Sorting by

×

Paul and His Letters

An Imagined Dialogue for the Dispute Between Paul & Barnabas in Acts Part 2 by Angus Nisbet

Here Angus Nisbet continues his discussion of Paul and Barnabas and the dispute they had, where he gets into more fascinating issues, involving what might lie behind the dispute and how non-canonical writings that did not make it into the NT might help us figure it out.  There are some controversial views here.  What do you think? Remember: you as a Platinum member not only get access to all Platinum posts written by other Platinums, but you also can write some yourself!  You don't have to be thoroughly well-versed in the field to write one!  Do you have any thoughts or ideas or curiosities you would like others to see and respond to?  Send us a post!! ******************************* In this second post on the imagined dialogue between Paul and Barnabas for their dispute mentioned in Acts 15: 37-40, I begin the first of 3 sections of the dispute dialogue, in which of Paul’s responses to Barnabas make use of Paul’s actual writings from his New Testament letters.  In this first section of the imagined dialogue, [...]

2024-10-27T19:37:06-04:00November 1st, 2024|Acts of the Apostles, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

A Particular Problem with a Crucified Messiah

In my previous post I started to show that most Jews rejected Christian claims about Jesus because Jesus was just the *opposite* of what the messiah was expected to be.  The messiah was to be a figure of grandeur and power who would overthrow God’s enemies and set up a new kingdom on earth in which God’s will would prevail.  Jesus was and did none of that.  He was a lower-class peasant who was arrested, humiliated, tortured, and executed.  He didn’t destroy God’s enemies.  He was crushed by them. Paul is the first Jewish persecutor of the Christians that we know by name; there is really no doubt that he was bent on wiping out the followers of Jesus – since he himself says so (and says so to his own shame [Gal 1:13); he did not gain any glory for this rather despicable past--despicable in both his eyes and the eyes of the Christians).  Presumably his reasons for hating and opposing the followers of Jesus were comparable to those of other Jewish persecutors. But [...]

2024-10-25T11:09:19-04:00October 31st, 2024|Paul and His Letters|

Paul and the Crucified Messiah in 1 Corinthians

Historians usually have reasons for what they say; that is, when they make a historical claim, it is almost always based on a close reading of the surviving sources.  When it’s not, they’re just blowin’ smoke.  But if they’re reputable scholars AND are blowin’ smoke – that is, taking a guess –they’ll usually tell you.  I suppose that’s one difference between an expert (in any field) and an amateur: the expert actually has a deep and nuanced reading of the sources that informs his/her views. I have to say, as you probably have noticed in your own areas of expertise, it is pretty easy if you are an expert to know who else is an expert and who is not.  I say that as someone who is an expert in one or two areas, but an amateur in thousands.  When I have an interpretation of Hamlet or Lear that I bounce off my wife – who really is a recognized expert on Shakespeare – I realize that, for the most part, I’m just taking a [...]

2024-10-25T11:14:07-04:00October 30th, 2024|Paul and His Letters|

An Imagined Dialogue for the Dispute Between Paul & Barnabas in Acts Part I by Angus Nisbet

Here is the first of a four-post thread for Platinum members by long-standing Platinum member Angus Nisbet.  It is a terrifically imaginative discussion of Paul and Barnabas (focused on the book of Acts) that touches on a wide range of issues that we deal with a lot on the blog -- Paul's conflict with other apostles such as James; the views of Christ and salvation dominant among the earliest Jewish followers of Jesus; early Christian Gnosticism; the reliability of the book of Acts; and ... more!  Angus will be interested in your feedback, and so will I! Remember: you as a Platinum member not only get access to all Platinum posts written by other Platinums, but you also can write some yourself!  You don't have to be thoroughly well-versed in the field to write one!  Do you have any thoughts or ideas or curiosities you would like others to see and respond to?  Send us a post!! ****************************** This first post is an introduction to a series of 3 further posts, in which I have [...]

2024-10-30T10:13:05-04:00October 28th, 2024|Acts of the Apostles, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

Paul and the Anachronistic Origins of Early Christianity – Part 2 by Dr. Robyn Faith Walsh

Here is the second post by Robyn Faith Walsh, challenging what the majority of scholars think and teach about the relationship of Paul and the Gospels, and the implications for early Christianity.  Again, this is related to her book, which you can find here: The Origins of Early Christian Literature. ****************************** Paul makes sense as a “source” for the gospel writers for several reasons. The first relates to literary practices and social context: given what we know about the processes of ancient authors, it is likely that the gospel writers would have sought out any available material about the Christ movement as they created their works. And the only available writings that we know existed before the gospels are Paul’s letters; that some of these letters even survive to the degree that we have them suggests they were circulated and/or known in some measure. Yet, as discussed in Part 1, it is exceptionally rare to find studies that link Paul directly with the gospels, even if this makes good chronological sense. Paul [...]

