Luke and Paul

 Last Monday Before Pentecost

Lectionary Texts:

Genesis 11:1-9

Acts 2:1-11

Psalm 104:24-35 (UMH 826)

As your reading the lectionary texts for today, notice the pairing of Genesis 11 with Acts 2. The miracle of Acts 2 reverses (if only for a short time) the miracle of Genesis 11.

Thanks to Glenn for his thoughtful comment and questions. I want to deal with them in this blog. Although there were no public schools (much less colleges and universities) in Paul's time, he was highly educated, as was Luke. Paul's formal education came from a rabbinic academy in Jerusalem. Acts tells us that he studied under Gamaliel I, who was considered the greatest rabbi of the time. Paul grew up in the cosmopolitan city of Tarsus. Although Greek was the principal language spoken there, Tarsus was a Roman colony, which meant there would be plenty of Latin speakers. Paul would have spoken Aramaic at home. He learned Hebrew for the equivalent of Bar Mitzphah. Paul was quadralingual. 

There was a major Academy of Rhetoric in Tarsus. It appears quite likely that he studied there as well. He has a knowledge of the complex forms  and devices of Greco-Roman rhetoric and uses them in his letters. 

We do not know anything about Luke's education. He writes in a good classic style of Greek. We can see that when he is using Mark as a source, he consistently makes improvements on Mark's style. That he is a self-conscious historian who researches, accumulates sources, and makes effective use of them is clear.

He also shows a knowledge of Greek literature, quoting two Greek poets in Acts 17 and quoting line 355 of Euripides' The Bacchae in chapter 26.

There is widespread scholarly agreement that Paul did not write all the letters attributed to him, but considerable disagreement about which ones he didn't write. The assuredly authentic letters of Paul are:

Romans

1 Corinthians 

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Philippians

1Thessalonians

Philemon

The disputed letters are:

Ephesians

Colossians

2 Thessalonians

The Pastorals (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus)

Scholars are is great agreement that Paul did not right the Pastorals. The style, vocabulary, and theology are dramatically different from anything in the assuredly authentic letters. I agree.

I think Paul did write Colossians. I simply don't see adequate evidence to the contrary. 2 Thessalonians is tougher for me. It seems to contradict much of the message of 1 Thessalonians. I don't think Paul wrote it. 

Ephesians is the toughest call for me. The theology is almost totally Pauline. The writing style is not. The letter makes a strong internal claim that it is Pauline but not strong enough for me. We simply don't find anything like single sentences that are 14 verses long in any of the assuredly authentic letters. I would love to be convinced that Paul did write it. 

It does seem highly likely that some of the disputed letters were written by friends of Paul in his name. Bart Ehrman calls this forgery. I would call it pseudonymity, or perhaps pseudepigraphy. It was obviously not considered reverse plagiarism, or forgery, or copyright infringement (there were no copyright laws at that time). It was not considered dishonest in either Jewish or Christian circles.

I do think that Luke had communication with people who knew Jesus during his lifetime on earth. I suspect that he may have known Mary and Mary Magdalene, or at least people who knew them. I suspect that he knew several apostles, most importantly Peter. I'm sure that he owned a copy of Mark and a copy of the hypothetical document Q, and other sources. He did not have access to Matthew, John, or Paul's letters. 

Although Paul almost always had travel companions, I see no evidence that he had a group of followers.

Travelogue tomorrow.

 

God of Paul and Luke. Thank you for the preachers and letter writers like Paul. Thank you for the historians like Luke. Help us to read and listen more deeply and to understand more clearly. Give us the courage to be witnesses to what we have heard and read and to what we know. In Jesus' name. Amen.

 

Faithfully,

Christian