Paul The Apostle: His Life and Legacy in Their Roman Context, J. Albert Harrill, c. 2012

For personal use only: notes from the book and other sources, often interspersed, and not always correctly attributed. Typographical errors likely.

 

PREFACE

Thanks Susan Gubar; one of the few who read the entire manuscript; offering suggestions

INTRODUCTION

Does Saint Paul belong to the company of Socrates, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Augustus?
Understanding Paul's multiple identities
1: Not a traditional biography: he calls it an "antibiography" -- definition of such on p. 3
2: The difference between primary sources and secondary sources
The author considers the Acts of the Apostles as a secondary source for the historical Paul, i.e., not a primary source
Authorship
Paul's books, wiki: written by Paul:  Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, Philemon; presented as if written by Paul:  I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus; some ascribe authorship to Paul: Hebrews
Authorship of the Bible, wiki: the following almost universally accepted as the work of Paul: I Thessalonians, Galatians, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Romans (same as Harrill); Hebrews -- was included as the 14th letter of Paul until the Reformation; Pauline authorship is now generally rejected; real author unknown
Paul's authentic letters, per Harrill: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Romans,

Part I: The Life

1: From Pharisee to Apostle

I. Birth and education
The Pharisees
2: The Event at Damascus
Diaspora Synagogues, Godfearers, and Jesus Followers, p 32; a most important section
From Persecutor to Apostle
Flight from Damascus
3. Face-Off in Jerusalem and Antioch
Jerusalem: Paul and the "Circumcision Faction"
Antioch: Paul's Face-Off with Peter

2: Communities in the Making

1. Paul's Travels
His last goal in life was to get to Spain; most likely he did not
2. The Workshop Context of Paul's Ministry
Preached the ministry while working in his/their shop
3. The Social Psychology of Paul's New Converts
4. The Challenge of "Another" Gospel
5. Paul's Quarrelsome Converts
Humiliation at Corinth and Paul at War
Imprisonment "for the Gospel"
5. The Collections; Paul's Crowning Achievement of the Aegean Mission. What's Next?
Paul's Final Days: A Likely Violent Death
6. Wrapping Up The Historical Paul

3. Paul's Life in Its Roman Context

1. Roman Culture and Imperialism
2. Paul's Language of Authority: A Roman Discourse
3. Paul's Jewish Apocalypticism In Its Roman Context
4. Paul Living Within Roman Authority

Part II: The Legend

4: Competing Stories About Paul in Late Antiquity

1. Paul The Roman Hero: Christians As Model Imperial Citizens
The Acts of the Apostles (ca. 95 - 115)
"The Martyrdom of Paul" (ca. 190)
"The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca" (Fourth Century)
The New Star: Paul's Martyr Cult at Rome (Fourth Century)
2. Paul the Sexual Role Model: Ascetic or Family Man?
"The Acts of Paul and Thecla" (Second Century)
The "Pauline School": Colossians (ca. 65- 75), Ephesians (ca. 80), and the Pastoral Epistles (ca. 95- 125)
Paul the Deceiver: Continuing Criticism of the Apostle
The Apostle of Satan
Paul the Contradiction and Mad Magician: Pagans Strike Back

5: Paul the Scriptural Authority

Contradictory Discourses
1. The Problems and Possibilities of Paul's Letters Collected into a Single Corpus
2. Marcion and Valentinus: Two Pauline Rivas at Rome
The Gnostics and Valentinus
3. Irenaeus of Lyons: The Rule of Faith and an Unoriginal Paul
4. Origen of Alexandria: The Historical Paul Reappears
5. John Chrysostom: Pauline Inconsistency as the Wise Physician

6: How the West Got Paul Wrong

1. The Apostle of Light: A Manichaean Paul
2. Lost in Translation: The First Latin Commentaries on Paul
3. The Apostle of Free Will: Palagius's Paul
4. The Apostle of an Introspective Conscience: Augustine's Paul and Its Legacy
Augustine's Career and Writings
A Note on Martin Luther's Paul
The Dialectical Paul" A Modern Legend of the Apostle as the "Second Founder of Christianity"

CONCLUSION:

Going Beyond the Epitaph

Appendix 1: Extant Writings Attributed to Saint Paul in Rough Chronological Order
Appendix 2: Reconstructing Paul's Corinthian Correspondence: A Puzzle
Appendix 3: Ancient Christian Works Containing Pauline Traditions and Legends