Approaching the Study of Paul and his Legacy (RelSt 436) Threads and Perspectives: 1. Direct-Inductive, based on the preserved writings Assumes that we have actual writings of Paul and that we can determine which are authentic and can make some sense of them in their world(s) 2. Ancient Traditions & Understandings, based on ancient secondary materials of various sorts Evaluation of the canonical book of Acts and of the "apocryphal" Acts of Paul (and of Peter) as well as other ancient claims about Paul, by friend and foe alike 3. Modern Reconstructions (including films) Syntheses and selections drawn from the data, and imaginative constructions and deconstructions; problems of trying to determine focus and fill in gaps Requirements, Objectives and Expectations: 1. To read all the writings attributed to Paul 2. To read all the ancient narratives about Paul 3. To understand Paul's Jewish eschatological perspective 4. To prepare a research paper on some aspect of the study of Paul and his legacy, with focus on the ancient materials 5. To review modern approaches to and interpretations of Paul, including an in-depth analysis of one recent publication 6. To contribute to the recording of class discussions and to be responsive to items on the electronic class list 7. To review the total academic experience in a final essay or oral discussion that focuses on the course materials. Guidelines and Deadlines: Report on approved modern study of Paul by spring break via an internet (class list) posting; some of these reports may also be discussed in class, as appropriate and/or relevant Approval of research paper topic and a brief prospectus for posting to the class list by the first class after spring break (see the separate list of topics) Submission of research papers by final class period Overview review (written or oral) by end of exam period Some Questions to Ponder: Why did Paul persecute early followers of Jesus? (What can we learn about Judaism, and about "Christians" in their Jewish framework, from this situation? Was Paul attacking Greek speaking grouups/persons? Did he base his arguments on Jewish scriptures, and if so, which?) What message did Paul preach/present to gentiles? (How much did he presuppose about his gentile audiences' knowledge of Judaism and of Jewish scriptures? How did he see the role of Jesus in relationship to the gentiles? Did he expect the gentile audience to understand his eschatological orientation?) Why did Paul meet opposition from some other early "Christians"? (To what extent did such opponents misunderstand his core message about the significance of the "end times"? What were they preaching/teaching about Jesus that Paul found so objectionable that he could describe it as "another Jesus"?) Why was Paul's message (and person?) so appealing to some early Christian "dualists/gnostics"? (To what extent did they understand or care about Paul's Jewish eschatological perspective? What sort of strategies did they use to explain potentially embarassing passages in Paul? Would Paul have been at all sympathetic to their use of him?) In what ways did Paul and his message become adjusted to other materials as early Christianity included him in its developing canon of writings and of conceptual/theological ideals? (What factors would have been involved in the process of "rescuing" or perhaps "preserving" Paul for emerging mainstream Christianity? How did such factors as "Jew/gentile" and "monotheist/gnostic" play in these developments? What about the status of "apostle"? Of "inspired/authoritative messenger"?) --- Thu, 14 Jan 1999 21:35:23 -0500 Subject: Assignments, Books To: RELS436-401-99A@LISTS.UPENN.EDU For those of you who prefer more structued guidance in the Paul course, here is my recommendation for the next three weeks. I hope that by early February, those without much background will have gained enough to feel less frustrated by the range of relevant materials discussed and the movement back and forth between the sources. The books that I've ordered, and the various categories, are appended to this note. Everyone should read through the Ziesler book (or an equivalent introductory treatment) by the end of January, the sooner the better! If you feel that you need even more basic backgrounding in the period from which the earliest "Christian" literature comes, I've asked the bookstore to have on hand a few copies of Bart Ehrman's The NT: An Historical Introduction -- the book I use as a basic text in the Christian Origins course. Even a quick skim through this book should be rewarding. In conjunction with the basic survey of Paul's life and ministry (Ziesler, or Murphy-O'Connor, or a similar synthesis), everyone should also read the NT/canonical Acts of the Apostles (with focus on the Paul sections) as soon as possible. We will deal more with the extra-canonical Acts materials later in the course. For the primary Pauline materials, everyone should read Galatians for next week, and after that Romans and 1-2 Corinthians (group 1). Most of the other Pauline letters are relatively brief, and should be read through for quick impressions by the end of the month as well (suggested order of reading: groups 2-3, group 4; we will save the rest for later). What else? I'll update the book list on the class home page, and if there is time, add some examples of reviews done in previous classes. Although we won't spend too much time in the next three weeks with the Witherington book, it may be a useful guide to modern works that you might consider reviewing in February, for that assignment) The bottom line is that I'm looking to achieve a firm general base of knowledge by the first class in February, when we will move especially into the modern studies focus (Witherington) along with regular primary reading in the group one texts each week (for key passages, see the chart, at the base of the columns). In the latter part of the course, we will also work closely with the Fitzmyer book, and with Paul's impact on ancient readers. Please let me know if this is not sufficiently clear, or if I've failed to address your concerns! RAK --- Book List (ordered in Bookstore) Spring term 1999 Religious Studies 436 (Paul) Instructor Robert Kraft Phone 898-5827 email kraft@ccat.sas Required: Ziesler, John. Pauline Christianity (Oxford 1983; 1990\2 [1991]) Fitzmyer, Joseph A. Paul and His Theology: A Brief Sketch (Prentice-Hall 1989\2) Witherington, Ben III. The Paul Quest: the Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus (InterVarsity 1998) Recommended/Optional (perhaps 10 copies each): Segal, Alan. Paul the Convert: The Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee (Yale 1990) Boyarin, Daniel. A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity (UCal/Berkeley 1994) Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome. Paul: a Critical Life (Oxford 1996) Hawthorne, Gerald F. et al. (eds). Dictionary of Paul and his Letters (InterVarsity 1993) Also Please Have a few copies on Hand (general use): Ehrman, Bart The New Testament: A Historical Intro (Oxford pb 1996) 0-19-508481-0 Ehrman, Bart The New Testament ...: A Reader (Oxford pb 1998) 0-19-511192-3 Metzger, Bruce New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha (Oxford 1991) 0-19-528366-x -- Robert A. Kraft, Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania 227 Logan Hall (Philadelphia PA 19104-6304); tel. 215 898-5827 kraft@ccat.sas.upenn.edu http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html //end//