Corpus-Paul

[Bob MacDonald <bobmacdonald AT shaw.ca>]

I have a couple of observations for Mark and one response to
his request for verses.

1. verse 38 of Romans 11 does not exist (page 40) - citation
should be 28 - the NRSV translation is astonishing to me.
Adding 'of God' when it is not in the Greek! Is there a
textual variant here?

2. There are a couple of misprints: third person singular
with a verb lacking an s - (p 21 he corroborate - not
subjunctive I think) Unfortunately I can't find the other
one. Such hard work reading, I had to pause every few
paragraphs!

3. He who keeps the day keeps it to the Lord, who keeps it
not keeps it not unto the Lord (Romans 14.6) is not a verse
Mark dealt with. This verse does not seem to me to be
related to teaching Gentiles to mark time according to the
Jewish calendar as Mark implies Paul might have done in
Corinth - but perhaps it can be put down to Sabbath or
Festival observances - that Gentiles would not observe but
Christ-believing or not, Jews would continue to observe.

4. It appears that the implications of Mark's argument for
Christ-believing Jews of the time was that there would be no
more proselytising of Gentiles to increase the ranks of the
Jews. Christ is the circumcision for all who are outside
Israel of the flesh (Colossians 2:11). This metaphor is rare
in the NT and only explicit here. What then for circumcision
within the covenant? Mark's argument based on 1 Corinthians
7 implies that Christ-believing Jews would continue to
circumcise their children - but this is the very accusation
that is brought against Paul in Acts 21.21. Sure they cannot
prove he said or meant this (24.13) but even Jews seem to
have taken the inference that he might feel this way
(according to Luke).

5. Keeping/guarding the whole Law - Mark reverses the
responsibility. His reading is that the influencers are
being duplicitous and not therefore not keeping the whole
law but that the addresses will in fact keep the whole Law
by being in Christ and would fail to keep it by being
circumcised - it being of the essence of the Law as a whole
that Jew and Gentile worship together in the faith of
Abraham without conformity to the circumcision of Abraham
which again is accomplished in Christ for the uncircumcised.
Did I understand correctly? This item goes with 4 in
separating Jew from Gentile - making a distinction.  In
marginalizing the Gentiles such, it is no wonder they might
want to escape the pressure Mark implies to conform to the
cult of Caesar - Paul's call seems to be a recipe for
trouble for them.

Mark achieves the status of one who can 'Kosher the Reptile'
(BT Sanhedrin 17a, JT Sanhedrin 4.22a). He makes us
reconsider every phrase. The momentum of history is a hard
stone to push uphill. Dogma seems to trump thoughtfulness
much of the time, but maybe the contract is no trump. I am
very grateful to you, Mark, and others for challenging our
prejudice and helping us see possibilities more clearly.

Bob

Bob MacDonald
http://bobmacdonald.gx.ca
Victoria, B.C., Canada