Corpus-Paul

["John Brand" <jbrand AT gvsd.mb.ca>]

Edger wrote:
> > I only wish to make one small comment about what Mark
> > wrote in his long submission. I agree that Paul
> > regards the Torah as normative--when he is writing to
> > a group that includes Jews who have come to accept
> > Jesus as messiah.
> >
> > But that is a mark of his arguementation. He does not
> > cite or refer to Torah in 1 Thessalonians or in
> > Philippians, when his addressees appear to be
> > gentiles. Clearly Romans and Galatians, and likely
> > both Coreinthian documents included Jews in their
> > congregations. [Philemon does not use the OT!] So one
> > perhaps should ask whether Paul's use of the Torah is
> > simply a warrant that is useful when addressing Jews,
> > but not when addressing gentiles.

Mark Nanos responds:
> In Rom 11:13 Paul writes that he is "speaking to you Gentiles" as "the
> apostle to the Gentiles," and proceeds to cite Scripture to legitimate
> his arguments. In Gal 4:8 and elsewhere he writes to those who
> formerly worshiped idols and who are not circumcised or Torah-people,
> and proceeds to cite Scripture to legitimate his arguments. In 1 Cor
> 8--10 he writes to people who formerly thought that idols were gods
> and ate idol food, and cites Scripture to legitimate his arguments. So
> I do not see how the point you suggest in your short submission works
> in this case.

John Brand responds:
I think we can agree that Paul must 'legtimate his arguments' which
means that each premise in his syllogism must be supported in such a
manner that he can move on to his main emphasis which appears to be
the need for each person (Jew or Gentile) to be 'in Christ' in order
for that person to participate in the eschatological summing up of
all things in Christ.

Paul's use of Torah and his use of other sources is somewhat
difficult to follow. There appears to be some merit, however, in the
notion that Paul follows a style of presentation similar to those
used by Roman sources (Hans Dieter Betz "The Literary Composition and
Function of Paul's Letter to the Galatians" in The Galatians Debate).
It follows from this that Paul would use 'truth' from Greco-Roman
sources to convince his readers of the 'truth' that is 'in Christ.'
Consider the following in relation to Paul's argument in Romans
1:18ff. What does a document such as Cicero's 'Laws' indicate about
the theology of the Greco-Roman:

1. It affirms that Lex est ratio (latin ratio = Greek logos) 'Law is
the highest reason, inherent in nature, which enjoins what ought to
be done and forbids the opposite. When reason is fully formed in the
human mind, it, too, is law. So … [law's] function is to enjoin right
action and to forbid wrong doing.' (Laws.I.19)
2. It affirms that this Law is that which is common between man and
God: 'reason is present in both man and God, there is a primordial
partnership in reason between man and God. But those who share reason
also share right reason; and since that is law, we men must also be
thought of as partners with the gods in law … and they do in fact
obey this celestial system, the divine mind, and the all-powerful
God. Hence this whole universe must be thought of as a single
community shared by gods and men' (Laws.I.23).
3. It affirms that 'corrupt habits and foolish opinions … twist and
turn aside our feeble minds from their original paths' (Ibid.29 cf.
Heraclietus fragments 1,2) so that there is a difference between
those who are wise and those who are foolish; or, there is a
difference between those have been turned aside by corrupt habits and
those who have attained moral excellence by using nature as guide
(Ibid.30).
4. It affirms that the highest moral virtue is when a wise man 'loves
the other person as much as he loves himself' (Ibid.,34). 'The
essential feature of friendship is that, the moment one partner
prefers to have something for himself rather than for the other, it
vanishes' (Ibid., 34)

This being the case, it should not surprise us to find Paul using
this 'truth' to build up his case which comes from a Jewish
perspective.  How might this help us in our reading of Romans 1 and
2:

With reference to Romans 1:18ff, it indicates that all men are
subject to God's wrath and 'tribulation and anguish, upon every soul
of man that doeth evil' (2:9). Plato saw two elements in the human
soul (Republic.IV.439): the rational element (logistikon) and the
appetitive (alogistikon or epithumetikos). A man is turned aside from
the saviour of his virtue (logos) when he allows the epitumia or
passions to lead him rather than the rational (logistic) element.
This is the Greco-Roman view but it is very much the same as what we
see in the history of ancient Israel, for example, in the book of
Judges: Though the nation is forgiven and delivered from her enemies,
when she turns aside from the covenant and begins to serve other
gods, God becomes angry and 'hands them over' to the other gods so
that they can no longer stand as a nation against the onslaught of
their enemies (Judges 2:14).

IMO Paul sees the relationship between Greco-Roman and Jewish thought
and takes advantage of this to take care of key premises in his
syllogism which builds toward his main thought that both Jew and
Gentile must be 'in Christ' in order to enjoy the eschaton.

Am I missing something in my observation?

John Brand

B.A. (Providence College, 1980)
M.Min. (Providence Seminary, 1990)