Abstract
Roland Barthes (1977, p. 148) once remarked “… a text’s unity lies not in its origin but in its destination”. This observation echoes the methodological ground and rationale that have been teased out in Chap. 2. The aim of this chapter is to show how a serious investigation about the original learners of The Epistle can shed light on its original pedagogic nature. However, it is customary for the interpretative tradition of The Epistle to ignore its original learners. As a consequence, The Epistle’s “inner unity” as a philosophical treatise has always evaded interpreters and teachers who have approached it from within the ahistorical interpretative paradigm. However, as Hegel has argued, reality to humankind must be historical reality. The loss of this unity means The Epistle has become fragmented to its interpreters. Moreover, this ahistorical epistemic approach will turn the Divine into a “deity” or “demigod”. This artificial conceptualisation about the Divine will render that “G-o-d” aloof to the historicity of humankind. For it is only a straw man set up for human convenience.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
The observations within square brackets are relevant to Rome. Their insertions are mine.
- 4.
It is relevant to bear in mind, in the Greco-Roman world, the training of slaves and children was characterised with the use of punishment designed to imbue fears (Lord 1982, pp. 153–154; Aristotle 1980, pp. 32, 48, 270). See also Fradin and Fradin (2012) or other “slavery literature” to get a modern storied feel of the living under fears of punishments.
- 5.
Bauer, W., & Danker, F. (2001). Στάχυς. A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This name had been found in an inscription as the name of a slave in the imperial household.
- 6.
Eliade (1978, p. 514) remarked, “In the Roman period the fashion for horoscopes became general at Rome as well as in the Empire. Augustus published his horoscope, and coins were struck with the image of Capricorn, his zodiacal constellation”.
- 7.
For wheat as the foundation of power, historian Karl Christ (1984, pp. 68–69) wrote: “The two largest private fortunes of the age of the Principate, those of the senator Cn. Cornelius Lentulus and the freedman Narcissus, amounted to 400 million sesterces, which is to say that they correspond in value and purchasing power to about 1,500,000 tons of wheat. According to R. Duncan-Jones, the value of the greatest private fortune in England around 1700 was no more than 20,000–40,000 tons of wheat”. The power of “wheat” was then the power to feed and maintain an army. Hence, it was, in a sense, a base of one’s political influence. By the way, the household name of Narcissus is mentioned in verse 11 in Rom 16.
- 8.
“To be a slave was to be in someone else’s possession, totally subjugated to one’s master in everything…. Each slave owner defined the nature of his slaves’ lives. For their part, slaves had only one primary objective: to please the master in everything through their loyal obedience to him”. See MacArthur (2010, pp. 27–29).
- 9.
See Josephus (1987, p. 562), The Wars of the Jews 1.12.240–241.
- 10.
Here is one modern study on ancestral issues. It (Bowen 2002, p. 280) may help putting into perspective the situation of those Greco-Romans – including Patrobas – who are encountered in Rom 16. “The spirits of ancestors figure centrally in Kwaio religious practice. The uplands Kwaio people studied by Roger Keesing observe many taboos regarding eating, drinking, menstruation, urination, and the proper and improper places for men or women to go in the village or woods. Kwai consider major infractions of these taboos to be offences against the ancestors, …. Ancestors are important to magic, curing, and successful childbirth”.
- 11.
Hard (2004, pp. 48–50).
- 12.
Hard (2004, pp. 50, 58–64, 696).
- 13.
Mikalson (2010, p. 104).
- 14.
For reasons to unfold in this book, the debates about dates and foods, in Rome and among Greco-Roman Christ-followers, certainly have Greco-Roman dimension. For the religious dates, festivals, and observances on the Roman calendar, see Adkins and Adkins (1994, pp. 280–287).
- 15.
For instance, Rom 12:1 urges the clusters to present themselves (all bodies of theirs) as one single living sacrifice to God. Rom 12:3 teaches that none should attach too much self-importance to one’s own group of cluster. They, and many other more explicit signs, are there in The Epistle to testify to this mutual distance among the clusters in Rome. This book will return to these mutually distancing circumstances among the clusters in later chapters.
