • From: "Sakari H�kkinen" <sakari.hakkinen AT sci.fi>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: Galatian situation
  • Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 17:04:56 +0300


Mark,
Against the subordination speaks that
1) Paul claimed to have got his message straight from God in
the revelation. This message did not need any subordination
or confirmation from Jerusalem pillars.
2) In spite of his tendency in Galatians to highlight his
independency, Paul was not in Jerusalem alone. He and his
companions were sent there by the Antiochian believers.

It is another thing that he wanted to use suitable
terminology when writing to Galatians, like Richard pointed
out. For some reasons he chose to give the impression that
he respected the pillars and the question in Jerusalem was
merely on Paul's gospel and revelation, and not the
differencies between Jesus-believers in Antiochia and
Jerusalem.

This leads to a further question: What was the experience of
Paul that he describes in Gal 1,16? In what way did he
receive the Gospel straight from God? What role had the
community of believers in his understanding of the Gospel?

Best wishes,

Sakari

Sakari Hakkinen, PhD
University of Helsinki
Department of Biblical Studies
sakari.hakkinen AT evl.fi
http://www.helsinki.fi/teol/hyel/henkilo/henkilo.html

> >Mark Nanos wrote:
> > > 1. Paul arguable did [acknowledge the
> > >authority of the Jerusalem apostles], see 2:1-3, 9-10!
His
> >trip to subordinate his
> > > gospel is an acknowledgement of their authority,
whatever
> >else it
> > > might also be.
>
> Sakari responded
>
> >I would question the idea that Paul wanted to
_subordinate
> >his gospel_. In fact, whose gospel it was that was
discussed
> >in Jerusalem? I would tend to see Paul here representing
his
> >own community in Antiochia, as he was an Antiochian
attachÈ,
> >together with Barnabas. My question is thus: What kind of
> >meeting was that in Jerusalem - a negotiation between two
> >equal communities that had different views on Gentile
> >converts and perhaps on the validity of the Law, or a
trial
> >of Paul which aimed from his side that his work among
> >Gentiles would be accepted by the highest possible
authority
> >of Jesus-believers? Or had it some other meaning? Was
Paul
> >only a private person with two companions (Barnabas and
> >Titus) or was he sent to Jerusalem by the believers in
> >Antiochia? One should
> >also take into account that when writing Galatians, Paul
was
> >more independent than at the time when he had visited
> >Jerusalem with Barnabas from Antiochia. Obviously he had
a
> >need to highlight his independency from any community
(see
> >Gal. 2,2).
>
> Sakari,
> I do not understand. Paul wrote the account in Gal. 2:2,
and could
> choose any language he wished to ensure that the question
of his
> independent equality or even superiority remained clear,
but he
> writes of his subordination, that he "laid [ANETHEMHN]
before
> them...lest somehow I should be running or had been
running in vain"!
> (NRSV)
>
> If someone from Jerusalem had written this of Paul, fine,
there would
> be good reason to question if that accurately represented
Paul's
> opinion of his action as subordination, but we have Paul's
account
> here, an account in which he does not shrink from
expressing himself
> quite boldly where his relationship to others is concerned
(cf., he
> writes quite differently that he challenged Peter to his
face at
> Antioch, 2:11). And as you note, this is written later,
and not to
> Jerusalem but to Galatia. Why then subordination language
here at
> 2:2, instead of challenging language at at 2:11?
>







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