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111-468: Most scholars believe that Paul actually wrote seven of the thirteen Pauline epistles ( Galatians , Romans , 1 Corinthians , 2 Corinthians , Philemon , Philippians , 1 Thessalonians ), while three of the epistles in Paul's name are widely seen as pseudepigraphic ( 1 Timothy , 2 Timothy , and Titus ). Whether Paul wrote the three other epistles in his name ( 2 Thessalonians , Ephesians and Colossians )

222-488: A James, brother of Jesus . However, most modern scholars tend to reject this line of reasoning, since the author himself does not indicate any familial relationship with Jesus . A similar problem presents itself with the Epistle of Jude (Ἰούδας Ioudas ): the writer names himself a brother of James (ἀδελφὸς δὲ Ἰακώβου adelphos de Iakóbou ), but it is not clear which James is meant. According to some Christian traditions, this

333-574: A decade or more later than the traditional dates. Finally, Epistle to the Hebrews , although anonymous and not really in the form of a letter, has long been included among Paul's collected letters. Although some churches ascribe Hebrews to Paul, neither most of Christianity nor modern scholarship does so. In the order they appear in the New Testament, the Pauline epistles are: This ordering

444-549: A detailed introduction presenting the supposed actual author, with Burroughs himself pretending to be no more than the literary editor. J.R.R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings presents that story and The Hobbit as translated from the fictional Red Book of Westmarch written by characters within the novels. The twelve books of The Flashman Papers series by George MacDonald Fraser similarly pretend to be transcriptions of

555-678: A difference in Paul's treatment of the Law in Galatians and Romans. In Galatians the law is described as the "oppressor" whereas in Romans Paul describes the Law as being just as much in need of the Spirit to set it free from sin as humans are. Peter Oakes argues that Galatians cannot be construed as depicting the law positively because the Law played the role it was meant to play in the scope of human history. Wolfgang Reinbold argues that, contrary to

666-524: A form of ethical instruction very common in the Greco-Roman world and a popular formulation of ancient Christian ethics . Probably the most famous single statement made in the Epistle, by Paul, is in chapter 3, verse 28 : "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." The debate surrounding that verse is legend and

777-564: A later author's predictions of the coming fall of the Seleucid Empire . Christian scholars traditionally maintain that nothing known to be pseudepigraphical was admitted to the New Testament canon. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes, The first four historical books of the New Testament are supplied with titles, which however ancient, do not go back to the respective authors of those sacred texts. The Canon of Muratori , Clement of Alexandria , and St. Irenaeus bear distinct witness to

888-521: A new identity, which is the identity in Christ, and he believes that this will fix the social conflicts. Many scholars debate the meaning of the phrase "Israel of God" in Galatians 6:16, wherein Paul wishes for "peace and mercy" to be "even upon the Israel of God". As Schreiner explains, scholars debate whether "Israel of God" refers to ethnically Jewish believers "within the church of Jesus Christ", or to

999-661: A new perspective of the Judaism of Paul's time. "Luther's treatment of Galatians has affected most interpretations of the letter, at least among Protestants, up to the present time... Problems with Luther's interpretations and perspectives have become evident in modern times, particularly in his understanding and treatment of Judaism in Paul's day. This development led to some schools of thought, such as Canadian religious historian Barrie Wilson who points out in How Jesus Became Christian , how Paul's Letter to

1110-717: A normal feature when senders of letters, regardless of their education, take the pen from their amanuensis and add a few words of greeting in their own hands. Galatians 5:14 mentions the Great Commandment . Galatians 5:22-23 describes the Fruit of the Holy Spirit , a list of attributes the author says indicate people living in accord with the Holy Spirit . Lists of virtues like this and also of vices (such as those found immediately prior in Galatians 5:19-21) were

