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Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

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Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents
Some scholars have disputed the precise identification of Galatians as an apologetic letter and others have objected to various details of the outline.
The outline is not able to account for all the facts (e.g., the exhortations do not fit any known pattern in formal letter writing).
More fundamental is the objection that for Paul to follow in such detail the rules of oratory seems inconsistent with his disavowal of eloquent speech (I Cor. 2:1-5; 2 Cor. 11:6; Col. 2:4).

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents
Whatever the problems, there has been a growing recognition of the need to analyze the letters of the New Testament in the light of ancient rhetorical practices.
This development in modern scholarship has had some valuable repercussions, not the least of which is a renewed appreciation for the wholeness and coherence of these documents.
An example is the letter to the Philippians.

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents
In the past, some scholars have argued that Philippians is really made up of two or three different letters.
Recent rhetorical studies, however, have shown that this document is a literary whole and that fragmentation theories cannot account for its structure.

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically
Even after we have made a special effort to understand the epistles as whole documents, inquiring into their historical context and literary structure, we are left with a crucial task—theological interpretation.
This task has often been minimized, ignored, or even rejected altogether as something that lies outside the responsibility of the interpreter.
In recent decades, however, the validity of theological reflection has become widely recognized.

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically
Since the NT letters, especially Paul’s, address theological issues more directly and extensively than other parts of Scripture, discussions of Pauline theology are now more numerous than grains of sand on the seashore.
Scholars have diverse ideas about what it means to interpret the Bible theologically.
For some, it seems to be an exercise in discovering “contradictions” among the biblical authors (e.g., Paul vs. James) or even between two writings by the same author (e.g., Romans vs. Galatians).
At the other extreme, some conservative scholars devote so much of their attention to the common features among the writers of Scripture that the biblical message becomes “flattened.”

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically
Balance is needed; on the one hand, an evangelical commitment to the divine unity of Scripture certainly implies that we must interpret individual books within the total theological context of the Bible, so that the connection between the parts and the whole becomes as clear as possible.
On the other hand, sensitivity to the human and historical character of Scripture will lead us to recognize and even emphasize the distinctiveness of each portion.

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically
One of the most useful hermeneutical guidelines we can use consists in asking of each writing:

Why did God include this book in the canon?
What is its distinctive contribution to the whole teaching of Scripture?
What is its place in the history of revelation?

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically
When the Bible is approached theologically a common question is whether a unifying element can be identified in a writer’s thought.
Much ink has been spilled on such subjects as “the center of Pauline theology.”
Whether or not we can come up with such a center, if we interpret his writings responsibly, we need to consider how those basic ideas relate to specific passages.
See examples, (Kaiser/Silva, pp.134-6)

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents
We must remind ourselves that the epistles of the NT, no less than the rest of Scripture, come to us from God himself and thus bear his authority.
As Paul wrote his letters, he did so with the consciousness of speaking the words of God (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13), and he did not hesitate to exercise his apostolic authority when necessary (cf. 2 Thess. 3:6).
This point needs to be made because the emphasis on the letters as historical documents could lead to a downplaying of their significance as Scripture.

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents
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How hard can it be to read and understand personal correspondence?

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Some scholars have disputed the precise identification of Galatians as an apologetic letter and others have objected to various details of the outline.

The outline is not able to account for all the facts (e.g., the exhortations do not fit any known pattern in formal letter writing).

More fundamental is the objection that for Paul to follow in such detail the rules of oratory seems inconsistent with his disavowal of eloquent speech (I Cor. 2:1-5; 2 Cor. 11:6; Col. 2:4).

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Whatever the problems, there has been a growing recognition of the need to analyze the letters of the New Testament in the light of ancient rhetorical practices.

This development in modern scholarship has had some valuable repercussions, not the least of which is a renewed appreciation for the wholeness and coherence of these documents.

An example is the letter to the Philippians.

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Literary Documents

In the past, some scholars have argued that Philippians is really made up of two or three different letters.

Recent rhetorical studies, however, have shown that this document is a literary whole and that fragmentation theories cannot account for its structure.

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Even after we have made a special effort to understand the epistles as whole documents, inquiring into their historical context and literary structure, we are left with a crucial task—theological interpretation.

This task has often been minimized, ignored, or even rejected altogether as something that lies outside the responsibility of the interpreter.

In recent decades, however, the validity of theological reflection has become widely recognized.

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Since the NT letters, especially Paul’s, address theological issues more directly and extensively than other parts of Scripture, discussions of Pauline theology are now more numerous than grains of sand on the seashore.

Scholars have diverse ideas about what it means to interpret the Bible theologically.

For some, it seems to be an exercise in discovering “contradictions” among the biblical authors (e.g., Paul vs. James) or even between two writings by the same author (e.g., Romans vs. Galatians).

At the other extreme, some conservative scholars devote so much of their attention to the common features among the writers of Scripture that the biblical message becomes “flattened.”

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Balance is needed; on the one hand, an evangelical commitment to the divine unity of Scripture certainly implies that we must interpret individual books within the total theological context of the Bible, so that the connection between the parts and the whole becomes as clear as possible.

On the other hand, sensitivity to the human and historical character of Scripture will lead us to recognize and even emphasize the distinctiveness of each portion.

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

One of the most useful hermeneutical guidelines we can use consists in asking of each writing:

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

Reading the NT Letters Theologically

When the Bible is approached theologically a common question is whether a unifying element can be identified in a writer’s thought.

Much ink has been spilled on such subjects as “the center of Pauline theology.”

Whether or not we can come up with such a center, if we interpret his writings responsibly, we need to consider how those basic ideas relate to specific passages.

See examples, (Kaiser/Silva, pp.134-6)

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents

We must remind ourselves that the epistles of the NT, no less than the rest of Scripture, come to us from God himself and thus bear his authority.

As Paul wrote his letters, he did so with the consciousness of speaking the words of God (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13), and he did not hesitate to exercise his apostolic authority when necessary (cf. 2 Thess. 3:6).

This point needs to be made because the emphasis on the letters as historical documents could lead to a downplaying of their significance as Scripture.

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents

Reading the NT Letters as Authoritative Documents