Paul does not write about Christianity, Churches, Jesus for 20 years?
Galatians [c. 53]
1 Corinthians [c. 53-54]
2 Corinthians [c. 55-56]
Philippians [c. 55]
Romans [c. 57]
Hebrews [c. 70-100]
And he still does not have adequate information about Jesus of the late 20s / early 30s.
The Oral Tradition of the disciples, the scribes and Pharisees, the public, Romans who “remembered” the crucifixion, the Roman who had faith that Jesus could heal his slave.
Galatians [c. 53]
1 Corinthians [c. 53-54]
2 Corinthians [c. 55-56]
Philippians [c. 55]
Romans [c. 57]
Hebrews [c. 70-100]
And he still does not have adequate information about Jesus of the late 20s / early 30s.
The Oral Tradition of the disciples, the scribes and Pharisees, the public, Romans who “remembered” the crucifixion, the Roman who had faith that Jesus could heal his slave.
= = =
Adding
1 Thessalonians [c. 50]
To Robert,
Based on what we “have,” not what might have been, Paul’s earliest is 1 Thessalonians, c. 50.
Besides, Paul does not significantly refer to earlier major writings. People can say Letter this and Letter that and that is a valid excuse for this, that, and the other, but no disciple, no Nicodemus, no one in Edessa, no Queen Helena, no Pilate, no one wowed by miracles, no Paul, no Greek-speaking anonymous person wrote about Jesus before c. 50.
Paul would probably only write letters after he had established a church and moved on to another area. You wouldn’t expect a lot of early letters therefore. According to our sources the master Greek tragedian Sophocles wrote 120 plays over the course of his career of which only 7 survive. I often wonder if the proportion of letters Paul wrote that are lost might match that.
It is entirely possible that some of the original Apostles (or as Paul deems them, in some anger “super apostles” in 2 Cor) wrote to those in the diaspora (the original apostles, being first and foremost Jews, would have looked for followers in the Synagogues in the Hellinistic world) , likely using scribes (it is unclear if any of Jesus’ original followers were literate), but those letters may not have survived as Paul’s version of Christianity came to dominate and replace most others (pockets survived, at least for some time).
Dating of the Paul’s letters is a tricky, almost illegitimate question from the historical point of view. Lack of verified evidences. Between Ludemann and Detering(rip) there is a lot of space for speculations.
Marcion canon is dated after 100 CE, and this is the first public introduction of the corpus of Paul’s letters. Together with proto-Luke, probably without first two chapters and Q material (?).
Marcion was great leader – successful businessman in the most technologically and logistically advanced field – shipbuilding and shipping. Then he started building churches and did so in an equally methodical way. Another success – a self-sufficient, profitable structure with trained staff, money and canon of books. Conquest of Rome. Short success and final defeat. The big game was over, but the congregation network did well for centuries. Hostile propaganda wan’t enough.
You have to change the canon to prove Marcion was wrong.
And new canon was developed
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
evgendob
Robert
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