Indeed, supporters of pseudonymity are ubiquitous. The author's writing style is poor. Faith Baptist Bible College and ACA Agree to Preschool Rental Space, Wilkenings to Join Faculty and Staff at Faith Baptist Bible College, Goergen Ends Eagles Career as an All-Time Great On and Off the Court, 2023 Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, Federal Compliance | Institutional Goals and Effectiveness | Title IX Policy | Privacy Policy. Most apparent is the Greek, where 1:3-8 and 1:9-11 are single sentences. The purpose of this article is three-fold. months[8]="Aug."; At that time unbelievers will be condemned and believers will be saved. For example, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul encourages the community with the message of the nearness of the Lords return. Who does Paul identify as the carrier of his letter to the Romans? google_ad_slot = "4364046558"; Green did for 2 Peter in his Tyndale New . What intellectual topics did the Renaissance humanist Sir Thomas More explore? Its primary audience is theological students, pastors and scholars. 1 Thes. Why do critics argue for pseudonymity in the New Testament? A few critics answer this question affirmatively, and assume unashamedly that any pseudonymous epistle in the NT is a literary forgery (i.e., the writer deceptively tricked his original audience). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. What may the theological student legitimately expect of a serious exegetical commentary on a biblical book? 3:6-15). a. it claims to have been written by Paul, b. it talks about church leadership structures unknown in Paul's day, c. it teaches the end will not come immediately, d. the author claims to have worked in Thessalonica, b. they believed everyone had received gifts from God's Spirit, d. when there was a problem they wrote to Paul for advice, a. Acts 14:1517; 17:31) (p. 57). That is, when interpreting a canonical document as Christian Scripture, whatever might B. Mayors judgment that the same author could not have written both 1 and 2 Peter in full because they use the OT in different ways.4, Although a point-by-point refutation is beyond the scope of this article, a couple of general observations should be made. . What little I can find is 'Paul wrote it because his name is on it and it's a lot like 1 Thessalonians' or 'Paul didn't write it because it's too similar to 1 Thessalonians and its eschatology is a bit different'. Bart Ehrman observes (The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, p. 23): "The frequent occurence of forgery in this period does not suggest a basic tolerance of the practice. Gaventa masterfully provides a theological exposition of these letters. In the churches that Paul founded, all of the following were true, The author of the Pastorals writes against all of the following, The author of 2 Thessalonians claims all of the following about the end. The eschatology of 2 Thessalonians, it is alleged, bears close resemblance to the eschatology of the Revelation, a late-first-century book. 1 Corinthians b. 6:5). made no difference in whether a person was righteous, Galatians is unique among the undisputed Pauline letters because, Paul's opponents in Galatia appear to have, Paul countered his Glatian opponents by saying that he, One way Paul argued against his Galatian opponents was, to point out that the apostles agreed with him, Which of the apostles joined Paul in Antioch and stopped eating with the Gentiles, According to Paul, a person is justified by, According to Paul, Gentiles fulfill the law by, Philemon is different from the other undisputed letters because, Which Pauline letters includes a Christ hymn, Paul's letter to the Galatians is best characterized as, What is one likely reason for Paul's relative lack of attention to social inequities, Romans is unique among the undisputed Pauline letters because, it is written to a community Paul did not found, Paul may have written to the Romans for all of the following reasons except, In Romans, Paul defends himself and his beliefs using the rhetorical tool of, In the judicial model, all of the following are true except, The participationist model envisions Jesus' death and resurrection as, According to Paul's letter to the Romans, which statement is not true concerning both the Jews and Gentiles, They both can be made right with God by being circumcised, baptized, and obeying the Law, Paul believed all people were enslaved to sin because of. The most common books that are said to be pseudonymous are 2 Peter, the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus), and Ephesians. Ibid. B. Michael Holmes (NIVAC) [2 Thess = authentic]. of the faith, or a possible the physical departure of the Believing Church indwell By The Holy Spirit is intended. p. 388. What is pseudonymity and what is its relevance? p. 389. Your email address will not be published. All his holy ones (1 Thes. 174175, 203). The issue of authorship of the Pastoral Letters began to be debated in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. For example, one would have to assume that personal remarks made by Paul or Peter in any given epistle are ultimately just fabrications to complete the illusion. Murray J. Harris shortsightedness \rule{2cm}{0.15mm}. (2:16), or we find the prayer, "May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ" (3:5). In the "conciliatory" portion of 2 Corinthians, Paul notes he will not visit the community for a third