1221-687: A noted German humanist scholar and poet of the German Renaissance , collected numerous Greek and Latin manuscripts in his function as librarian of the Imperial Library in Vienna. In a 1504 letter to the Venetian publisher Aldus Manutius Celtes claimed to have discovered the missing books of Ovid 's Fasti . However, it turned out that the purported Ovid verses had actually been composed by an 11th-century monk and were known to

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1332-534: A phrase that occurs only once in all of Paul's letters. As Schreiner explains, some scholars think that the "law of Christ" is the sum of Jesus's words, functioning as a "new Torah for believers". Others argue that the "genitive in the 'law of Christ' 'should be understood as explanatory, i.e. the law which is Christ ' ". Some focus on the relationship between the law of Christ and the Old Testament Decalogue. Still other scholars argue that whereas

1443-404: A unified conclusion regarding Paul's theology. Online translations of the Epistle to Galatians: Related articles: Pseudepigrapha#Pauline epistles Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. The name of

1554-598: Is "Jew or Greek", the second one is "slave or free", and the third one is "male and female", Paul states that in Jesus Christ there is no longer a distinction between them. However, the meaning of this verse is not expounded upon further by Paul. In modern politics, the debate about the meaning of Galatians 3:28 is significant, as it is used by different people and scholars in order to make normative claims about sexuality, gender, and even marriage. The ongoing nature of this debate reveals that scholars still have not come to

1665-410: Is Paul's declaration that one can be in relationship with Jesus no matter their gender. Judith Gundry-Volf argues for a more general approach, stating that one's gender does not provide any benefit or burden. Pamela Eisenbaum argues that Paul was exhorting his readers to be mindful in changing conduct in relationships that involved people of different status. Ben Witherington argues that Paul is combatting

1776-431: Is a true example of Paul's writing. The main arguments in favor of the authenticity of Galatians include its style and themes, which are common to the core letters of the Pauline corpus. George S. Duncan described its authenticity as "unquestioned. In every line it betrays its origin as a genuine letter of Paul." A majority of scholars agree that Galatians was written between the late 40s and early 50s, although some date

1887-872: Is also a category of modern pseudepigrapha . Examples of books labeled Old Testament pseudepigrapha from the Protestant point of view are the Book of Enoch , the Book of Jubilees (both of which are canonical in Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity and the Beta Israel branch of Judaism); the Life of Adam and Eve and " Pseudo-Philo ". The term pseudepigrapha is also commonly used to describe numerous works of Jewish religious literature written from about 300 BCE to 300 CE. Not all of these works are actually pseudepigraphical. It also refers to books of

1998-503: Is an ethnic reference to Galatians , a Celtic people living in northern Asia Minor . The New Testament indicates that Paul spent time personally in the cities of Galatia ( Antioch of Pisidia , Iconium , Lystra and Derbe ) during his missionary journeys. They seem to have been composed mainly of Gentile converts. After Paul's departure, the churches were led astray from Paul's trust/faith-centered teachings by individuals proposing "another gospel" (which centered on salvation through

2109-553: Is debate about the meaning of the phrase δια πιστεος Χριστου in Galatians 2:16. Grammatically, this phrase can be interpreted either as an objective genitive "through faith in Jesus Christ" or as a subjective genitive "through the faith of Jesus Christ". There are theological ramifications to each position, but given the corpus of the Pauline literature, the majority of scholars have treated as an objective genitive, translating it as "faith in Jesus Christ". Daniel Harrington writes, "the subjective genitive does not oppose or do away with

2220-415: Is doubted. For example, the Book of Daniel is considered by some to have been written in the 2nd century BCE, 400 years after the prophet Daniel lived, and thus the work is pseudepigraphic. A New Testament example might be the book of 2 Peter , considered by some to be written approximately 80 years after Saint Peter 's death. Early Christians, such as Origen , harbored doubts as to the authenticity of

2331-448: Is embedded in a discussion about justification: our relationship with God. Position (2) reminds its critics that the "whole letter context" is very much about how people got on in the here and now together, and in fact the discussion about justification came out of an actual example of people treating other people differently (2:11ff). Much variety exists in discussions of Paul's view of the Law in Galatians. Nicole Chibici-Revneanu noticed