2024-09-16T12:35:38-04:00September 22nd, 2024|Canonical Gospels, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

Paul and the Anachronistic Origins of Early Christianity – Part 1 by Dr. Robyn Faith Walsh

I am happy to publish two guest posts by Robyn Faith Walsh, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Miami, based on her book The Origins of Christian History. She stakes out some controversial claims here about the Gospels, contrary to what you often hear.  What do you think? ****************************** Studies on the so-called origins and development of the Jesus Movement largely focus on the figure of Jesus, his teachings, and biography. This is evident in courses and textbooks that begin with the narratives of the canonical gospels. It is also evident in scholarship that seeks out evidence for the historical Jesus, Jesus’ earliest followers, and/or early Christian “oral traditions” (such as Q). In each case, Jesus is presumed to be the starting point for Christian history. Such approaches, whether consciously or not, mirror the strategic aim of the New Testament canon—namely, to establish Jesus as the religion’s founder via a compilation of late first century biographies (bioi).   These approaches persist despite knowing that the gospels are not [...]

2024-09-16T12:35:17-04:00September 21st, 2024|Canonical Gospels, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

The Quest for the Historical Paul: Sorting Through Our Sources (Part 2) by Dr. James Tabor

Here we have Part 2 of James Tabor's explanation of how and what we can know about the life and letters of Paul, in anticipation of the upcoming conference, designed for folks like you, non-scholars interested in what lifelong experts in the study of the New Testament say about it.  James will be one of the ten presenters at the conference.  If you haven't already, check it out:  New Insights into the New Testament 2024. ****************************** The book of Acts provides the following independent biographical information not found in the seven genuine letters: Paul’s Hebrew name was Saul and he was born in Tarsus, a city in the Roman province of Cilicia, in southern Asia Minor or present-day Turkey (Acts 9:11, 30; 11:25; 21:39; 22:3) He came from a family of Pharisees and was educated in Jerusalem under the most famous Rabbi of the time, Gamaliel.  He also had a sister and a nephew that lived in Jerusalem in the 60s A.D. (Acts 22:3; 23:16) He was born a Roman citizen, which means his father [...]

2024-09-05T10:55:24-04:00September 8th, 2024|Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

The Quest for the Historical Paul: Sorting Through Our Sources (Part 1). Guest Post by James Tabor

As you know, I hope, I will be sponsoring an upcoming conference for non-scholars, on the Apostle Paul soon, Sept. 21-22 (see https://www.bartehrman.com/new-insights-into-the-new-testament-conference-2024 ).  We will have ten high-level Pauline scholars each give a 50-minute lecture with Q&A, dealing with various issues connected with Pauline studies.   This is gonna be a good'un. In preparation for it, I've asked James Tabor, one of the ten presenters at the conference, to give us a couple of preliminary posts here on the blog, dealing with some of the fundamental issues that scholars deal with, all centered on "how can we know" about what Paul really said and did?  Turns out, it's not simple. ****************************** What can we reliably know about Paul and how can we know it?  As is the case with Jesus this is not an easy question. Historians have been involved in what has been called the “Quest for the Historical Jesus” for the past one hundred and seventy-five years, evaluating and sifting through our sources, trying to determine what we can reliably say about him.[1] As [...]

2024-09-05T10:53:26-04:00September 7th, 2024|Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

New Insights into the New Testament 2024: A Conference you DON’T Want to Miss!!

In case you haven't heard, there is a very excieting event coming up that surely *anyone* connected to the blog will be deeply interested in: a two-day remote Bible conference for non-scholars, called “New Insights into the New Testament,” consisting of ten lectures (each with a live Q&A), on the Life and Letters of Paul, delivered by some of the most highly qualified New Testament scholars in the known universe, in terms accessible to layfolk.  It will be Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22; anyone who comes will get the conference as a recording for life-time use; anyone who wants the recording and can't come can do that too!  We are nothing if not flexible. This will be our second annual New Insights Conference.  We had well over 2000 come to the inaugural event last year, and heading into it we weren't sure how it would be received.  Oh boy was it received well.  The presentations were crisp, clear, and informative, by world-renowned scholars, all of whom know how to communicate serious advances in scholarship in [...]

2024-09-01T17:15:59-04:00September 2nd, 2024|Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

Does Paul Have Contradictory Views of the Law, Love, and Salvation?