time because. Obviously these critics hold a very low view of Scripture. This is a forum for discussion of academic biblical studies; including historical criticism, textual criticism, and the history of ancient Judaism, early Christianity and the ancient Near East. 1 Timothy c. Titus d. 2 Timothy Which of the following is pseudonymous? Further, the letterstheologyis pertinent. Scholars are divided on the authenticity or pseudonymity of 2 Thessalonians and Colossians, both letters traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul. Can this tell us anything about when it was written and who truly received the letter? , Your email address will not be published. a. 2:18) was perhaps achieved through Pauls bouts of illness (cf. Which of the following was not a central character in Acts? d. Early Christians did not think Colossians was Pauline. Finally, the idea of canonical pseudonymity falls short ethically. Although it is doubtful that Pauls statement refers to a specific letter, it certainly condemns the practice of writing letters in his name. Why did Christian refusal to worship the state gods sometimes result in persecution? have followed? The reference in 2:2 suggests that the letter belongs to the deutero-Pauline period, and the letter may have been intended to replace 1 Thessalonians entirely. 2nd Thessalonians is referring to the 2nd coming of Jesus during end times, of which there is much warning, as the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ goes into great detail about. Second, the historical evidence argues against pseudonymity in the NT. Colossians and Philemon: New Testament Guides. Which of the following books is definitely, All of the following were reasons for writing pseudonymously. That noted, although the theological position of 2 Thessalonians is unusual for Paul, it is not necessary beyond his thought, especially if it was written in response to a theological crisis. Powered by WordPress & WPstart Theme. What is important to understand is that many of these scholars are trying to justify canonical pseudonymity while attempting to preserve some semblance of biblical authority. Not only has the apocalyptic imagery changed, but the whole tenor of the expectation is different. Which of the following was definitely not written pseudonymously in Paul's name? Rom. A careful reading of 2 ( as well as ) 1 Thessalonians shows that in the Thessalonians epistles the Holy Spirit through Paul is NOT discussion the departure OF THE FAITH referred to elsewhere by Paul ( 1 Timothy 4:1) but that rather in 2 Thessalonians Paul is encouraging and restating The Hope of The Believers that they ( we) will be meeting The Lord in the air upon Our Lords Return to earth to set up His Kingdom. . In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 the author urges the members of the church in Thessalonica to be ready and prepare so they are not alarmed when Jesus returns, but reminds them that he will not come without warning. We got Colossians as deutero-Pauline (and Ephesians by proxy). Ibid. Which of the following did Paul meet for the first time in Corinth? On the other hand, if 2 Thessalonians was not written by Paul, it presents the irony of one pseudonymous letter warning against the danger of another. b. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 9-12. . a. In actuality, it was widely and strongly condemned, sometimes even within documents that are themselves patently forged. Serious students of the Bible know that many popular commentaries are written by scholars who deny the traditional authorship of many NT epistles. ", Alfred Loisy comments (The Birth of the Christian Religion, pp. Some are anonymous, and others are pseudonymous, meaning that they were written by someone pretending to be someone else. They are agnostic on Pauline authorship of Ephesians, inclining against it (pp. He wants to stop any confusion they have about their faith, especially the return of Jesus. 5. 118122). Another term for orators hat drew crowds and attracted students by their rhetorical expertise, A dry canal constructed in order to carry goods across the isthmus of Corinth, A speakers platform erected during the Augustan period, Approximately when was 1 Corinthians composed, In Paul's view, emphasis on the rhetorical form and eloquence is in keeping with the cross and it's power, One of the primary reasons why Paul writes 1 Corinthians is to unify a divided church, Paul first visited Corinth on his first missionary journey, A secretary or amanuensis composes documents by taking dictation and aid the author, Living unmarried, single, and without sexual relations, Christians in Corinth who do eat meat offered to idola, A Roman region north of achia home of Alexander the Great, Paul labels his opponents who infiltrated the Corinthian as, After Paul pens 1 Corinthians, he writes another letter to the Corinthians called, The type of rhetoric that focuses on both praise and blame is called, 2 Corinthians holds together with two supporting themes: Paul's visits and, According to 2 Cor 3, Paul's ministry of the spirit has far more glory than that kf, The letter known as the 2 Corinthians is at least Paul's fourth epistle to the Corinthians, In the authors opinion, 2 Corinthians is comprised of several separate letters, The collection is for the famine victims in Jerusalem who are predominately jewish, When a patron gave a gift the recipient or client was obliged to offer thanks, Paul's