The Cambridge Companion to St Paul (Cambridge Companions to Religion)James D. G. Dunn | 2003-11-10 00:00:00 | Cambridge University Press | 324 | Saints
The apostle Paul has been justifiably described as the first and greatest Christian theologian. His letters were among the earliest documents to be included in the New Testament and, as such, they influenced Christian thinking from its very beginning. This Companion provides an important assessment of the apostle as well as a new appreciation of his continuing contemporary significance. With eighteen chapters written by a team of well-known international Pauline specialists, the collection will have wide appeal and be an invaluable point of departure for subsequent studies.
Reviews The Cambridge Companion To St. Paul is considered to be an authoritative text on the life of the apostle Paul. With detailed analyses on Paul's theology, it is a `must-read' for all wishing to understand the man who, apart from Jesus himself, has influenced and continues to be the foremost influence in Christianity today. Paul was a controversial figure questioned not only by the Jews with whom he originally oppressed the early followers of Christ but also by Christ followers themselves with whom he later worked. While many a writer has portrayed Paul as a `liberator' who allowed the early followers of Christ to `shake the shackles' of Judaic legalism others such as John Dunn, editor and contributor to the book, have focused more on Paul's work as an `integrator' who sought to include gentiles as well as Jews in his doctrine of `justification through faith'.
Biblical scripture shows us that Paul was a Benjamite Jew born in the city of Tarsus and brought up in Jerusalem under the tutelage of a rabbi by the name of Gamaliel. Paul was therefore well-educated and had as one of the strongest convictions before his conversion, to persecute and destroy anyone who professed a faith in Christ. His encounter with Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus was the watershed event that lead to his transformation. After a subsequent visit to Jerusalem, during which he was despised by the Jewish authorities, Paul returned to Tarsus where, it is speculated, he continued with his education. It was not until sometime later that Barnabas brought Paul to the city of Antioch where, for the first time, he served as a church leader.
Paul's own writings tell of his identity early on in his adult life not only as a Jew but as a pharisee who persecuted Christ followers and placed great importance on his religious zeal. This makes his subsequent conversion to Christianity ever more remarkable. As Stephen Barton points out in one of the early chapters, Paul's vision of Jesus lead him to his calling as an apostle of Christ to the gentiles. Paul thus counteracted the pharisitic tradition of the time by proclaiming that those who were not tied into Jewish law- the gentiles- could be justified through faith because of the, "redemptive death of Christ" (p.167). He recognized that in Jesus his own hope for the Messiah had been fulfilled and that the blessings of that hope should be available to all. In his own summary of Paul's life, Timothy Johnson outlines how he saw himself not only as an ambassador of God, suffering through pain and hardship as Jesus had, but also as an apostle laying down the foundations for the church. He was flogged and beaten by those who despised him. Indeed, much of his teaching would not have been done out in public but more likely in private houses where he could talk in safety, away from his enemies. Paul kept up the hope of his converts not only through his own visits but also through letters, gifts and prayers.
Bruce Longenecker's treatment of Paul's letter to the Galatian church brings to light the encouragement that he frequently offered to his followers through his writing. Perhaps the most outspoken of all his letters, that to the Galatians focused on counteracting the Jewish Christians whose insistence that gentiles maintain Jewish law he found unacceptable. The purpose of the gospel was of course to bring the good news of Christ into the lives of all regardless of their background. Paul's message was clear- reconciliation and justification with God did not come as a result of following the law but through a Christ-centered faith.
The establishment of the church in Corinth would have secured the power that the gospel needed to gain momentum. Corinth had after all become an important trading port between the southern Peloponese and the Greek mainland. Because of the materialistic focus of the Corinthian way of life, Paul's building of the church there could only have been seen as a great victory. But his letters to the Corinthians tell of formidable divisions between its members caused amongst other things by misunderstandings on the importance of sex within marriage, a lack of appreciation of the need to keep away from pagan ritual and a blurring of the differences between men and women. Brian Rosner has emphasized how critical was the need for the church to act corporately in all such matters so as to counter those who sought to adversely influence their teachings.
