Corpus-Paul

["Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeffrey B. Gibson" <jgibson000 AT comcast.net>
To: "Biblical Greek" <b-greek AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Cc: "Corpus-Paulinum" <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 10:25 AM
Subject: [Corpus-Paul] Romans 1:16


> OU GAR EPAISXUNOMAI TO EUAGGELION, DUNAMIS GAR QEOU ESTIN SWTHRIAN
>
> If memory serves (and I don't have the opportunity at the moment to
> consult any commentaries) this statement by Paul is usually taken to be
> an attempt at offering a definition of what the "gospel" **is** -- as if
> somehow this needed clarifying.
>
> But is there anything in the grammar and syntax of the text to give us
> reason to believe that what Paul is doing is responding to a challenge?
> That is to say, is there any grammatical or syntactical or stylistic
> (or, if I might ask, contextual)  reason to see that what Paul is up to
> here is not answering a question (what is the Gospel?, how do **you**
> define it?),  but is defending a claim **about** what the (his) Gospel
> is  **that is in dispute**  --  and is in effect saying something along
> the lines of  "contrary to what has been said about  TO EUAGGELION, it
> is indeed  the power of God for the purpose of Salvation?
>
> Thanks in advance for any comments.

Surely it is not assumed that Paul is speaking of a written gospel in the
style of the later writings.  Paul is speaking of the "good news" (of
salvation by faith) and even his epistles are disseminating the euaggelion.
Euaggelion at the time of Romans was not necessarily a written narrative as
in the canonicals but was the message that one was saved by Christ Crucified
and resurrected.  Euaggelion is a message, not a text.  My two
tetradrachmae.

Jack