In my post yesterday I began talking about Paul's understanding of salvation coming to gentiles without having to keep the Jewish law.  Now I get to the real problem.  Doesn't Paul contradict his own views of the need to keep the law when he talks about the importance of love?  Here's a fairly rough draft of my current thoughts on the matter. ****************************** The animosity between Paul and his missionary opponents was mutual.  His letter responds to their claim that he was a false or ignorant teacher who had willfully and wrongly altered the teachings of Jesus and his original apostles.  The also apparently claimed that Paul’s teaching that “justification” (that is, being right with God) came “apart from the Law,” showed he was proclaiming a “lawless gospel,” encouraging people to live in lawless ways.  The implications were not hard to discern: Paul’s opponents claimed his view sanctioned immoral behavior:  it did not much matter how people lived, so long as they believed in Jesus. Paul countered this claim with equal vehemence, [...]

2024-07-26T11:10:20-04:00August 1st, 2024|Paul and His Letters|

Salvation, Love, and the Jewish Law in Paul. Are His Views Internally Coherent?

In my book on Christian ethics I'll naturally be dealing with the views of Paul, which are more complicated that one might suspect.  One of the things I'll try to be showing is that his teachings on Christian "love" in some places seems to stand at odds with his teachings on salvation.  I've drafted up this bit of the discussion, but it will take two posts to lay it out.  Here's the first. One can hardly talk about early Christian views of love without discussing at length the views of the apostle Paul.  Whereas most readers consider Paul’s emphasis on love completely understandable, a close reading of his writings reveals some aspects of his views that are theologically puzzling or even internally incoherent.  Throughout his writings, and especially in his letters to the Galatians and the Romans, Paul deals with a pressing issue that occupied a good deal of his attention; even though most Christians have never given it a passing thought:  How could the salvation provided by the Jewish God by [...]

2024-07-26T11:10:54-04:00July 31st, 2024|Paul and His Letters|

Serious Hypothetical (And Realistically Possible) Problems With Copies of Paul’s Letters

In trying to figure out what it even means to talk about the “original” text of Philippians (was it what Paul meant to dictate?  Was it what he did dictate, if it was different from what he intended? Was it what the scribe wrote even if it was different from what Paul dictated?  Was it what Paul corrected after he saw what the scribe incorrectly wrote?  Was it the fresh copy that the scribe made even if it was different from the corrected version Paul gave him?  What happens if in fact Philippians is two letters that have been spliced together by a later editor, as many scholars believe, rather than just one letter – is the “original” the two different letters originally sent or the spliced together version that Paul did not create but someone else did?  Etc. etc.), in trying to figure all this out, several readers have suggested that the easiest way to look at it is that the “original” of Philippians is the letter Paul sent to Philippi, whatever [...]

2024-06-04T10:35:27-04:00June 9th, 2024|New Testament Manuscripts, Paul and His Letters|

Even More Snarly Problems If Paul Dictated His Letters

I have been talking about the problems in knowing what the “original” text of Philippians is.  Even with the following brief review, the comments I will be making in this post will, frankly, probably not make much sense if you do not refresh your memory from my previous two posts.   Here I will be picking up where I left off there. We have seen that knowing what the original of Philippians is complicated by the facts that: 1) The letter appears originally to have been two letters, so that it’s hard to know whether the original of each separate letter is to be the original or if the final edited version, which Paul himself did not produce, is the original; 2) Paul dictated his letters, and the scribe who wrote down his dictation would typically have made a fresh copy of the letter after Paul had made a few corrections – so which is the original: what the scribe originally wrote or the fresh copy he made after the corrections?  3) And [...]

2024-06-04T10:30:04-04:00June 8th, 2024|New Testament Manuscripts, Paul and His Letters|

If Paul Dictated His Letters, How Can We Know What He Said?

I have been asked to comment on whether we can get back to the “original” text of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and I have begun to discuss the problems not just of getting *back* to the original, but also of knowing even what the original *was*.   In my previous post I pointed out the problems posed by the fact that Philippians appears to be two letters later spliced together into one.  And so the first problem is this: is the “original” copy the spliced together copy that Paul himself did not create?  Or is the “original” the product that Paul himself produced – the two letters that are not transmitted to us in manuscript form any longer, to which, therefore, we have no access (except through the version edited by someone else)? But there are more problems.   Here I’ll detail them, in sequence as they occur to me. In what I am going to be saying now, I will simplify things by assuming that – contrary to what I’ve been arguing [...]

2024-06-04T10:25:06-04:00June 6th, 2024|New Testament Manuscripts, Paul and His Letters|

Is There Even Such a Thing as the “Original” Text of Philippians?

  What would it even *mean* to say that we have an "original" letter of Paul to the Philippians? In my previous two posts I began answering a series of questions asked by a reader about how we got Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  In my previous post I explained why some critical scholars maintain that the letter was originally two separate letters that have been spliced together.  That obviously makes the next question the reader asked a bit more complicated than one might otherwise imagine.  And it’s not the only complication.   Here is the reader’s next question: QUESTION:  Do you agree that the first copy of the letter written by Paul to the Philippians was also an original?  RESPONSE:  First off, my initial reaction that I gave a couple of posts ago still holds.  I’m not exactly sure what the reader is asking.  If he’s asking whether a copy of the original letter to Philippians is itself an original of Philippians, then the answer is no.  It is not the original.  It is a [...]

