Abstract
Paul has always been an enigmatic figure in Christian history. He was acknowledged as a co-founder of Roman Christianity, even though nothing was known of his arrival in Rome and his impact there. Did he and Peter have separate constituencies there? The sources for the study of Paul are difficult to manage. First, there is the Acts of the Apostles, added to Luke’s gospel but not by the same author. It is not history in our sense. Next, there are the Letters of Paul. Only seven of the fourteen are authentically Paul. Even these show significant additions and amendments: Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, 2 Corinthians and Romans. These are carefully analysed and an hypothesis on the collection of Paul’s Letters is proposed.
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.
1–2 Timothy plus Titus are known collectively as the Pastoral Letters. The three are forgeries.
- 2.
When Eusebius wrote of the Christian martyrs in Gaul, he claimed that they were headed by ‘unshakeable pillars’ or stuloi:
But against them (the enemy) the grace of God did captain us; it rescued the weak, and marshalled against them steadfast pillars (stuloi) of men able by patience to draw to themselves all the attack of the enemy. They came together and endured every kind of abuse and punishment, they counted many things as few in their zeal for Christ, and did indeed prove that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. (Eccl Hist 5.1.6).
These stuloi in Eusebius were able, by their endurance, to draw upon themselves the total force of the evil enemy. This sounds similar to Peter being called petros, to indicate that he was The Rock or petra, and the ‘gates of Hades’ were not able to prevail against the assembly of God, the ekklesia:
And I tell you, you are Peter (petros) and on this rock (petra) I will build my church (ekklesia), and the gates of Hades (the main forces of the demons) will not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
It could be that the term stuloi referred originally to the pillars as the foundation of a new spiritual temple. However that may be, the term certainly indicates that stulos was the appellation given to the more important Christian leaders, whether living or dead.
- 3.
As noted earlier, the reference to The Twelve in v. 5 is the only reference to the group in Paul’s writings.
- 4.
Paul’s use of Roman allusions hint that it was a Roman prison where he was incarcerated. For example, in 1: 13: …so that it has become known throughout the whole praitorion and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ. And in 4:22 there is another allusion: 22All the saints greet you, especially those of the household of Kaisaros.
- 5.
The NRSV delicately translates the word as ‘loss’.
- 6.
Augustine, Luther and the nineteenth and twentieth century Protestants made Romans the centrepiece of their studies in Christian theology. The fact that none of them recognised the contorted transmission history of Romans meant that they saw problems devolving from ‘Paul’, when they devolved from different texts.
- 7.
Translated by Riley M. (1971), http://www.tertullian.org/articles/riley_adv_val/riley_00_index.htm.
- 8.
The Epistle to the Laodiceans is a lost letter, although it was still known to Marcion and others. It could have been written by Paul. Later, there were obviously forged copies which hoped to supply the lost text. Usually these made use of extant Pauline language and themes. The Latin Vulgate version of Laodiceans has been regarded by some as a translation of the original, but this is unlikely.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Crotty, R. (2017). Sources for a Study of Paul. In: The Christian Survivor. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3214-1_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3214-1_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-3213-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-3214-1
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)