Letters of St Paul
Response to email Silva Redigonda
Dear
Thank you for contacting me. Yes, I know your dad and he talks a lot about you. I am more than happy to help you with your history subject. You have picked a very interesting and challenging project. You have also raised some good questions. So this email in response to your questions will almost be like a letter and almost like a paper you would submit. Ok? You may open the attachment to this email. I have listed references for you at the bottom of specific pages. You may also include me as your source so that you will not be accused of plagiarism. They get very serious about that once you get into university. If there is anything you do not understand please let me know.
Attachment
St Paul as you already know was an apostle. There are so many opinions about St Paul and as you read more about him you will also form your own opinions. As you continue to study St Paul and I hope you do, your understanding will grow and your opinions may change. You have already begun. It is best to try to understand that the period of that time was so different than now. People spoke differently than they do now, education was limited, there was no internet, cell phones, cars and etc…Try to imagine a world where nothing that you have now in technology existed? I know that is difficult. One thing to remember is that Acts and the epistles is more than history, it is also theology. It is about God. We don’t necessarily have all of Acts and all of the Letters of St Paul. There may in the future be more discoveries of old scribes that will be found and that will fill in some blanks that may be missing. So, read everything carefully and remember that when you read a letter of St Paul’s that it may be a continuation of another letter or it may be incomplete. More may be found one day, and according to how old it is and how legitimate, it may change how we study St Paul, it may increase our knowledge of that time or it may fill in some gaps. This applies to everything in some way does it not? Things always change when something new is discovered and it changes our way of thinking or it makes more sense of something. Also keep in mind when you are reading, that early Christians thought Jesus would be returning to them soon. An Introduction To The New Testament refers to this and the text is an excellent reference for you.[1] You wonder if Acts made things up. You are not alone in that thinking. Let’s examine “historical liberties”. When writing history some things are made up. It is made up as how it should have happened. Speeches are typically invented and Acts are speeches. Often the speech that is written is better than the original.[2] But, Acts is an authentic document locating the Christian movement. It also provides a “smooth transition from the usual authorities of Judaism to the new authorities of the new community."[3] Luke in Acts has an opportunity to preach his own way of interpreting salvation history and not solely recording what others say (de Silva, p 380). The sermons in Acts are addressed to the Jews and are based heavily on “proofs from Old Testament prophecy being fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.” (de Silva, p 381) Acts offers a theological interpretation of Paul spreading Christianity “”to the end of the earth”” “(Acts 1:8).” (Brown, pp 422 - 423) There is also too much known about Paul that is true in Acts to dismiss it completely (Brown, p 423). There is information about Paul in Acts that is never found in St Paul’s Letters. For example, Paul never reveals where he is born but Acts refers to Paul who was a citizen of Tarus (Brown, p 423). It is also important that half of Acts is about St Paul’s spread of Christianity (Brown, p 452). Both Acts and Letters provide a sense of the struggles St Paul faced and the hostility he encountered. Paul did not have the position to automatically have a place to preach (Brown, p 448). Acts and The letters of St Paul both “demonstrate God’s faithfulness to Israel and both point to the Jewish Christian mission and remnant as evidence (see Rom 9-11).” (de Silva, p 380) Acts and the Letters of St Paul both refer to the “pouring out of the Holy Spirit as the “”promise of God”” (Acts 2:38-9); Gal 3:14). Both also indicate that the conversion of Gentiles is turning away from idols “”to a living God”” (Acts 14:15; 1 Thess 1:9-10). Both Acts and Paul also stress that “God provides deliverance to Jews and Gentiles” the same way by “”the favour of the Lord Jesus”” (Acts 15:11; Gal 2:15-16). In the latter, in Acts Peter voices this (de Silva, p 380). But, there are contradictions and this cannot be ignored. An example would be the three accounts of Paul’s conversion. Paul never speaks of a conversion, but of a calling or commission. After a period of Paul persecuting, according to Gal 1:13-7 and Acts 9:1-9, Paul receives a divine revelation where he encounters Jesus and then stays in Damascus. In 1 Cor 9:1 and 15:8, Paul reports that he actually saw Jesus. None of the three accounts of the experience in Acts does Paul actually see Jesus. Paul though does see a light (Brown, p 427). Here you can examine Paul’s letter as a primary source. St Paul does see Jesus. The secondary source being that Paul is seeing a light. Using Paul as your first source (primary source) and Acts as your secondary source is one way to guide you with your project (Brown, p 422).|
Letters provide you with direct information about a situation being addressed (de Silva, p 354). Letters could have been written by the writer or by someone else for him and were intended to be read aloud to persuade (Brown, 411). Paul often writes to encourage people he is converting by praising their faith and their participation (Brown, p 412). Letters have a certain format. It has an opening, consisting of the writer as mentioned. It also has an addressee, which is usually a community in the New Testament. There is a body which introduces the reason for the letter. It could be a petition or a request. The ending is usually a wish of good health and farewell (Brown, pp 415-418). To help you understand the letters of St Paul, take a look at the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Salutation 1-7.[4] You may use any bible you like. The heading is a salutation, a greeting. Paul is identifying himself as a servant [slave] of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle. Paul is providing a source of his authority, that being God. St Paul is directing this letter to “all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints.” In the body, Paul is evangelizing “to bring about faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name [Jesus Christ].
