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Subject: Corpus-Paul
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- From: Robert A Bayer <robertbayer AT juno.com>
- To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
- Subject: Re: The symbolism of '14 years'
- Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 18:32:02 -0500
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<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>As I consider Richard's response to my previous message I wonder=20
if our different views of this subject are due to different =
understandings=20
of <FONT>apokalupseos (forgive me if my transliteration is=20
incorrect). The translations I am familiar with are consistent in=20
translating apokalupseos as "revelation". The NRSV adds the =
indefinite=20
article and the KJV adds the definite article. I prefer to leave it=20
without an article. It seems that some equate this revelation with a=
=20
single one time event, usually Paul's pre conversion vision. I do=20
not understand how the radical comprehensive Gospel which Paul =
preached=20
could be the product of a single vision. I understand Jesus Christ's=
=20
revelation to Paul to be something he received continually.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(I respond more specifically below.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On Fri, 30 Mar 2001 11:41:07 -0800 Richard Fellows <<A=20
href=3D"mailto:rfellows AT intergate.ca";>rfellows AT intergate.ca</A>>=20
writes:<BR>> Robert A Bayer wrote:<BR>> >Not much happened? =
Paul=20
went from being a Pharisee and persecutor <BR>> >of Christians =
to=20
preaching a Gospel so radical that was untraceable in <BR>> >the =
Hebrew=20
scriptures. ISTM when we consider all the issues Paul had <BR>> &=
gt;to=20
work through in order to comprehend the revelation of Jesus Christ and=
=20
<BR>>> make sense of the Gospel, even as he dealt with doubts within =
and=20
<BR>> >fightings without, that the fourteen years he spent (=
largely=20
in seclusion) <BR>>> must have been a very busy time of=20
thought, prayer, and contemplation. <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> and =
Brian=20
made a similar point about the 14 years being a time of <BR>>=20
preparation.<BR>> <BR>> This may be partly right, but if Paul was =
thinking=20
things through <BR>> for 14 years, why did he not go to Jerusalem =
more=20
often to confer with the <BR>> apostles?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I wonder how often a typical Jew living in Syria, or Arabia, or Asia =
Minor=20
would have gone up to Jerusalem? Is it possible that Paul =
visited=20
Jerusalem more often but did not confer with the leaders of the church?&=
nbsp;=20
Was Paul, before Barnabas brought him to Antioch, active as part of a =
community=20
or a relative loner?. If we believe the book of Acts he was =
known to=20
other Christians because Barnabas sought him out. However, Paul was =
moving=20
towards views that were beyond the vision of those in Christ before=20
him. Perhaps he did not want to communicate these things until he was=
sure=20
he understood them himself. My impression is that Paul was content to=
=20
remain in the background until he was brought to the fore by Barnabas. =
;=20
Perhaps, he understood how radical the revelation he was receiving was and =
he=20
preferred to avoid the conflict it would bring until he was convinced, by=20
Barnabas, to become more active. I also feel that Paul's =
understanding=20
continued to develop throughout his life and that he perceived this as the=
=20
result of Christ's continuing revelation to him.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>> <BR>> I see the following possible solutions to the =
problem of=20
the 14 <BR>> relatively inactive years:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>From my view there is no problem because these years were not=20
inactive. They were years full of spiritual and intellectual=20
activity. (From the view of my parents intellectual pursuits are=
=20
inactivity, but that is not how I see it.)</DIV>
<DIV><BR>> <BR>> 1. The 14 years were not 14 years at all. If it is=20
symbolic of <BR>> Jacob's experience, as I suggested it might be, =
then=20
the actual time span <BR>> may have been only 6 or 7 years. This =
would=20
be an appropriate length of time <BR>> for the evangelization of =
Syria=20
and Cilicia.<BR>> <BR>> 2. The initial revelation was not the only=20
revelation, and it was a <BR>> later revelation which prompted the=
=20
missionary phase in Paul's life. It <BR>> may be that Paul's =
gospel of=20
non-circumcision of gentiles was given to him <BR>> by some later=
=20
revelation - perhaps the revelation of Gal 2.1.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As I wrote, I think our differing understandings of what the =
revelation of=20
Jesus Christ was is at the root of all other differences we may have on =
this=20
subject.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>> <BR>> 3. Before Paul could embark on missionary journeys =
he=20
needed the<BR>> endorsement of the Jerusalem apostles (see Gal 2.2), and=
this=20
<BR>> required that he first win their trust, which was difficult,=
=20
given his persecuting <BR>> past. Only after his probation =
period=20
of '14 years' could he go to <BR>> Jerusalem to get their approval=
, and=20
only then could he really start to <BR>> evangelize.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It seems to me that Paul's Gospel was more controversial than Paul's=20
past.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>> <BR>> 4. His great missionary journeys may have been =
delayed by=20
a <BR>> practical consideration such as family commitments, lack =
of=20
funds, or an <BR>> illness. Or maybe he just couldn't find a =
traveling=20
partner who shared his <BR>> vision.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Many things may happen during 14 years but as I recall from =
the=20
book of Acts Paul began his journeys because he was commissioned by the =
Church=20
in Antioch under the prompting of the holy spirit.<BR>> </DIV>
<DIV>Bob</DIV></BODY></HTML>
-
The symbolism of '14 years',
Richard Fellows, 03/27/2001
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Loren Rosson, 03/28/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Robert A Bayer, 03/28/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Glowzoom, 03/28/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Moises Mayordomo, 03/30/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Richard Fellows, 03/30/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', JERRY SUMNEY, 03/30/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Robert A Bayer, 03/30/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Mesfin Atlaye, 03/30/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Loren Rosson, 03/31/2001
- Re: The symbolism of '14 years', Richard Fellows, 03/31/2001
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