REL 321

Dr. Mark Given

Missouri State University

Course Calendar

Aug 21

Exordium

Welcome to the serious study of the Apostle Paul!

Aug 23 Why Study Paul and in What Terms

Reading: Taylor, 3-9

NB: Reading assignments are to be read by the time class meets on the day they are listed

Supplemental Reading (NB: Supplemental readings are not required.): Elliott, "No Acolyte of Rome: A New Look at the Apostle Paul" (See Course Documents); Meeks, The Writings of St. Paul; Peter and Paul and the Christian Revolution;


Preparation for Interpreting Paul


INET Methods for Studying Paul

Reading: Taylor, 11-19

Assignment 1 (20 pts.): Methodological Reflections (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading: Historiography;

Aug 28 Sources for Studying Paul

Reading: Taylor, 21-34

Supplemental Reading: Grant, "The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts"

Aug 30

Paul's Life and Cultural Context

Reading: Taylor, 35-50

Supplemental Reading:  Dr. Mark's Annotated Chronology of Paul (9 B.C.E–50 C.E.); Carter, "Paul and Empire," in Paul Unbound

INET Paul: Cultural Hybrid

Reading: Taylor, 51-63, 81-89

Assignment 2 (20 pts.): Reflections on Paul's Identities and Our Own (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Sep 4 Labor Day Holiday
Sep 6 Greco-Roman Philosophy and Religion

Reading: Taylor, 64-81

Supplemental Reading: Cleanthes' "Hymn to Zeus"; The Golden Sayings of Epictetus;

INET The Planting and Nurturing of Assemblies

Reading: Taylor, 91-106

Assignment 3 (20 pts.): Reflections on Paul's Networking and Nurturing (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading:

Sep 11

The Rhetoric and Reciprocity of Paul

Reading: Taylor, 106-123

Supplemental Reading: The "Trees" in Silva Rhetoricae; Given, "Paul and Rhetoric: A Sophos in the Kingdom of God," 175200, in Paul Unbound (Course Documents); Trobisch, "The Oldest Extant Editions of the Letters of Paul"; de Villiers, "Paul as a Letter Writer: A New Publication on Pauline Letters in Their Literary Setting"; A Polite Bribe

Sep 13

The Task of Exegesis

Reading: Gorman, 3-24; "Interpretive Spectrum" handout (see Course Content)

Supplemental Reading: Fee, To What End Exegesis? Essays Textual, Exegetical, and Theological (reviewed by Given; see Course Documents)

INET The Elements of Exegesis and a Sample Exegesis Paper

Reading: Gorman, 24-33, 199-203; 297-309

Assignment 4 (20 pts.): Envisioning and Evaluating Exegesis (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading: Exegesis Resources (see Course Content)

Sep 18

Exegesis Text Selection and Translations

Reading: Gorman, 37-65

Supplemental Reading: Wallace, History of the English Bible; Wallace, Why So Many Versions?; Tom Wright on the NIV; Southern Baptist Resolutions Concerning the NIV

 

The Early and Secondary Source Paul

 

Sep 20 Converted and/or Called: Understanding the Issue in Light of "The New Perspective" on Paul and Judaism

Reading: Acts 9:1–25 (cf. Gal 1:11–24; Phil 3:1–11); Dr. Mark's Annotated Chronology of Paul (9 B.C.E–50 C.E.); Mattison, "A Summary of the New Perspective on Paul"

Outline: The Church(es) Before Paul; Acts 9:3–8 and Parallels

Supplemental Reading: Byrne, et al., Re-Reading Paul: A fresh look at his attitude to Torah and to Judaism (also in Course Content); Jewish-Christian Relations; Acts 1:1 - 8:40 with HSB Intro and footnotes.; Grant, "The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts"; McRay, "Paul in Recent Research"; Segal, "Paul and the Modern Study of Conversion," in Paul the Convert: The Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee, 20–30 (See Course Content); Segal, "Paul and Luke, " in Paul the Convert: The Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee, 3-33 (See Course Content); Stendahl, "The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West"; N.T. Wright, "New Perspectives on Paul";

Supplemental Resources: Martin Luther and Antisemitism; The Paul within Judaism Perspective with Sara Parks and Matthew Anderson;

INET

Text Selection Due
Exegesis Text Selection

Assignment 5 (20 pts.): Exegesis Text Selection (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Sep 25 The 1st, 2nd, and 7th Elements of Exegesis: Survey, Contextual Analysis, and Expansion and Refinement

Reading: Gorman, 69-87; 189-94

Supplemental Reading:

Sep 27 To the Judean First, and then the Hellene: A Crisis in the Making (ca. 3748 C.E.; First Journey ca. 4748 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 9:32–14:28 (cf. Rom 1:16)

Outline: Preparing "The Way" for Paul

Supplemental Reading: Wengst, "When did Christianity Originate?"