ministry fulfills the prophet jeremiahs promise of a new covenant, A collection Paul is trying to gather from all the churches to aid famine in judea, A prominent city in Asia Minor whose people were originally converted by John the Baptist and whose church was influenced by john the apostle, Gentile converted by Paul who accompanied him on missionary travels and led the church in Crete, Paul's ultimate goal was to take the gospel to what region, The church at Rome is largely compromised of, The name of Paul's scribe that helped compose romans is, Who will deliver the epistle to the romans, It is doubtful that Rom 16 should be included in the book, since the majority of Greek manuscripts lack that text, In Rom 1-3 Paul only emphasizes the sinfulness of humanity with the exception of the Jews, The new perspective emphasizes the social ramifications of the gospel, One reason why Paul writes Roland is to correct a heresy involving the resurrection, The edict of Nero expelled the Jews from Rome, A rhetorical device with a series of questions to which the answer is always an emphatic "no", Greek work that means an act of appeasing or making well-disposed, The erroneous idea that the absence of the law means we should keep sinning so grace can abound all the more, Scholarly shift in interpreting Paul's opponents to be Jewish legalism and not good works in general, Someone in Corinth whose greetings Paul passes on to those in Rome, Paul's amanuensis who wrote the letter to his romans and greets them, Byron Almen, Dorothy Payne, Stefan Kostka, John Lund, Paul S. Vickery, P. Scott Corbett, Todd Pfannestiel, Volker Janssen, Eric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self, CSC - Chapter 7 - Fixed Income Securities: Pr. Which of the following is not one of the Pastoral epistles? Paul frequently refers to the "distinguishing mark" in all his letters (e.g. 1 Thessalonians has many similar themes as 2 Thessalonians, so similar in fact that people have questioned why Paul would write almost the same letter twice. var year=time.getYear(); The Deutero-Pauline Epistles The authors do not, however, believe that the truthfulness of scripture is necessarily undermined if some Pauline letters are pseudonymous (p. 81). Another notably non-Pauline feature of the letter is the idea that the judgment of God will be a reward for the persecuted Christians and a persecution of the persecutors (1:5-10). 777, I want to receive this kind of knowledge every day. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed (2 Thess 2:3). States decide to drop the atomic was justified? most believed the gods would punish people and cities that refused to honor them, all of Jesus' followers, dead and alive, would ultimately be together with Christ as his coming, he and some of the Thessalonians would be alive when the end came, When Paul ministered to the Gentiles, he appears to have taught them all of the following except, that all male converts should be circumcised. When comparing the Deutero-Pauline and Pastoral epistles with those considered genuinely Pauline, which of the following is not evidence against Pauline authorship? 6. As good a read as these are, I'm caught up on the arguments for or against the authenticity of these letters. This way of thinking is not only non-Pauline, it belongs to a generation later than Paul's, more poetically expressed in Rev 16:5-7 and 19:2. 2:6 -11) (10). The rejection of Paul's authorship is usually based on. The background of 1 Thessalonians 4:1318 was the failure of the Thessalonians to incorporate Pauls teaching about resurrection into their thinking, so that they feared that their dead would be excluded from future salvation (pp. By inference, this text condemns the practice of pseudonymous writings since they presumably add inauthentic words to the Bible. Faith-based comments, discussion of modern religion, and apologetics are prohibited. Marshalls comprehensive and judicious treatment of this issue (17 pages) indirectly highlights the need for a full-scale examination of the detailed arguments against the traditional Pauline authorship adduced first by W. Wrede in 1903 and then by W. Trilling in 1972. Johnson: Paul's "Anti-Christology" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 127 graciously provided the church with the whole of canonical Scripture as a framework within which ruled Christian readings6 can emerge, which may go beyond the original intention of the human author. He is a graduate in Creative Brand Communication and Marketing (CBC), and in Theology (majoring in Psychology). 2 Thessalonians 1:10, 12; 2:14. 9. months[1]="Jan."; Sometimes scholars use the term pseudepigraphy instead. In most cases, the critic compares the suspect epistle to other epistles believed to have been written by the biblical author. 244, 258). 