Morality and boundaries in Paul
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the way in which Paul emphasised the mental boundaries of the Christ communities to turn them into moral boundaries and how these boundaries affected both Gentile and Jewish believers.
Abstract: In the Pauline communities, ethics, ethos and identity were closely intertwined. This essay analyses the way in which Paul emphasised the mental boundaries of the Christ communities to turn them into moral boundaries. In this process, the fencing off of these communities over against their past and their present was a fundamental feature of Paul’s reasoning. The communities thus became fenced off from their past, because the Christ event was seen as causing a major change in history. This change affected both Gentile and Jewish believers. At the same time, Paul stressed the boundaries with the outside world: he characterised the inside world as the loyal remnant of Israel, consisting of Jews and Gentiles alike, and pointed out that this group is the group of the elect ‘saints’. The perspective with which Paul looked at ethics and morality inside this group was strongly coloured by the assumed identity of this group as ‘Israel’. Even though the Mosaic Law was no longer the focal point for the identity of this eschatological Israel, the ethical demands Paul mentioned over against the members of this new Israel were highly influenced by the morality of the law. For Paul, sanctification was a fundamental ideal, and this ideal reflected the spirituality of the Holiness Code of Leviticus. This particular ethical model was framed by the awareness that Paul (and Christ before him) was ‘sent’ by God, much in the same way the prophets of Israel themselves had been sent.
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TL;DR: In this article, the relevance of social ethics in South Africa and its current status is investigated, and it is argued that social ethical reflection is of particular relevance for South Africa, particularly those who focus on the Old Testament, are known for their engagement with themes that can be termed social ethical.
Abstract: South African biblical scholars – particularly those who focus on the Old Testament – are known for their engagement with themes that can be termed social ethical. This impulse is used as starting point to investigate the relevance of social ethics in South Africa and its current status. It is argued that social ethical reflection is of particular relevance for South Africa. This thesis is investigated in two ways. Firstly, the applicability of social ethics as academic field is examined and it is shown that post-apartheid South African political institutions, systems and processes themselves are subjected to major changes and developments – a traditional area of focus of social ethics. Secondly, the current status of social ethical reflection in theological journals based in South Africa is investigated. The article concludes by showing that the current status of social ethical reflection in South African academic theology does not reflect the perceived need for social ethical reflection.
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Book•
01 Mar 1987
68 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Wanamaker incorporates what may be called a social science approach to the study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, taking into account the social context that gave rise to Paul s correspondence.
Abstract: The letters of Paul to the newly founded Christian community at Thessalonica hold a special place within the Christian tradition as possibly the earliest extant Christian writings. They are also of special interest not only for their theological value but for their sociological context. Among the communities established by Paul, the church at Thessalonica appears to have been the only one to have suffered serious external oppression. These two important epistles, then, speak uniquely to contemporary Christians living in a society often ideologically, if not politically, opposed to Christian faith. In this innovative commentary Charles A. Wanamaker incorporates what may be called a social science approach to the study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, taking into full account the social context that gave rise to Paul s correspondence. While Wanamaker in no way ignores traditional historical-critical, linguistic, literary, and theological approaches to writing a commentary -- in fact, at several points he makes a significant contribution to the questions raised by traditional exegesis -- at the same time he goes beyond previous commentaries on the Thessalonian correspondence by taking seriously the social dimensions both of Christianity at Thessalonica and of the texts of 1 and 2 Thessalonians themselves. In blending traditional exegetical methods with this newer approach, Wanamaker seeks to understand Pauline Christianity at Thessalonica as a socio-religious movement in the first-century Greco-Roman world and attempts to grasp the social character and functions of Paul s letters within this context. A significant and original addition to the literature on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, this commentary will be valuable to scholars, pastors, and students alike."
67 citations
Book•
06 Nov 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace Paul's theology as it unfolds in his letter to the church at Galatia, and attempt to illuminate how the Galatians likely comprehended it, at the time they received it.
Abstract: This new commentary in the New Testament Library series is not a systematic study of Pauline theology; rather, the aim of this study is to trace Paul's theology as it unfolds in his letter to the church at Galatia, and to attempt to illuminate, as far as possible, how the Galatians likely comprehended it, at the time they received it. The author asks readers to imagine themselves as silent witnesses to Paul's dictation of the letter and to observe, through a historical perspective, how the Galatian Christians might have understood Paul's words.
59 citations
Journal Article•
47 citations