INET

The Apostolic Council and the Antioch Incident (ca. 4950 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 15:1-35; Gal 2:1-21

Assignment 6 (30 pts.): The Rhetorical Purposes of Luke and Paul (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading: Patton, "Was James Being Legalistic in Acts 15? or 'Can I Eat a Rare Steak?'
Oct 2 The New Socrates in Athens (Second Journey from ca. 5054 C.E. begins)

Reading: Acts 15:36-17:34 (cf. Acts 17:22-31 with 1 Thess 2:1-2; 3:1 and Rom 1:18-2:16);

Supplemental Reading: Given, "Not Either/Or but Both/And in Paul's Areopagus Speech," Biblical Interpretation 3,3 (1995) (See Course Contents)

 

The Later and Primary Source Paul

 

Oct 4 The End is Near--but Not Yet (1 Thessalonians, ca. 52 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 18:1-11; 1 Thessalonians (review Acts 17:1-9); Taylor, 127-41

Dr. Mark's Annotated Chronology of Paul (5058 C.E.)

Supplemental Reading: Charles Wanamaker, “‘Like a Father Treats His Own Children': Paul and the Conversion/Resocialization of the Thessalonians.” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa , 92 (1995), 46-55.

INET

Apocalypticism Now and Then

Assignment 7 (20 pts.): Understanding the Historical and Exegetical Problems with Dispensationalism and Preterism (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading:

The following links offer explanations from conservative biblical scholars of the problems with the doctrine of "the Rapture"

Ben Witherington III: Where Did Rapture Theology Come From?; Is the Rapture Doctrine Biblical?; Revelation and Apocalypticism

Jesus is a Failed Apocalyptic Prophet (An interview with Paula Fredriksen)

N. T. Wright on the Rapture; Middleton, "Does Tom Wright Believe in the Second Coming?" (The answer is yes; he just doesn't believe in "the rapture" version of it.)

Oct 9 Free to Be Children of God I (Third Journey ca. 5458 C.E.; Galatians ca. 55 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 16:6; Galatians; Taylor, 153-55; 143-47

Supplemental Reading: Das, "Paul and the Law: Pressure Points in the Debate," in Paul Unbound; Sumney, "Paul and His Opponents: The Search," in Paul Unbound

Keener, "Jesus Followers in Step With the Spirit: A closer look at Paul’s letter to the Galatians."  Craig Keener's new Galatians commentary attempts to combine important insights from both "Old Perspective(s)" and "New Perspective(s)" on Paul's theology.  He talks about his work in this article.

Oct 11

Free to Be Children of God II (Galatians ca. 55 C.E.)

Reading: Galatians; Taylor, 147-53, 155-59

Supplemental Reading; Cosgrove, "Paul and Ethnicity: A Selective History of Interpretation" (In Paul Unbound); East, "Enter Paul: On Paula Fredriksen’s 'Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle' and 'When Christians Were Jews'"

Oct 12-13 Fall Break
Oct 16

3rd Element of Exegesis: Formal Analysis

Reading: Gorman, 89-107; 232-33

Supplemental Reading:

Oct 18 Life in the Body I (Third Journey ca. 5458 C.E.; 1 Corinthians 1-7, ca. 56 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 18:12-19:41; 1 Cor 1-7; Taylor, 161-76

Supplemental Reading

Supplemental Reading: Dale B. Martin, review of Richard B. Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics, Review of Biblical Literature [http://www.bookreviews.org] (1998); Spohn, "Is There Such a Thing as New Testament Ethics?"; Given, "All things to all people all at once: Paul's ambiguous rhetorical strategy in 1 Cor 8:1 - 11:1" (In Course Content)

INET



Exegesis 1st and 2nd Elements Due

Assignment 8: Exegesis 1st and 2nd Elements (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Oct 23
Life in the Body II (1 Corinthians 8-16)