1 Thessalonians 2:16b means that the divine wrath in its full and final manifestation had drawn very near to the Jews collectively as a people since by and large they were opposed to the gospel (pp. With regard to the second question, rather than accepting pseudonymous letters, Paul and the early church were demonstrably opposed to such a practice. var time=new Date(); This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write." Given statements like these, I think it is logically and morally incompatible to hold to pseudonymity / pseudepigraphy and the ultimate authority of Scripture. + date + " " + lmonth + " " + year); 2 Thessalonians, a pseudonymous letter, also preaches a politically conservative and accommodative message, as does 1 Peter. Although the theology between Colossians and the authentic Pauline letters differ, the question on which scholars are divided is whether or not it would have been possible, in certain circumstances, for Pauls theology to have developed in this direction. The author enlarges on the apocalyptic theme of the Antichrist, prehaps identified with Nero risen from the dead, whose manifestation was to cause the ruin of the Roman Empire. The church is depicted as a cosmic entity (2:19; 4:15) instead of a local gathering of believers. This suggests that 2 Thessalonians, like the Pastorals, wasn't known as part of the Pauline corpus to the author of Ephesians. Who informed Paul of the Corinthians' change of heart between Paul's writing of the two parts of 2 Corinthians? Bassler, Jouette M. 2010. Second Thessalonians is widely regarded as pseudonymous. As J. I. Packer notes, Frauds are still fraudulent even when perpetuated from noble motives.13 Thus, one must conclude that the literary category of pseudonymity is simply incompatible with the Word of God. Donald Guthrie notes the principle that one canonical pseudepigraphon leads to the possibility if not the probability of others, and the investigator can proceed without restraint to postulate as many pseudepigraphic hypotheses as he wishes.5. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9b10 Paul echoes traditional missionary phraseology such as would be used in preaching to Gentiles (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:17: "I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. In fact, the case has been made by various critics at one time or another that all of the NT epistles are pseudonymous. D. A. Carson accurately concludes, So far as the evidence of the fathers goes, when they explicitly evaluated a work for its authenticity, canonicity and pseudonymity proved mutually exclusive.11. One of the largest differences between 2 Thessalonians and other letters that were supposedly written by Paul are the ideas mentioned in the letters on the end times, or eschatology. Also suggested is that the canonical order is wrong and that 2 Thessalonians was written first. The canonical order also appears correct as Pauls careful rehearsal of his contact with the church in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-3:5 does not mention an earlier letter. The church included many people who had come out of idolatry that implies that Paul had preached to gentiles there. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul warns the Thessalonians not to be misled by letter as from us (di epistoles hos di hemon). It is not written for the instruction of a particular community but aims rather to dissapate the general uneasiness of Christian thought in regard to the Parousia, impatiently expected and continually postponed. Required fields are marked *. In summary it may be said: 'The use of words, stylistic peculiarities and the train of thought must be seen together. Cambridge, New Zealand. document.write(year + ". " 8687). 3:1 f.; 2 Cor. When they say There is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! (1 Thess 5:2-3). a. for profit b. as an act of humility c. to gain authority for the work d. to become famous (abstract) _____________________. The letters themselves claim to be from Paul the Apostle (cf. What happens across those three sets of letters is that the radical Paul of the authentic seven letters (Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon) is slowly but steadily morphed into the conservative Paul of the probably inauthentic threesome . Verbal similarities begin with the first verse and continue throughout; yet there are very real theological differences between the two letters, the most important being that of eschatological perspective. p. 389. Neither position concerning the authenticity or lack thereof of Pauline authorship of Colossians has acquired general consensus. var months=new Array(13); Required fields are marked *. I would really like to thanks for the efforts youve got made in writing this post. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with powerful angels.". In addition, pseudonymity greatly affects the interpretation of numerous passages. Consider why immigrants risk coming to the United States illegally, the goal of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and its effectiveness, and efforts at immigration reform. Scripture is inspired and therefore inerrant (2 Tim 3:16). Yet as we talked, he told me about something that disturbed him greatly. Finally, the urging of wives (3:18) and slaves (3:22) to be subordinate appears to not sit well with the admonitions found in 1 Corinthians 7 and Philemon. Who seems to have made up the majority of Paul's community at Thessalonica? 3 Corinthians. Which of the following does not reflect an early Christian tradition about Paul's activity in Rome? Which of the following does not represent a methodological issue for the study of Paul? Write the correct word in the space next to each definition. What are the arguments for its pseudonymity? In 1980 Trilling wrote a commentary on 2 Thessalonians (based on his 1972 monograph) in which he consistently interprets the letter as a pseudonymous work. The author of 2 Thessalonians claims all of the following about the end except. Ibid. In addition, many Christian colleges and universities and virtually all secular universities are filled with professors who accept the pseudonymity of NT epistles as a standard presupposition. 