Corpus-Paul

[Frich107 AT aol.com]

I am hoping to begin research into the following area in October full time, 
and having lurked for some time I wondered whether anyone on this list may 
have suggestions about articles, or even books, that might be helpful for my 
research. I am particularly interested in postmodern approaches to Pauline 
power and authority, socio rhetorical (or more general socio-scientific) 
approaches to Paul, and any New Perspective work done on Paul's apostleship. 
What follows is actually an edited version of my proposal for the research.

Best wishes,
Fred Rich.

Pauline apostleship in (post)modern perspective

In the course of this work I intend to investigate St. Paul's claims to 
apostleship, particularly with regards his authority, or power, over various 
early churches. Initially I intend to research the concept from three 
different perspectives. These are 1) New Perspective , 2) socio-scientific 
approach , and 3) rhetorical criticism . As the work proceeds I would propose 
to concentrate on one, or possibly two comparatively, having concluded which 
is/are most fruitful. 

My interest in this area has been partially sparked off by a questioning of 
the legitimacy of the title 'apostle' as a special office within the church, 
both originally, and today. By investigating this question I hope to 
understand and analyse how Paul uses this concept to implement his authority 
over first century churches, despite apparent opposition from other church 
leaders of the day. I shall also investigate the relevance of this concept in 
selected areas of today's church.

I feel that the New Perspective is very relevant to understanding Paul's 
apostleship, as his authority does come partly through the law. Through 
socio-scientific methodology I intend to investigate the kinds of structures 
that existed in Paul's churches, that allowed him to operate as apostle over 
them.

My third approach is rather more wide reaching and may also include other 
postmodern methods of literary criticism. My aim in using this kind of 
methodology is to try to make such questions as Paul's usage of power and 
apostleship, relevant for today. I intend to critique his usage of power, and 
authority, following on from the work already done in this area by Elizabeth 
Castelli, in her book 'Imitating Paul'4) . I intend to then go on from this 
to investigate how modern day 'apostolic' church leaders claim to have 
authority over their churches. 

With regards which texts I intend to study, I shall be concentrating, 
initially, on Romans, 1 Corinthians and Galatians, partially because I 
already have some experience of scholarship on two of the letters, and 
partially because they seem the most relevant Pauline letters to investigate 
when studying Paul's use of power and authority. I intend to consult both 
major commentaries on these letters, and other important works on Paul, 
and/or his theology. Further afield that that, I intend to utilise 
socio-scientific methods that has been used on other biblical texts, and on 
other ancient literature. Another source of information and help will be 
articles and books of postmodern theory, both in general and with regards 
biblical studies in particular. My approach is consciously cross-disciplinary 
in order to find a wider picture of Paul and his texts.

I intend to begin by investigating methodology that I shall then employ on 1 
Corinthians chapter 9 and Galatians chapter 2. This will then give me an idea 
as to what results I can expect from the wider Pauline corpus, using these 
same methods. My hypothesis is that Paul uses the term apostle to justify his 
exercise of, probably illegitimate, power and authority over early Christian 
churches, in order to counter attacks coming from more established 'apostles' 
and evangelists. This is also paralleled by so called 'apostolic' church 
leaders in some churches today.


1 I.e. How Paul's claims to apostleship, and usage of power over people could 
be related to his Jewish identity, and understanding of the law as a 
controlling element. In particular I would be concentrating on the work of 
James Dunn, although I would consult others such as E. P. Sanders and N. T. 
Wright amongst others.

2 Within this I would hope to investigate how Paul could be seen as a product 
of his society, both Jewish and Hellenistic. In particular I would be 
consulting the work of Bruce Malina and Jerome Neyrey, and using some of 
their methodologies. 

3 I intend to attempt to deconstruct some of Paul's arguments for his own 
authority over various churches, as found in his letters, and seek to analyse 
this rhetoric.

4 Castelli, Elizabeth A., Imitating Paul: A Discourse of Power (Louisville, 
KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991)