Reading: 1 Cor 8:1-16:24; Taylor, 177-88

Supplemental Reading: Hart, "The Spiritual Was More Substantial Than the Material for the Ancients"; Penner and Stichele, "Unveiling Paul: Gendering Ethos in 1 Cor 11:2-16" (read the "Ethos Argumentation" and "Character and Masculinity in Ancient Rhetoric" sections)

Oct 25
Treasure in Clay Jars I: Paul and Integrity (2 Corinthians 1-6, ca. 57 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 20:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1-7:1; Taylor, 189-212

Supplemental Reading: Given, "On His Majesty's Secret Service: The Undercover Ethos of Paul" (In Course Content); Long, Fredrick J. Ancient Rhetoric and Paul's Apology: The Compositional Unity of 2 Corinthians (reviewed by Silva)

INET Treasure in Clay Jars II:  (2 Corinthians 7-9)

Reading: 2 Cor 7:2-9:15; Taylor, 212-15; Friesen, "Paul and Economics: The Jerusalem Collection as an Alternative to Patronage," in Paul Unbound (Course Content)

Assignment 9 (20 pts.): The Economic Policy of the Kingdom of God (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading: Abrahams, "A Plea for Purity: 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 as Integral to 2 Corinthians" (Course Content); 2 Cor 8-9;

Oct  30
Treasure in Clay Jars III: The "End" of Suffering/Weakness (2 Corinthians 10-13)

Reading: 2 Cor 10-13; Taylor, 215-21

Supplemental Reading: Gorman, 252-64 (The Long Sample Exegesis Paper); Sumney, "Who are those 'Servants of Satan'?"; Sumney, "Paul and His Opponents: The Search," in Paul Unbound

Nov 1 God Justifies the Ungodly I: Humanity under Sin (Romans 1-3, ca. 58 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 20:2; Rom 1:1-3:20; Taylor, 223-37

Supplemental Reading: Hester, "The Rhetoric of Persona in Romans: Re-reading Romans 1:1-12"; Talbert, Romans (excerpt); Penna, Paul the Apostle (Reviewed by Given)

Supplemental Reading:  Dabourne, Purpose and Cause in Pauline Exegesis: Romans 1:16 - 4:25 and a New Approach to the Letters (Reviewed by Given); The Testament of Asher Concerning Two Faces of Vice and Virtue; Zorn, "The Messianic Use of Habakkuk 2:4a in Romans" (Read up to "Habakkuk and Its Context"); Homosexuality and the Bible; Martin, "Heterosexism and the Interpretation of Romans 1:18-32."  Biblical Interpretation 3 (1995) 332-355 (Course Content)

INET
4th Element of Exegesis: Detailed Analysis of the Text

Reading: Gorman, 109-137; 234-50

Assignment 10: "Detailed Analysis and Your Exegesis Passage: Initial Reflections"

Nov 6
Discussion of 4th Element of Exegesis: Detailed Analysis of the Text

Reading: Gorman, 109-136; 234-50

Exegesis Texts:

Madi: Eph 4:7-16

Carista: Gal 3:1-14

Mason: 1 Thess 4:1-12

Aubrey: Phil 1:12-26

Evan: Titus 3:1-11

Josiah: 2 Cor 3

Caitlin: 1 Cor 7:1-17

Nov 8 God Justifies the Ungodly II: The Righteousness of God Revealed and Fulfillment through Union with Christ (Romans 3-8)

Reading: Rom 3:21-8:39; Taylor, 238-44

Supplemental Reading: Mattison, "The Meaning of the Law for Paul"; "Original Sin"; Hebrews 1:1-4; 8:1-10:39; Byrne, On ReReading Paul; Gager, "Paul's Contradictions – Can They Be Resolved?"; "Calvinism" (Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics); Harink, "Apocalypsis and Polis: Pauline Reflections on the Theological Politics of Yoder, Hauerwas, and Milbank"; Meyer, "The Worm at the Core of the Apple"; Tabor, The Jewish-Roman World of Jesus; Tabor, "The Message and Mission of Paul" (Read "The Message" which is part one of the article.  Stop where the "Apostolic Authority and Mission" section begins.)