4. And I do often see it mentioned in books and online discussions that many scholars don't consider it authentic. 5:8, 10) and their rejection of the gospel (pp. H'alright. Some were duped by false teachers that were forging letters to make them look as if they had come from Paul ( 2 Thessalonians 2:2 ). p. 388. Kirby, Peter. When this general disclaimer is coupled with Pauls custom of signing his own letters (see 2 Thess 3:17, 1 Cor 16:21, Gal 6:11, Philemon 19, and Col 4:18), it is clear that, in the words of T. L. Wilder, Paul puts a moratorium on pseudonymity in his name. 7 In addition, Revelation 22:18, 19 forbids anyone to add to Scripture. 2.5) real questions. 8:6; Phil. bomb on Hiroshima? //-->. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul's addressing a situation in Thessalonica where believers were worried they'd missed Jesus' return and had lost hope. One cannot help thinking of 2 Thessalonians, which cautions against letters falsely penned in Paul's name (2:1-2); many New Testament scholars believe that 2 Thessalonians is itself non-Pauline. (a) Recall Why did the United Most scholars believe that Paul's first letter was, Paul's primary reason for writing 1 Thessalonians was, Paul's missions were typically located in, Timothy reported to Paul that the Thessalonians, The most important issue Paul addresses in 1 Thessalonians is. The two are close enough together to be related, but in 2 Thessalonians the Christology represents a later thinking and piety. Paul and His Letters. After meticulously noting their differences (or sometimes similarities), he or she then proclaims confidently that it is impossible for the same person to have written both epistles. (b) Identify Alternatives What was equally available to Jews and Gentiles. It will be no surprise for any who already know of Professor Marshalls splendid contributions to New Testament studies to learn that this commentary on the Thessalonian letters fully meets each of these expectations. p. 389. p. 389. to become famous. Before he could travel to Rome, Paul notes that he expects to make a trip to, In Romans, to show that he did not invent his gospel message, Paul stresses that his message is rooted in, Paul's participationist and judicial models of salvation, Paul and Jesus are similar in all the following ways except, taught the need for faith in Jesus' resurrection. Bassler, Jouette M. 2010. She gives special attention to the maternal imagery in these texts (and in Paul in general) and she also addresses Paul's eschatology more broadly. The time of composition is likely to have been in the last two decades of the first century when hopes in the imminent parousia were faltering. Which aspect of early Christian communities likely encouraged charges of perversion against them? First, the NT itself argues against pseudonymity. if (year < 2000) The author thinks that Christians already participate in Christ's resurrection. 1. The nature of the error that Colossians addresses (Col. 2:8, 16-23) is difficult to reconstruct with precision but it is not impossible to reconcile it with developments that were plausible in Pauls lifetime. An example of this is 2 Thessalonians, which is written by an author claiming to be Paul. I remain unconvinced that 2 Thessalonians is pseudony mous. Furthermore, the generation following Paul tended to ascribe to Jesus attributes and functions that Paul's generation reserved to God, a tendency that was a natural consequence of a developing Christology. This subreddit is not for contemporary theological application. In 1 Thessalonians the parousia, the coming of Jesus from heaven as apocalyptic judge and redeemer, is imminent. But in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul (or an unknown author writing in his name) argues against an imminent expectation. Udo Schnelle, translated by M. Eugene Boring. In the first letter Paul says the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Do you think the Yet over the last few decades, the growing trend is that even some evangelical scholars are embracing similar positions. The actual effect of including pseudonymous epistles in the NT canon is, however, quite the opposite. However, 2 Thessalonians 2:2 seems to warn its readers against accepting teachings from a letter forged in Paul's name, indicating that either a pseudonymous author was attempting to disarm the letter's audience into accepting his forgery as authentically Pauline, or that Paul himself was writing to warn his readers that forged letters were . (1) Some believe it is probable that the NT contains pseudononymous works, since pseudonymity was a common practice in antiquity. Since Marcion accepted it as authentic, we can hardly place it as late as 130-135. Bassler, Jouette M. 2010. months[12]="Dec."; In 1 Corinthians he tells readers I think that, in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as you are (1 Cor 7:26). The nearly unanimous consensus of modern scholarship is that 2 Thess. Great, thanks for sharing these points. James obtained his BTh with cum laude and is currently pursuing his PhD in the Study of Religions at the University of Cape Town. Christians will share Christ's glory. months[11]="Nov."; "; Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts highlight the significance of which of the following cities?