Corpus-Paul

["Mark D. Nanos" <nanosmd AT home.com>]

Mike MacDonell wrote:
>  And I believe that a statement like "And I was
> still not known by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea" provides a
> reasonably strong piece of evidence that Luke's portrayal of Paul as
> persecutor may not be accurate. Why do we accept Paul's characterization by
> Luke with such confidence?  Could we NOT expect some corroboration from
> Paul of his past villany if it were true?  It isn't as if Paul hesitated to
> criticize himself.

Yet Mike, leaving aside any concern with Luke, Paul in this same argument
presents himself as a harsh persecutor of the assemblies of
Christ-believers, trying to destroy them [EPORTHOUN] (Gal. 1:13). This is
part of his characterization of his former way of living Jewishly, or
Judeanly, versus his current way of doing so. Just where he carried out this
program is unclear, just as are the implications of 1:22, but it may surely
be argued that Paul had Judean connections when a disciplinarian/persecutor
from a Judean/Jewish ideological interest group, or groups. Might he not
have gone out from Judea to persecute (he would have said "to discipline" at
the time) a Jewish/Judean group, or a few groups in, say, Damascus? I do not
see how 1:22 precludes this.

Moreover, note too that 1:23 follows with what the Judean groups are
purported by Paul to be saying about him: "The one persecuting us formerly
now is proclaiming the faith he had formerly tried to destroy [EPORTHEI]."
So Paul had formerly persecuted Judean groups, by the logic of Paul's own
testimony. They are relieved to learn that they do not need to fear him any
longer, and thus praise God.

I think it is likely that this corresponds with Paul's comment in 5:11,
where he clearly implies that he had formerly proclaimed proselyte
conversion (I assume that this refers to his former way of living
Jewishly/Judeanly in 1:13), and that he is now a victim of persecution
(unjust discipline, from the recipients point of view) for no longer doing
so (I assume that this is since his meeting of Christ as mentioned in
1:15-16, when he was he was called to proclaim the message of Christ to the
nations apart from proselyte conversion). He has gone from persecutor of
this coalition for its non-conformist policy toward gentiles (not
proselytizing the non-Jewish members, yet engaging in indiscriminate
fellowship with them as gentiles) to proponent of its message and this
policy. 

No appeal to Luke has been made, only Galatians; is that not the "some
corroboration from Paul of his past villany," and in or at least from Judea
at that?

Regards,
Mark

-- 
Mark D. Nanos, Ph.D.
313 NE Landings Dr.
Lee's Summit, MO 64064
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816-478-3369