Seminary Library Essentials: Pauline Chronology & Life

Last time I went over the various primary sources for Second Temple Judaism, and the benefits of each individual book. This time, I am offering a select bibliography of various writings that I have found to be valuable and worthy of your time. There are other elements of various aspects of this, such as volumes on Pauline theology as a whole, and individual commentaries. But, these works function to highlight the issues within the timing of events in Paul. 

Pauline Chronology & Life.

Pauline chronology is a highly disputed issue in New Testament studies, especially since this affects some significant aspects of Pauline theology (e.g., where does Ephesians or the Pastoral Epistles fit into the life of Paul?). Whether or not one thinks Paul wrote a specific epistle has some implication for Pauline theology. Douglas Campbell hints at this issue in his work.

And we’re off!

·      Douglas Campbell, Framing Paul. $26.

This is most recent work to delve into the intricacies of Paul’s life and the chronology of his epistles. Campbell’s work has been criticized and praised across the board within the scholarly realm, and I suspect it will be a few years until scholars have felt the full weight of his arguments. For instance, he argues that Paul wrote all of the epistles attributed to him except for the Pastoral Epistles.

Campbell also thinks the epistle to “Ephesians” is not the epistle to Ephesus, but is rather to Laodicea—a hypothesis that I think has some serious traction. All in all, Campbell leaves few stones unturned, and he has shown himself willing to accept few scholarly conventions at face value. Whether or not he is successful will be seen in the next few years.

·      Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, Paul: A Critical Life. $35.

Written in the mid-1990s, this was one of two books Allison allowed me to bring on our honeymoon to Hawaii. As I sat in a Romanesque bathhouse, I was struck by O’Connor’s work. I was new to the theology realm, and hadn’t been accepted to seminary yet, so all of this was new. Unlike Campbell, who tends to stay away from the historical backdrop of Paul’s world, O’Connor delves deeply into the Mediterranean realm in order to situate Paul in his own social context.

Like Campbell, O’Connor challenges several conventions, excluded Ephesians and the Pastoral Epistles as being Pauline. However, he argues passionately for Pauline authorship of Colossians and 2 Thessalonians, even suggesting that the Thessalonian correspondence contains several partition theories. All in all, a fascinating book that eschews theology in favor of historical placement.

·      F.F. Bruce, Paul: An Apostle of the Heart Set Free. $20.

Bruce’s book is considered a classic, though it is now outdated. It is long and a bit of a slog to get through, as opposed to Campbell and O’Connor, who write with verve and wit. Bruce’s book is similar to O’Connor in vision, focusing on the various Mediterranean elements, and even does a bit of theology, especially regarding anthropology. A critical-evangelical classic.

·      Anthony Thiselton, The Living Paul. $18.

Thiselton’s work is short, barely under 200 pages. In this little work, however, is a wealth of information. The introductory nature of this book is not hindered by Thiselton’s ability to capture major scholarly debates within a short span of pages. Thiselton covers issues of justification, resurrection, baptism, and even postmodernity. A wealth of information is in here, and it is well worth your time.

Total: $99. Woo hoo! Made it. I wish I could add more in here, but rest assured, I included these works beneath.

Recommended Works:

·      Richard Pervo, The Making of Paul. $29.

Pervo is a maximalist in the Pauline world. Paul only wrote 7 epistles and even then, there are many possible interpolations within these epistles. Pervo surveys the undisputed Pauline epistles, and spends much of the book showing the “making of Paul” throughout the first few hundred years. Tidbits include Matthew as an “anti-Paulinist,” the “Acts of Paul,” and the “gnostic” interpreters of Paul. As critical and liberal as one can get, but Pervo’s writing is witty, sly, and filled with subtle insights and wisecracks. For a “liberal” reading of Paul, this is simply my favorite.

·      David Horrell, An Introduction to the Study of Paul. $24.

Similar in format to Thiselton, but more structured and less theological. Horrell survey’s Paul’s life, his main debates (Judaism, for example), and the legacy of Paul within the New Testament (c.f. Ephesians and the rest of the Deutero-Pauline corpus). Horrell is critical but humble, allowing tensions to stand without dismissing them.

·      Jouette Bassler, Navigating Paul. $13.

Billed more as an “introduction to key theological concepts,” Bassler’s book was one of the first works on Paul to put a pebble in my shoe. She surveys several main issues in this work, including Paul and the Law, the mystical reality of Christ, the future of Israel and the Parousia.

·      Amy-Jill Levine, ed. A Feminist Companion to Paul. Used $14. Available Third-Party Sellers.

As someone who enjoys reading feminist criticism of Paul (who else, after all, inspires such responses?), this book is a treasure trove of insights. Another volume is A Feminist Companion to Deutero-Paul. While I rarely agree with these interrupters, I find myself challenged to further explore the depths of Paul’s impact on the Western world.

I hope this all helps!

In Christ,

NQ

Egalitarian Resources on 1 Corinthians 11

This text has vexed many interpreters, and it has designated some to regard it as an interpolation (William O. Walker is one such interpreter, I believe). That said, assuming its textual veracity seems more reasonable than not, so many commentators have sought to somehow resolve the many issues within this text. For me, this text simply was a morass of terrible reasoning on the part of Paul. 

Remember I was rather annoyed with Paul at this time for other reasons. 

What does kephale mean? How is it used here? 

How does this pericope jive with the rest of 1 Corinthians? 

What 'hangs down from the head?' 