Paul clearly had a vision that broke the boundaries of his initial Jewish upbringing. Indeed, as Robert Jewett notes in his chapter on Romans, one of his primary purposes for writing to the Romans was to seek help for his plans to open a church in Spain- a plan that was never realized because of his trial and execution. Part of Paul's appeal involved breaking down barriers between the different sections of Roman society declaring that Christ had died that all may live. While the Roman culture tended to focus on social status, with many a Jew placing emphasis on their higher level of spiritual righteousness, Paul once again taught how mere obedience of the law was insufficient. Morna Hooker's own discussion in the book on Paul's letter to the Philippians likewise shows his steadfast focus on Christ even as close as he was to his death.
We are still not certain about the date of Paul's death although, as Paul Haacker indicates in his chronology of Paul's life, it is believed that he died in Rome in approximately 64 AD after being sent there by Festus to face trial in Caesar's court. In his chapter on the early church, Calvin Rotzeil concludes that while the teachings of Paul appear to have had little impact on several of the early church fathers after his death (neither Polycarp nor Ignatius referred to him extensively), others such as Tertullian and Iraeneus rescued his name from obscurity while fighting their war of words against the Gnostic adherent Marcion. Both Marcion and the later Gnostics such as Valentinus misinterpreted and misused Paul's writings, citing statements made by Paul to the flesh and blood as indicative of an earth totally set apart from their `alien god of the heavens'- a claim that was vehemently dismissed by Tertullian and Iraeneus.
The Cambridge Companion To St. Paul is an invaluable resource for those wishing to delve further into these and other aspects of Paul's letters. While a full understanding of the theological principles outlined in several of the chapters may not be possible for those without a formal grounding in Christian theology, the book nevertheless stands out both in its detail and its currency. It is therefore highly recommended for those wishing to read expert opinions on the man who fought for the universal accessibility of Christianity and gave millions across the world the opportunity to experience the power of a Christ-centered faith.
Reviews The Cambridge Companion Series is designed to provide a solid introduction to a particular topic for new readers and non-specialists. This particular volume provides such a service by acquainting the reader with the current issues being discussed in the area of Pauline Studies. The most appropriate audience for this text would seem to be college or seminary-level students being introduced to the life and letters of St. Paul for the first time. Edited by James D.G. Dunn, this book contains articles about St. Paul from some of the foremost Pauline scholars today.
Beyond simply providing commentary on specific Pauline epistles, this text offers articles which discuss topics of the life of St. Paul himself. The introduction, written by Dunn, provides key information so the beginning student will understand some of the debates in Pauline scholarship over the past two centuries. To this end Dunn briefly surveys F.C. Baur, the History of Religions School and the New Perspective.
After the introduction, the book is divided into four primary sections. The first section which is titled "Paul's life and work" includes the following contributions: "Paul's Life" (Klaus Haacker); "Paul as missionary and pastor" (Stephen C. Barton). This section is primarily designed to show the reader what historical information about the life of the Apostle can be gleaned from biblical texts.
The second section titled "Paul's letters" examines the Pauline epistles themselves with general commentary on the text. This section contains the following articles: "1 and 2 Thessalonians" (Margaret Mitchell); "Galatians" (Bruce Longenecker); "1 and 2 Corinthians" (Jerome Murphy-O'Connor); "Romans" (Robert Jewett); "Philippians" (Morna Hooker); "Colossians" (Loren T. Stuckenbruck); "Ephesians" (Andrew T. Lincoln); "The Pastoral Epistles" (Arland J. Hultgren).
One particular area of this section which will certainly be of interest to the reader just beginning to study the Pauline epistles is the portion which discusses whether or not the Pastoral Epistles were written pseudonymously (142-143). While Hultgren, in the end, concludes that these texts were written pseudonymously, the reader is provided with the arguments, in five clear and simple to understand points, which have caused the author to hold these views. The reader is thus able to see the data supporting both sides of the argument and is able to better understand the dilemma for which there will never be an absolute solution. Rather than simply casting the opposing side in a pejorative light, Hultgren clearly shows why such a belief can be held.
The third section titled "Paul's theology" includes the following contributions: "Paul's Jewish presuppositions" (Alan F. Segal); "Paul's Gospel" (Graham N. Stanton); "Paul's Christology" (L.W. Hurtado); "Paul's Ecclesiology" (Luke Timothy Johnson); "Paul's Ethics" (Brian Rosner). Since many readers of the New Testament are often puzzled by Paul's use of scripture, Segal's article will also likely be of interest to the beginning reader. In this article Segal discusses such topics as Paul's handling of scripture (e.g. Paul's use of midrash in Gal. 3:6-14) and what Paul's presuppositions may have been as a Pharisee (164-71).