References
Abbott, H. (Ed.). (2001). The Cambridge introduction to narrative. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Adkins, L., & Adkins, R. (1994). Handbook to life in Ancient Rome. New York: Facts on File, Inc.
Aldreter, G. (2004). Appendix I: A brief guide to understanding Roman names. In Daily life in the Roman city: Rome, Pompeii, and Ostia (pp. 239–240). London: Greenwood Press.
Alston, R. (1998). Aspects of Roman history, AD 14–117. New York: Routledge.
Aristotle (1980). The Nicomachean ethics (D. Ross, Trans.). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
Barrett, A. (1996). Agrippina: Mother of Nero. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd..
Barthes, R. (1977). The death of the author. In Image, Music, Text (S. Heath, Trans.). New York: Hill and Wang.
Bauer, W., & Danker, F. (2001). A Greek-English lexicon of the new testament and other early Christian literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bilton, T., et al. (2002). Introductory sociology. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Biville, F. (2002). The Graeco-Romans and Graeco-Latin, a terminological framework for cases of bilingualism. In J. Adams, M. Janse, & S. Swain (Eds.), Bilingualism in ancient society: Language contact and the written text (pp. 77–102). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Boardman, J. (1978). Greek sculpture: The archaic period. London: Thames & Hudson.
Bowen, J. (2002). Religions in practice: An approach to the anthropology of religion. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Brewer, E. (2002). Brewer’s dictionary of phrase & fable. London: Cassell & Co..
Caffarella, R. (2002). Planning programs for adult learners: A practical guide for educators, trainers, and staff developers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cartledge, P. (1998). The Cambridge illustrated history of Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cary, M., & Haarhoff, T. (1961). Life and thought in the Greek and Roman World. London: Methuen.
Christ, K. (1984) The Romans (C. Holme, Trans.) London: Chatto & Windus – The Hogarth Press.
Clark, R. (2010). Childhood in society: For early childhood studies. Exeter: Learning Matters.
Collins Dictionaries. (2016). Collins Latin dictionary & grammar. Glasgow: Collins.
Connolly, P. (2003). Colosseum: Rome’s arena of death. London: BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd.
Denzin, N. (2010). Childhood socialization. In New Brunswick. London: Transaction Publishers.
Dersin, D. (Ed.). (1997). When Rome ruled the world: The Roman Empire, 100BC to AD 200. Richmond: Time Life Inc..
Devereux, P. (1992). Secrets of ancient and sacred places: The world’s mysterious heritage. London: Blandford Press.
Doud, R. (2015). Cosiness and challenge in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. The Way, 54(1), 7–15.
Eliade, M. (1978). A history of religious ideas, Vol. 2. (W. Trask, Trans.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Encyclopedia Britannica (2003). Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago/London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Evans, J. (1998). The history and practice of ancient astronomy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Evans, J., & Berggren, J. (2006). Geminos’s introduction to the phenomena: A translation and study of a Hellenistic survey of astronomy. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press.
Feyerabend, K. (1966). Langenscheidt pocket dictionary Latin. Berlin/Munich: Langenscheidt.
Feyerabend, K. (n.d.). Langenscheidt’s pocket dictionary: Classical Greek. Berlin/Munich: Langenscheidt.
Fradin, J., & Fradin, D. (2012). Stolen into slavery: The true story of Solomon Northup. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.
Frankl, V. (1964). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Gardner, P. (2007). Living and learning in different communities: Cross-cultural comparisons. In P. Zwozdiak-Mayers (Ed.), Childhood and youth studies. Learning Matters: Exeter.
Gerald, C. (2014). I never knew I had a choice: Explorations in personal growth. Belmont: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.
Gobillot, E. (2009). Leadershift: Reinventing leadership for the age of mass collaboration. London/Philadelphia: Kogan Page.