In the words of Wayne Meeks, "The structure of Paul's argument in 11:3-16 is not one of his most lucid patterns of logic." (The Image of the Androgyne, 200, though he does acknowledge for an equality of sorts on 201). 

So, without further time on myself, I will offer several egalitarian resources that may help you with this really difficult text. I will say, on the whole, I think 'source' and 'preeminent' are both reasonable, though I favor 'source.'

As it must be said, Philip Payne's really detailed exegesis of this text has largely convinced me that 'source' is more probable. He examines every aspect of this sequence and offers a cogent and exegetically probable rendering of this text. You may consult his book Man and Woman, One in Christ. His reading is the only one that makes sense of the entire passage. If you want a condensed version, see his free Priscilla Paper's article.

Alan F. Johnson's article in the Ashland Theological Journal is helpful for one key reason: he surveys the major publications regarding 'kephale' and assesses them. He includes Grudem, Payne, Bedale and others. Its compact, insightful and he even offers his own thoughts in the end. You also have his popular commentary from IVP here; it is helpful, especially in his discussion of 1 Corinthians 11 and 15. He opts for 'preeminence' though he accepts 'source.'

Linda Belleville's book Women Leaders and the Church is deceptive. First, it is rather short and yet, it is packed with goodies. You should read the book. Second, her section on 1 Corinthians 11 is both short and sweet. She highlights major difficulties and places them within the overall trajectory of Scripture. Just get the book.  I believe she is undecided between 'preeminence' and 'source.' 

Morna Hooker's classic article on 1 Corinthians 11:10 is worth reading. Very intriguing. I cannot find the online article, so here is a google book.

Richard Cervin's first response to Grudem is worth reading for two reasons. One, he covers every example from a classical and linguistic perspective, thus bringing fresh insight. Two, he argues that 'kephale' means 'preeminence.' To be honest, he has made his case well. However, Grudem responded and Cervin did as well, though his article wasn't accepted. Having read Cervin's masterful (yet 'unpublished') second response, which is again exclusively directed at Grudem, I think 'preeminence' is a strong possibility, though I still think 'source' is better attested.

Gordon D. Fee's commentary on 1 Corinthians is not as in-depth as Payne on 1 Cor. 11:2-16, but he covers many of the major bases. His use of a chiastic structure is helpful. He accepts 'source' as the key translation of 11:3. See also his work in Discovering Biblical Equality ch 11. 

Other egalitarian commentaries include Anthony Thiselton, NIGNT commentary and his 1 Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical & Pastoral Commentary, David Garland's commentary, Ben Witherington's commentary, and F.F. Bruce's (dated) commentary.  

For several great websites, see again The Junia Project, Christians for Biblical Equality, Adam Omelianchuk, Margaret Mowczko and J.W. Wartick. Tell them I say hi.

Hope this helps a bit.

--Nick

Egalitarian Resources on 1 Timothy 2

The one nice thing you can say about the evangelical debate over women in ministry is that there is no shortage of material to read. Having read over a dozen books combined on both sides as well as dozens of journal articles, I figured it was time to put forth some resources that helped me sort out the tension within Scripture. While I would prefer to just dump everything here, I think I'd like to add a little more commentary to each section, so that is what will be happening.

1 Timothy 2:8-15 is the standard text that the debate begins with, at least in my experience. Call it a trump card text, or in the words of Gail Wallace, the "1 Timothy 2 Bomb;" a sadly apt appropriation of a term. That said, I'll post some articles and some books that have helped position this text within its historical-grammatical context. This post is by no means exhaustive, so if you have materials you want to add, just comment or tweet me.

Before we even step foot into this landmine field, start with Alan Padgett's "What is Biblical Equality?" If this is your first time reading, start there. If you are familiar with the gender debate, still start here.

First, of course, is Philip Payne's book Man and Woman, One in Christ. The book will appear in every single post because it is that good. However, the relevant pages are 291-444. What makes Payne's work so helpful is that it is a direct engagement with heirarchalist exegesis, and is incredibly detail oriented. He deals with every facet of the entire passage, including extensive word studies, and concludes that the passage doesn't exclude women from ministry.

If you want something less technical, yet historically aware, Allison Young's CBE post on 1 Timothy 2:11-15 is quite good. She draws only from Linda Belleville, but this is fine because Belleville is pretty awesome. For Belleville, you can find her work in the chapter “Teaching and Usurping Authority: I Timothy 2:11-15,” Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity without Hierarchy.

John Jefferson Davis' article "First Timothy 2:12, The Ordination of Women, and Creation Narratives" is helpful for at least two reasons. While Payne deals extensively with the creation accounts, Davis offers a more concise summary that is as helpful as Payne's is extensive. Second is that Davis teaches at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which is significant in that GCTS is a top school in evangelicalism and is egalitarian friendly(ish). So that's cool. He also deals briefly with the homosexuality charge that is often leveled at egalitarians.

Kate Bushnell is really good. You should read her. Like, now. Get on that.

For several great websites, see The Junia Project, Christians for Biblical Equality, Adam Omelianchuk, Margaret Mowczko and J.W. Wartick. I don't agree with necessarily everything, but they are committed Christians and very lucid thinkers.

There are several egalitarian commentaries that offer cogent explanations of the 1 Timothy 2 text. They include I. Howard Marshall , Gordon D. Fee and Philip Towner (technical and popular).

Enjoy. Keep reading.

--Nick