Is Paul’s Letter to the Philippians Actually Two Letters Cut and Spliced Together?

Could Paul's moving and powerful letter to the Philippians actually be *two* letters that were later cut and spliced together? In my previous post I answered, in short order, a series of questions that a reader had about the “original” text of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  I will now take several posts in order to address some of the questions at greater length.  Here was the first one:   QUESTION:  Would you agree that the letter written to the Philippians was an original writing of Paul? The short answer is Yes – it is one of the undisputed Pauline letters.  The longer answer is, well, complicated.  Scholars have long adduced reasons for thinking that this letter of Paul was originally *two* letters (or parts of two letters) that were later spliced together into the one letter we have today.  I explain the reasons for thinking so in my textbook, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings.  Here is what I say there.  (If you want to follow the argument particularly [...]

2024-06-05T15:54:36-04:00June 4th, 2024|Paul and His Letters, Reader’s Questions|

Did Paul Have a Brain Disorder?  (And did it help him?!)  Platinum post by Douglas Wadeson MD

Have you been waiting for a controversial Platinum post?  Wait no longer.  Here is another intriguing contribution by Doug Wadeson, who applies his medical expertise to a historical question about the Apostle Paul.  What do you think? REMEMBER: If you are a Platinum member you too can send in a guest post on a topic of interest -- whatever you like connected with the Blog?  Wanna put an idea out there?  Go for it!! *********************           The apostle Paul is the most influential figure in Christianity after Jesus, and some would even argue that because Paul was so effective in fleshing out Christian doctrine about Jesus and then spreading it into the pagan world that he was even more influential than Jesus himself.  But is it possible that Paul had a brain disorder which actually facilitated his singular position in the history of Christianity?  Let’s look at certain aspects of Paul’s life. Paul did a lot of writing, particularly to friends and churches, so that we have a number of his letters preserved for us.  [...]

2024-05-29T11:10:04-04:00June 3rd, 2024|Paul and His Letters|

Do We Have the Original Text of Philippians?

  I have been discussing whether we have the "original" text of Paul's letters, and have argued that 2 Corinthians in fact is probably two and maybe (my view) as many as five letters spliced together.  It's not the only letter of Paul's that we may not have an "original" version of (assuming that the earlier letters that were cut and then spliced together are more original).  We have a similar problem with Philippians, long my favorite Pauline letter -- so much my favorite as a young person that I memorized it at age 18!  But since then I have seen there are some problems that it presents.  I addressed these long ago on the blog in response to a question. The question, as you'll see, is simply about whether Philippians was original to Paul.  But it got me off on to a range of issues all closely related, over a series of posts.  Here's the first, with the question. QUESTION(S):  Would you agree that the letter written to the Philippians was an original writing [...]

Is Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians Actually FIVE Letters?

In my previous post I tried to show why most critical scholars think that the letter of 2 Corinthians is actually two different letters that have been spliced together.   When I was back in graduate school, I learned – to my surprise – that there were scholars who thought that in fact 2 Corinthians was made up of five different letters, all spliced together.  At first that struck me as a bit crazy, but as I looked at the evidence I began to see that it made a good bit of sense. I’m not completely committed to that idea, but I’m inclined toward it.  My sense is that this is the view of a sizeable minority of critical scholars, but I have no data, only anecdotal evidence, to back that up. In any case, what matters more is what you yourself might think of it.  I won’t be giving the evidence in full, but here is how I lay it out for students to consider in my textbook on the New Testament for undergraduates.  To [...]

2024-05-16T11:41:41-04:00May 26th, 2024|Paul and His Letters|

Is Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians Actually TWO Letters?

How many of the early Christian writings consist of scissors-and-paste jobs, where later editors cut up earlier writings and stitched them together into one continuous work, so that what we have now are not the originals but only the final edited version?  Are there books like that, for example, in the New Testament?  In my last two posts I discussed how the early Christian writing called the Didache is that kind of thing, with three documents artificially combined into the 16-chapter book we now have. And what about in the New Testament? The first thing to stress is that the cut-and-paste approach to “editing” a book is not quite the same as what we find more commonly, for example among the Gospels.  When Matthew “used” the Gospel of Mark, he took over many of its stories; in some instances he rearranged their order, changed their wording, added material to what he found, took away material, and so on.  That’s not what we’re talking about now.  Now we’re talking about an author literally cutting up a [...]

2024-05-16T10:18:30-04:00May 25th, 2024|Paul and His Letters|
Go to Top