St Paul ends the letter with “Grace to you and peace from God…” Grace was a common closing. This means gifts; undeserved benefits.[5]
Luke’s objective is to legitimize the Christian movement and the accurate form it takes as a predominant Gentile movement. Luke in the first seven chapter of Acts demonstrates how the official spokespeople (temple priests and the Sanhedrin) no longer speak for the one God, because it is now Jesus’ apostles who have that role. Luke tries to demonstrate that the Christian movement is a development within Judaism and a legitimate continuation, and not a danger to Roman peace. Luke has an urge to provide a detailed account of early Christianity for the Christians of that time (de Silva, pp 354 – 355). These first seven chapters also demonstrate the power struggle between the temple authorities and the leaders of Jesus followers (de Silva, p 357).
You gave an example of Acts making things up by mentioning Ananias and Sapphira dropping dead. Let us use that passage to examine Acts. This is written to signify that the apostles are filled with the power of God and therefore no unrighteous person may stand before them. “In the temple precincts the expectation of dropping dead only accompanies unauthorized or improper entry into the land of holies.” (de Silva, p 360) This is a good example of the problem of reading passages as we would anything else we read nowadays. This is what provides distorted views. To quote the bible and say this is exactly what happened because it says so right here is not altogether fair or true. One must be reminded that the language and phrases of that time may mean an entirely different thing from how we read it without that knowledge.
Your presentation is about the beginning of Christianity and you want do the presentation on how St Paul traveled around the empire and was a big part of getting Churches started. St Paul did more than anyone, during his time to lead people to learn what Jesus Christ meant to the world (Brown, p 446). Also, no other follower of Jesus during the times of the New Testament left a written testimony as Paul did (Brown, p 451). When Paul travelled he would preach the story about Christ whenever he arrived to a place (Brown, p 440). Brown provides a table [table 6. Pauline Chronology] on page 428 which I recommend you use to guide you with St Paul’s journey.
I hope I have helped to clear some things up for you. Are you still wondering how much of Acts you should use? Do you still think that you should ignore some parts? Sometimes, there is more of a need to examine the parts we would rather ignore. We may wish to ignore it because we do not understand it.
Many scholars and theologians who have spent years studying the letters of St Paul and Acts disagree with each other. This is because they interpret the passages differently or they may consider other sources to add to their interpretation. One needs to understand the culture of the time, the restriction of education, the usage of different language and additional authentic scrolls which can support different meaning. Beliefs were also different. Hence, the confusion of Anania and Sapphira dropping dead.
In summary, though there are contradictions in Acts and the Letters of St Paul, there is supporting information in both, complementing one with the other. There is also information in Acts which is not in the Letters of St Paul that supports unanswered questions. Acts is an authentic document. Letters provides direct information and has a format of an opening, body and closing. Acts offers a transition from the usual authorities of Judaism to the new community of followers of Jesus. Luke adds his own interpretations and offers a theological perspective of Paul spreading Christianity. The letters of St Paul were intended to be read aloud and to persuade. In Act, Luke tells a story with a theological theme.
I have tried my best to answer your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I have not made myself clear. I do not usually talk to teenagers and I hope I have made myself understandable to you. This is a very complex project you are undertaking and my hat is off to you. Please say hello to your dad and tell him lunch is on him.
[1] Brown, Raymond E., An Introduction To The New Testament. 1st Edition. Anchor Bible Reference Library. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Chapter 15, page 409. Further reference to this text will be indicated by Author’s name and page number.
[2] Prof Shantz, Colleen, St Michael College, Class instruction, 15 Sep 10.
[3] David deSilva, “Acts of the Apostles,” pp, 349-89 in Introduction to the New Testament (InterVarsity, 2004).
[4] The Bible. New Revised Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha, Catholic Edition. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, 1993.
[5] Prof Shantz, Colleen, St Michael College, Class instruction, 22 Sep 2010.
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