1 and 2 Corinthians

Upon reading 1 Corinthians:

1. What can you say regarding Paul's sources of information about the congregation to which he's writing?

2. Judging from the clarifications that Paul makes and the non-Christian behavior that he confronts in this letter, what would you say is at the heart of the problems at Corinth?

Upon reading 2 Corinthians:

3. What would you say has transpired in the congregation since Paul wrote 1 Corinthians?

4. How would you describe Paul's opponents at Corinth?

5. What do you think are the basic differences between what Paul teaches and stands for compared to his opponents at Corinth?

Mid-term Exam Coming Up

As I announced in class yesterday, next Monday is the date for the mid-term exam in "Life of Paul." Here are the biblical readings and other materials you need to have studied before the exam:

A. Acts 9:1-31; 11:19-30; chapters 13-15; and 16:1-5.

B. The Letter to the Galatians

C. Also for the exam, from the text by F. F. Bruce, you should have read and studied chapters 1-5, 10, and 13-16. (A second Bruce quiz was handed out in class on Monday. It covers 10 and 13-16. Those who missed class should stop by the Bible Chair to pick up a copy).

D. Additionally, you should review any notes you've made in class, as well as previous blog posts here.

Paul's Letter to the Galatians

At both the beginning and near the end of Galatians, there are clear indicators that Paul's message has its detractors among the churches he's writing to:

• "Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ" (1:7).
• ". . . the one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty" (5:10). From the other references to Paul's opponents, it's apparent that "the one" here means "anyone" or "everyone." Paul is not thinking of an individual here.
• "As for those agitators . . . " (5:12).

So, who are these opponents of Paul? What sort of confusing messages do they teach? And what are they saying about the Apostle himself? A few passages give us a good bit of information that we can use to answer the second question: What do they teach?

For example, in 3:10-14, Paul speaks against any attempt to rely on one's observance of the law.

Later, in 4:8-11, he compares and contrasts "knowing God" with a very different experience in which the Galatian Christians, prior to their conversion, were enslaved by "those weak and miserable principles." Paul says he knows that the Galatians are now "turning back" because they are "observing special days and months and seasons and years." These would presumably include, above all, observance of the Sabbath, but also times like the Day of Atonement, New Moons, and the Passover, etc.

Finally, in 5:1-12, Paul argues against the requirement of circumcision for Gentile converts to Christianity. And, he makes a case against Gentiles themselves giving in to such demands.

So, it appears that the problem is, following Paul's establishment of the churches in Galatia, other Jewish Christians have arrived telling the new Christians that observance of Mosaic commands is not optional. Rather, it is mandatory. Scholars often call these teachers Judaizers, Jewish Christians who disagreed with what they regarded as Paul's overly-liberal teaching, and who contradicted that teaching.

The message of the Judaizers was news to the Galatians. Originally, they were told by Paul and Barnabas that the standard for everyone, both Jew and Gentile, was faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance and obedience towards God. This did not include biblical-traditional mandates such as Sabbath observance, circumcision for the men, and kosher dietary regulations.

Naturally, because of such differences, the Galatians would have been confused. They would have wondered which side was right. And they would have asked the judaizing teachers questions like, "If your version of the Christian message is true, then why did Paul teach us what he did, something that was very different?"

At this point, the Judaizers apparently answered by saying that Paul preached a different message because he was (a) confused and (b) driven by bad motives. From Paul's protests in the letter, we can "overhear" a handful of such accusations. It seems that Paul believes that his opponents have leveled the following charges against him:

1. Paul told you what he did because he is a people pleaser. He wants to be liked by others. And that is precisely why he lowered the standards for becoming, in Christ, a true Jew.

This seems to be what Paul is trying to deny in 1:10: "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." But the Judaizers didn't stop there. They also said something like,

2. Paul learned the gospel from other people. What he knows of the Christian message, he was taught by someone else.

In 1:11-12, Paul shoots back. The gospel I preached, he says, is not something I received "from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ." In 1:13-14, Paul recounts his previous way of life in Judaism. Why does he do that, and at this point in the letter? He seems to be asking the Galatians, "What could possibly have knocked me off of my determined course, other than divine intervention?" Also, by relating some of his early-Christian biography, even giving specific time periods, Paul clearly intends to distance himself from Jerusalem and the Apostles who lived there. His implication is that he could not have gotten his message from them because, following his conversion, it was a long time before he even met any Apostles. But the opposition wasn't through. Apparently, they also said things like,

3. Having been taught the true gospel in Jerusalem, Paul traveled to places like Galatia where he misrepresented the message he had learned from the real Apostles.

Paul is clearly responding to that sort of accusation in 2:1-10. Notice the implicit questions in this section. Paul wants to ask two things in particular:

a. If the Apostles at Jerusalem believe that circumcision is so important, why didn't they insist on it for Titus when he was right there with them? (2:3)

b. If the leaders in Jerusalem disagree with my gospel, then why did they extend to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when I reported to them exactly what I preach? (especially 2:2 and 9).

Yes, says Paul, there are differences between myself and Peter. But those differences have nothing to do with message. They are differences only in target audience. I have been given the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, while Peter, on the other hand, has been given the task of preaching the gospel to the Jews (verse 7).

But the Judaizers had another arrow to shoot at Paul. Apparently, there was a story making the rounds. According to some, when the Apostle Peter came to Antioch while Paul was there, the two of them had a heated discussion, some sort of falling out. The agitators took this story to mean that when Peter and Paul compared notes at Antioch, they discovered that they did not, in fact, preach the same message.