INET God Justifies the Ungodly III: Salvation for All (Romans 9-11)

Reading: Rom 9-11; Taylor, 244-46

Assignment 11 (20 pts.): Paul and Predestination (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading: Cosgrove, "Paul and Ethnicity: A Selective History of Interpretation" (In Paul Unbound); Cosgrove, Elusive Israel: The Puzzle of Election in Romans (reviewed by Nanos); Given, "Restoring the Inheritance in Rom 11:1." Journal of Biblical Literature 118,1 (1999); Thomas, "The Return of the Jewish Church"; Mouw, The Chosen People Puzzle; Wagner, Heralds of the Good News: Isaiah and Paul in Concert in the Letter to the Romans (reviewed by Stanley); Young, Paul the Jewish Theologian (description and sample chapter)

The Mouw article is a very intriguing piece by an evangelical theologian who failed a class because of Rom 11.  Whether you agree with Mouw's own position or not, his article does a good job of illustrating the difficulties theologians face when trying to make sense of Paul—and the rest of the NT for that matter—on the subject of Jews and Judaism.

Nov 13 God Justifies the Ungodly V: The End of Faith (Romans 12-16)

Reading: Rom 12:1-16:27; Taylor, 246-53; Given, "Parenesis and Peroration: The Rhetorical Function of Romans 12:1–15:13" (Course Documents)

Supplemental Reading: Stark, "Liberating Subtext: Rereading Romans 13:1-7 after James C. Scott for Liberation Theology" (In Course Documents)

 

Nov 15 Citizenship in Heaven (Philippians, ca. 59 or 61 C.E.)

Reading: Acts 27:1-28:31; Philippians; Taylor, 255-76

Supplemental Reading: Acts 20:3-26:32;  Dr. Mark's Annotated Chronology of Paul (58–62 C.E.); Given, "Exegesis of Phil 2:5-11", Lectionary Homiletics (Spring, '03); Marie-Eloise Rosenblatt, Paul the Accused- His Portrait in the Acts of the Apostles (reviewed by Given); Seeley, "The Background of the Philippians Hymn (2:6-11)"; Wallace, "Philippians: Introduction, Argument, and Outline"; Wright, "Paul's Gospel and Caesar's Empire"

INET

Exegesis 3rd and 4th Element Due

Assignment 12: Exegesis 3rd and 4th Element (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Nov 18-26 Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov 27

5th and 6th Element of Exegesis: Synthesis and Reflection -and- Errors to Avoid
Reading: Gorman, 139-58; 199-203
Nov 29 Life in the Christ-Believing Family: The End of Love (Philemon, ca. 59 C.E.)

Reading: Philemon; Taylor, 277-88

Supplemental Reading: Chris Frilingos, "'For My Child, Onesimus': Paul and Domestic Power in Philemon." Journal of Biblical Literature . (See Course Content); Grimke, "Appeal to the Christian Women of the South"; Raphall, "The Bible View of Slavery"; Wallace, "Philemon: Introduction, Argument , Outline"; Wallace, "Some Initial Reflections on Slavery in the NT"

The nineteenth century Grimke and Raphall articles illustrate the amazingly diverse ways the Bible was interpreted on the subject of slavery.

 

 

The Probably Pseudepigraphic Paul

 

INET The Eschatological Paul: The Signs of the Times (2 Thessalonians)

Reading: 2 Thessalonians (including HSB Intro); Taylor, 289-92

Assignment 13 (20 pts.): TBA (See Assignments on Blackboard)

Supplemental Reading: Boring, I and II Thessalonians: A Commentary (The New Testament Library); Given, "Review of Reicke, Re-examining Paul's Letters: The History of the Pauline Correspondence"; Frank W. Hughes, "Pseudonymity as Rhetoric: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Pauline Pseudepigrapha"

Dec 4 The Universal Paul: Absent in Body, Present in Spirit (Colossians and Ephesians)

Reading: Colossians and Ephesians (including HSB Intros), Taylor, 292-95

Supplemental Reading: Epistle to the Laodiceans;

Dec 6 The Ecclesiastical Paul: Teacher of the Logos of Leadership (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus)

Reading: Titus, 1 Timothy, and 2 Timothy (including HSB Intros), Taylor, 295-99

Supplemental Reading: Ignatius; Ignatius to the Magnesians 1-8 (Hoole translation); Pervo, "Romancing an Oft-Neglected Stone: The Pastoral Epistles and the Epistolary Novel"; Polycarp; Polycarp to the Philippians 1-6 (Lake translation); Krause, "Telling Women to Shut Up Is More Complicated That You Might Think," in Paul Unbound; Taylor, 299-309;  The Acts of Paul (Read Introduction and section II.); 3 Corinthians; The Prayer of the Apostle Paul; The Apocalypse of Paul; The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca

Dec 11 Exegesis Papers Due
Final Exam Wednesday, December 13, 1:15 pm to 3:15 pm