Only had a half hour to give to reading tonight and gave it to begin chapter 28 of James Dunn's Beginning from Jerusalem, "Dates, Destinations and Distances." I managed 11 pages on Pauline chronology. Standard fare, although well articulated as everything Dunn writes is.
This line in a footnote caught my eye: "As Murphy-O'Connor observes, the fourteen years [of Gal. 2:1 before Paul's second trip to Jerusalem] could not include the three years [Paul mentions in Gal. 1 between conversion and first trip to Jerusalem], since the clear implication is of fourteen years without contact with Jerusalem..."
If so, the early date for Galatians would pretty much die, the pre-Jerusalem council dating, and the majority position of evangelical biblical scholars.
I'll hope to finish the chapter tomorrow.
Showing posts with label mastering Paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mastering Paul. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Book Review: An Introduction to the Study of Paul
I'm about done with David Horrell's An Introduction to the Study of Paul, second edition. It is a great book! Mark Goodacre, of Duke University, has a blurb on the front where he boldly asserts, "Put your other books on Paul to one side and begin here." Although Stephen Westerholm found this comment a bit much, I will agree that I have not found a better survey of Pauline studies yet.
I have generally used Tom Wright's What Saint Paul Really Said as my survey of Paul book and may still do so. But this book is a God-send for graduate students and serious students of Paul. It is almost the book I wanted to write a couple years back. Practically all the issues that are under debate in the field of Pauline studies are somewhere in this book. In a skilled hand it could save you years of groping around in the dark.
The second chapter covers the relationship between Acts and Paul and discusses the pre-believer Paul, including pre-Pauline formulae. The third chapter discusses his "conversion," or should we say his "call," as well as issues in Pauline chronology.
With the fourth chapter we are discussing Paul the letter writer and rhetorical criticism of his writings. Chapter 5 is a rather lengthy treatment covering Paul's theology: his theology, Christology, pneumatology, eschatology, ethics, and so forth. I would have tried to find a way to break this Behemoth up, but a skilled hand would be able to cover all the relevant issues by way of this chapter.
Chapter 6 deals specifically with Paul, the Law, and Israel. It's a difficult topic to survey, but all the key players are mentioned. Chapter 7 seems a bit oddly placed to me, but it deals with important matters of a sociological nature in the study of Paul, the character of his churches, etc... Chapter 8 then deals with the authorship of the disputed Paulines.
Hurray for this 164 page book. It was incredibly good for me and, especially if one has a guide, would be incredibly useful for a class intending to help a person survey the entire land of Pauline studies.
Congrats to David Horrell on this excellent book!
I have generally used Tom Wright's What Saint Paul Really Said as my survey of Paul book and may still do so. But this book is a God-send for graduate students and serious students of Paul. It is almost the book I wanted to write a couple years back. Practically all the issues that are under debate in the field of Pauline studies are somewhere in this book. In a skilled hand it could save you years of groping around in the dark.
The second chapter covers the relationship between Acts and Paul and discusses the pre-believer Paul, including pre-Pauline formulae. The third chapter discusses his "conversion," or should we say his "call," as well as issues in Pauline chronology.
With the fourth chapter we are discussing Paul the letter writer and rhetorical criticism of his writings. Chapter 5 is a rather lengthy treatment covering Paul's theology: his theology, Christology, pneumatology, eschatology, ethics, and so forth. I would have tried to find a way to break this Behemoth up, but a skilled hand would be able to cover all the relevant issues by way of this chapter.
Chapter 6 deals specifically with Paul, the Law, and Israel. It's a difficult topic to survey, but all the key players are mentioned. Chapter 7 seems a bit oddly placed to me, but it deals with important matters of a sociological nature in the study of Paul, the character of his churches, etc... Chapter 8 then deals with the authorship of the disputed Paulines.
Hurray for this 164 page book. It was incredibly good for me and, especially if one has a guide, would be incredibly useful for a class intending to help a person survey the entire land of Pauline studies.
Congrats to David Horrell on this excellent book!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