The final section which is simply titled "St. Paul" includes the following articles: "Paul in the second century" (Calvin J. Roetzel); "Paul's enduring legacy" (Robert Morgan); "Contemporary perspectives on Paul" (Ben Witherington, III). Witheringon's article which discusses contemporary perspectives has several facets which will be helpful to the unfamiliar reader. One such area is that Witherington juxtaposes Alan Segal's views about Paul's Jewish-ness against opponents of such a view (257-58). The debate which he singles out is the degree to which Paul was a "good Jew" (257). Other sections of Witherington's article provide broad overviews of such topics as feminist and liberationist approaches to the Pauline Epistles as well as a discussion of understanding the corpus through the lens of rhetorical criticism.
Readers unfamiliar with the technical terminology used in biblical studies will greatly appreciate the glossary provided at the beginning of the text. While this text is certainly broad in focus it provides a solid foundation from which the reader is able to venture out into the larger world of Pauline studies. It seems this book would be helpful in an introductory course and would aptly serve as a supplement to a New Testament introduction text book.
Reviews This collection of essays is a fine collection, offering challenges to interpretations of Paul that have dominated Western Protestant Christendom since the Reformation. I only have one caveat to offer. Many seem to have as a particular, though implicit, target the so-called 'Lutheran Paul.' The previous reviewer writes, in a concise precis of this critique, 'Rather than preach a reductive "doctrine of justification", Paul emerges from his letters (via this book) as being someone who has a rather mystical understanding of the eucharist as union, sees salvation as pertaining to a particular community (not merely individuals), and preaches "justification" as being far more than a type of legal status: it is being brought into the family of God (via baptism) as a child of God, participating now in God's new work in the world.' There is only one problem - with a little nuance here and there, that is precisely the Lutheran understanding of Justification in its relation to the Incarnate Christ's Person and Work. In short, we would look at all that and say, yes, that's justification all right. So let this book enlighten you as to the many fresh readings of Paul that you can find out there, but realize that the putative target of many critical challenges is in fact a straw man. In fact, if you're not careful it just might make you a Lutheran.
Reviews I have never taken the time to study St. Paul; having read both the letters of Paul and the deutero-Pauline letters in the New Testament, this book comes as a welcome next step in understanding him. As those who have read him know, Paul is not always the easiest to follow, especially given his intricate weaving together of different styles of thought within his letters: Pharisaic/Rabbinic, Hellenistic, apocalyptic and early Christian.
This book covers what you would expect a "companion" to cover: Paul's life and context, historiographical issues, his letters and his purported letters (the "deutero-Pauline epistles": those letters in the New Testament that most scholars do not believe were written by Paul). However, several other essays whose topics might be unexpected - such as interpretations of Paul in the second century (the most enjoyable and fascinating essay in the book for this particular reader) - also find their way into the book.
While many simply see Paul as some sort of proto-Reformation-era de-/re-former (a la Luther), this book moves beyond these tired (and, it would seem at this point, largely incorrect) interpretations of Paul. Paul is not so easily reduced to a late-Medieval Roman Catholic reformer; he stands - however ambiguously and uncomfortably (for us no less than him!) - without such hermeneutical concealing. Rather than preach a reductive "doctrine of justification", Paul emerges from his letters (via this book) as being someone who has a rather mystical understanding of the eucharist as union, sees salvation as pertaining to a particular community (not merely individuals), and preaches "justification" as being far more than a type of legal status: it is being brought into the family of God (via baptism) as a child of God, participating now in God's new work in the world. The reduction of Paul to legal[-istic?] terminology fails to see him as a member of a community who preached to and from that community; it ignores the fundamentally relational element of Paul's thought.
This book is well worth the read. It is not difficult reading, but having read Paul first will greatly increase what you pull from this book. While it may be true that Paul has managed to upset just about everyone since the time of his writing, these essays are highly informative and helpful "for those with ears to hear". The Cambridge Companion to St. Paul engages and mediates him well.
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