Is this what Paul is responding to in 2:11-16? It seems so. Paul appears to be offering an alternate interpretation of the story the Galatians have heard. According to Paul's version, yes, he had had a spat with Peter. But it wasn't because the two of them believed different things. It was because Peter "was in the wrong" (v. 11). He had come to Antioch, where he enjoyed table fellowship with Gentile Christians. However, when "men came from James" (v. 12) Peter distanced himself from his Gentile brothers because he was afraid of what the James people would think and say. Peter's actions, says Paul, were a practical rejection of "the truth of the gospel" (v. 14). Something had to be done! So, says Paul, "I opposed him to his face" (v. 11). I said to Peter, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" (v. 14). "Peter was acting like a hypocrite," says Paul. "And that's the reason why we got into it at Antioch."

Okay, I know, there's so much more that can be said about Galatians. But I need to stop here. Thoughts? Observations? Questions?

The Unknown, Silent Years

Okay, class, welcome to the brand-new course blog for "Life of Paul" at Amarillo College, Spring 2010. I hope this proves useful.

At this point in our semester, we are exploring the early years of Paul, including what have been called the "silent" or "unknown" years. Most people remember three things about Paul:

1. Before he became an Apostle of Jesus Christ, Saul--his Jewish name--was a persecutor of Christianity.

2. But, while Saul was going to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners, he was confronted by the exalted Jesus Christ.

3. Later, he went on three long mission trips, traveling around the Mediterranean world, preaching the gospel and planting churches. Eventually, he was taken to Rome because he had appealed his case to Caesar.

But here's a question: What happened during the ten or more years in between events 2 and 3? By comparing Acts 9:1-31 with Galatians 1:11-24, we can piece together a rough outline of those years. (Before reading what follows here, you might want to go over those two passages). Here's what that outline looks like:

1. Following his baptism, Paul preached the gospel in the synagogues of Damascus. He taught and proved that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:20-22).

2. Next, Paul traveled to Arabia (Gal. 1:17). Exactly what he means by "Arabia" has been debated. There's also a question about exactly how long he was there and what he was doing then.

3. He returned to Damascus (Gal. 1:17). Once again, he proclaimed the gospel there, which aggravated the unbelieving Jews to the point that they conspired to kill him (Acts 9:23). In another of his letters, Paul reflects on that event:

In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands (2 Cor. 11:32-33).

Paul's reference to King Aretas provides a clue (although debated) about when this must have happened. Notice that Luke seems to indicate Paul's charisma and effectiveness when he says that the Apostle was lowered through the opening in the wall by his disciples or followers (Acts 9:25).

4. From Damascus, Paul went to Jerusalem (Acts 9:26; Gal. 1:18), where he stayed for at least fifteen days and became acquainted with Peter and also with James, the brother of the Lord (Gal. 1:18-19). During this time Paul attempted to convert Hellenistic (i.e., Greek-ish) Jews. But they also tried to kill him (Acts 9:29).

5. This led the Christians in Jerusalem to insist that Paul leave the city before he was murdered (like Stephen): [T]hey took him down to Caesarea, a seaport, and sent him off to Tarsus, his hometown (Acts 9:30). The information from Acts matches up with Paul's own statement that, after Jerusalem, he went to Syria and Cilicia (Gal. 1:21). Tarsus was located in Cilicia. Often the two provinces Paul speaks of are mentioned together and are regarded as one.

This is where the picture starts to get hazy. Quite a bit of time passes before Barnabas, dispatched by the Jerusalem church, sees the great work going on among Jews and Gentiles in Syrian Antioch and goes to Tarsus in order to find Paul and bring him back to Antioch (Acts 11:19-26). What was Paul doing all of that time he spent in Syria and Cilicia (Gal. 1:21)?

An answer to that question must take into account that, during the first few years after his call and commission, Paul was an energetic and successful Christian evangelist. So, during the silent years did Paul preach and teach the gospel in Tarsus and in other parts of Syria-Cilicia? It would seem very strange if he didn't.

Are there any clues that Paul, in fact, evangelized Syria-Cilicia with a good bit of success? It seems so. It might be significant that when the leaders of the so-called Council at Jerusalem issued the decision letter, they addressed it to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:23). The story of Antioch we know well. But when had Gentiles been baptized in Syria and Cilicia? It wasn't during the mission trip taken by Paul and Barnabas ("the first missionary journey"). According to Acts 13 and 14, that trip took the missionaries to Cyprus and to the regions called Pamphylia, Psidia, and Lyconia, but not to region in question.

Furthermore, after Paul chose Silas as his partner for the second missionary journey, he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (Acts 15:41). That Luke mentions Paul doing this, while seeming to leave out Silas, may indicated that these particular churches knew the Apostle but not his traveling companion. Note that later in the chapter, Luke describes what they-- meaning Paul, Silas, and Timothy--did in other places (Acts 16:7).

Of course, it is entirely possible that the churches in Syria-Cilicia were planted in much the same way that the church(es) in other areas were:

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:19-21).

However, it might have been that Paul himself was largely responsible for the planting of the Christian communities north of Antioch. If so, that may help to explain 2 Corinthians 11, where included in Paul's boasting about his hardships we read, Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one (verses 24-25). None of the Apostle's synagogue whippings are mentioned by Luke in the Book of Acts. It could very well be that those sad events date to Paul's time in Syria-Cilicia.

Questions:

1. What are some of your observations (or further questions) about this period in the life of Paul?

2. What other texts or information might add a piece to the puzzle?

Note: Naturally, books dealing with the life and letters of Paul take up this question, if briefly. See, for example, our textbook, F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, pages 126-28. At least one book-length treatment has been written, Paul Between Damascus and Antioch: The Unknown Years, by Martin Hengel and Anna Maria Schwemer.