Goodman, M. (2007). Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. London: Penguin Books.
Goodson, I. (2009). Personal history and curriculum study. In E. Short & L. Waks (Eds.), Leaders in curriculum studies: Intellectual self-portraits (pp. 91–104). Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers.
Grant, M. (1994). Myths of the Greeks and Romans. London: Phoenix.
Grant, M., & Hazel, J. (1999). Who’s who in classical mythology. London: Routledge.
Grondin, J. 格朗丹, 让. (2009). Zhe xue jie shi xue dao lu. 哲学解释学导论. [Einführung in die philosophische Hermeneutik.] (W. P. He, 何卫平. Trans.). Beijing: Shangwu.
Hard, R. (2004). The Routledge handbook of Greek mythology. London: Routledge.
Harpur, J., & Westwood, J. (1997). The traveller’s atlas of sacred and historical places: A guide to the world’s most mystical places. East Sussex: Apple Press.
Ho, O. (2012). On the challenges of translating culture: The origins of reading Rom 13:1–7 as ‘the doctrine of unqualified obedience. China Graduate School of Theology Journal, 52, 15–54.
Holland, T. (2003). Rubicon: The last years of the Roman Republic. New York: Doubleday.
Hultgren, A. (2011). Paul’s letter to the Romans: A commentary. Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans.
Hutchinson, D. (1995). Ethics. In J. Barnes (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Aristotle (pp. 195–232).Cambridge/New York/Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Josephus. (1987). The works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (W. Whiston, Trans.). n.p.: Hendrickson.
Kristeva, J. 克莉斯蒂娃,茱莉亚. (2005). Si kao zhi wei jing: Ke li si di wa fang tan. 思考之危境: 克莉斯蒂娃访谈录. [Au risque de la pensée.] (Y. D. Wu 吴锡德, Trans.). Taipei: Rye Field Publishing.
Lampe, P. (2003). Form Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the first two centuries (M. Steinhauser, Trans.). London: T & T Clark International.
Landy, R. (1993). Persona and performance: The meaning of role in drama, therapy, and everyday life. New York: Guilford Press.
Larson, J. (2007). Ancient Greek cults. New York: Routledge.
Lord, C. (1982). Education and culture in the political thought of Aristotle. Ithaca/London: Cornell University Press.
Luo, N., & Shui J. 罗念生、水建馥. (Eds.). (2004). Gu xilayu hanyu cidian. 古希腊语汉语词典. Beijing: Shang wu yin shu guan.
MacArthur, J. (2010). Slave: The hidden truth about your identity in Christ. Rio de Janeiro: Thomas Nelson.
Marsh, H., & O’Mara, A. (2008). Self-concept is as multidisciplinary as it is multidimensional: A review of theory, measurement, and practice in self-concept approach. In H. Marsch, R. Craven, & D. McInerney (Eds.), Self-processes, learning, and enabling human potential: Dynamic new approaches (pp. 87–115). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.
Matyszak, P. (2006). The Sons of Caesar: Imperial Rome’s first dynasty. London: Thames & Hudson.
Matz, D. (2002). Daily life of ancient Romans. Westport/London: Greenwood Press.
McCarty, V. (2012). Prisca-fellow tent-maker and fellow missionary of Paul: Acts 18.2–3, 18, 26; Romans 16.3–4; 1 Corinthians 16.19; 2 Timothy 4.19. International Congregational Journal 11(2), 45–60.
McNeil, J. (2003). Curriculum: The teacher’s initiative. Columbus: University of California, Los Angeles.
Mikalson, J. (2010). Ancient Greek Religion. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
Mulhern, J. (1959). Roman society and education. In A history of education: A social interpretation (pp. 178–211). New York: The Ronald Press Company.
Muntigl, P. (2004). Narrative counselling: Social and linguistic processes of change (Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub.
Nanos, M. (1996). The mystery of Romans: The Jewish context of Paul’s letter. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Nanos, M. (2012). Paul and Judaism: The historical and theological challenge to re-consider and re-describe Christian origins [A public lecture, at The Salvation Army Kowloon Central Corps Christian Church, Hong Kong, October 14, 2012).].
Néraudau, J. 内罗杜. (2005). Gu luo ma de er tong. [Être enfant à Rome.] (H. Zhang, & Z. Xiang, 张鸿, 向征, Trans.). Kweilin: Guangxi Normal University Press
Nicholas, B. (1972). An introduction to Roman law. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Paprothny, T. 帕普罗特尼. (2008). Xi fang gu dian zhe xue jian shi. 西方古典哲学简史. [Kurze Geschchte der antiken Philsophie] (W. Liu, 刘炜, Trans.). Shanghai: Hua dong shi fan da xue chu ban she.
Pinar, W. (2004). “Possibly being so”: Curriculum as complicated conversation. In What is curriculum theory? (pp. 185–201). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Posner, G. (1995). Analyzing the curriculum. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Rawson, G. (2005). Ancient Olympia: Athletic Games and intellectual contests. In P. O’Grady (Ed.), Meet the philosophers of ancient Greece (pp. 289–294). Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing.
Riggsby, A. (2010). Roman law and the legal world of the Romans. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Salerno, R. (2013). Contemporary social theory. Boston: Pearson.
Salles, C. 薩雷絲, 卡特琳娜. (2005). Gu luo ma ren de yue du. 古罗马人的阅读. [Lire à Rome] (P. Zhang, & M. Han 張平、韓梅, Trans.). Kweilin: Guangxi Normal University.
Schaeffer, F. (2005). How should we then live? Wheaton: Crossway Books.
Schank, R., & Abelson, R. (1977). Scripts, plans, goals, and understanding: An inquiry into human knowledge structures. Hillsdale: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Schwartz, S. (1990). Josephus and Judaean politics. New York: D.J. Brill.
Selbie, P. (2015). Spirituality and young children’s well-being. In R. Parker-Rees., & C. Leeson (Eds.), Early childhood studies (pp. 57–70). Los Angeles/London: SAGE.
Shelton, I. (1986). Differentiation and stratification. In P. McNeill & C. Townley (Eds.), Fundamentals of sociology (pp. 150–187). Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.
Tira, A. (2012). Reading Romans 16:1–16. The Pacific Journal of Theology, (47), 35–37.
Traupman, J. (Ed.). (2007). The New College: Latin and English Dictionary. New York: Bantam Dell.
Uzukwu, G. (2009). The oneness of the believers: Studying Rom 16:1–16 in the light of Gal 3:28. In U. Schnelle (Ed.), The Letter to the Romans (pp. 779–787). Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters.
Veyne, P. 韦纳, 保罗. (2014). Gu xilaren shifou xiangxin tamen de shenhua: Lun goujian de xiang xiang. 古希腊人是否相信他们的神话: 论构建的想象. [Les Grecs ont-ils cru à leurs mythes: Essai sur l'imaginati on constituante] (B. Zhang, 张竝, Trans.). Shanghai: East China Normal University Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1991). Genesis of higher mental function. In P. Light, S. Sheldon, & M. Woodhead (Eds.), Learning to think (pp. 32–41). London/New York: Routledge.
Westbury, I. (1973). Conventional classrooms, “open” classrooms and the technology of teaching. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 5, 99–121.
Wiedermann, T. (1997). Greek & Roman slavery. New York: Routledge.
Winslade, J., & Monk, G. (2007). Narrative counseling in schools: Powerful & brief. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
Zhou, N. 周枏. (2005). Lou ma fa yuan lun shang ce. 罗马法原论上册 [The Principles of Roman Laws, Vol. 1]. Beijing: Shangwu.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ho, O.N.K. (2018). Contextualising Interactions and Teachings: Who Were the Learners?. In: Rethinking the Curriculum. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8902-2_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8902-2_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8901-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-8902-2
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)