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2442-519: Is fragmented in a few areas, causing some of the original text to be missing. The text of surviving manuscripts varies . Biblical scholar Bruce Metzger writes: "through careful research relating to paper construction, handwriting development, and the established principles of textual criticism, scholars can be rather certain about where these errors and changes appeared and what the original text probably said." Surviving early complete and partial manuscripts include: Biblical scholars agree that Galatians

2553-458: Is no distinction between males and females; instead, it means that there is no room for gender hierarchy in the gospel. The second interpretation states that one must recognize the historical background of Paul's time. Jeremy Punt argues that although many scholars want to say that this verse signifies changing gender norms, it actually reflects on the patriarchal structure of Paul's time. In Paul's time, females and males were considered one sex, and

2664-692: Is not John the Apostle, but there is no scholarly consensus for any particular historical figure. (see: Authorship of the Johannine works ). Two of the letters claim to have been written or issued by Simon Peter , one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Therefore, they have traditionally been called the Petrine epistles . However, most modern scholars agree the second epistle was probably not written by Peter, because it appears to have been written in

2775-429: Is not sufficient evidence to reconstruct the arguments of Paul's opponents. It is not enough to simply reverse his denials and assertions as it does not result in a coherent argument nor can it possibly reflect the thought processes of his opponents accurately. It is nearly impossible to reconstruct the opponents from Paul's text because their representation is necessarily polemical. All that can be said with any certainty

2886-454: Is remarkably consistent in the manuscript tradition, with very few deviations. The evident principle of organization is descending length of the Greek text, but keeping the three pastoral epistles addressed to individuals in a separate final section. The only anomaly is that Galatians precedes the slightly longer Ephesians. In modern editions, the anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews is placed at

2997-512: Is that Galatians 2:1–10 describes Paul and Barnabas' visit to Jerusalem described in Acts 11:30 and 12:25. This theory holds that the epistle was written before the Council was convened, possibly making it the earliest of Paul's epistles. According to this theory, the revelation mentioned (Gal. 2:2) corresponds with the prophecy of Agabus (Acts 11:27–28). This view holds that the private speaking about

3108-706: Is that they supported a different position of Gentile relations with Jews than Paul did. This outline is provided by Douglas J. Moo . This epistle addresses the question of whether the Gentiles in Galatia were obligated to follow Mosaic Law to be part of the Christ community. After an introductory address, the apostle discusses the subjects which had occasioned the epistle. In the first two chapters, Paul discusses his life before Christ and his early ministry, including interactions with other apostles in Jerusalem. This

3219-475: Is the doctrine of the proper distinction between law and gospel. While Luther's contemporary opponents failed to see this—whether they were the papists, enthusiasts, Anabaptists, Sacramentarians, or antinomians—law/gospel articulation defined Luther's legacy in the thinking of his colleagues, students, and generations after him. This distinction of law and gospel has been imperative to Luther's understanding of Paul's Judaism as well, but modern scholarship has formed

3330-428: Is the most extended discussion of Paul's past that we find in the Pauline letters (cf. Philippians 3:1–7). Some have read this autobiographical narrative as Paul's defense of his apostolic authority. Others, however, see Paul's telling of the narrative as making an argument to the Galatians about the nature of the gospel and the Galatians' own situation. The two instances of the word "Judaism" in Galatians 1:13-14 are

3441-618: Is the same James as the author of the Epistle of James, who was allegedly a brother of Jesus; and so, this Jude should also be a brother of Jesus, despite the fact he does not indicate any such thing in his text. The Gospel of Peter and the attribution to Paul of the Epistle to the Laodiceans are both examples of pseudepigrapha that were not included in the New Testament canon. They are often referred to as New Testament apocrypha . Further examples of New Testament pseudepigrapha include

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3552-573: Is widely debated. According to some scholars, Paul wrote the questionable letters with the help of a secretary, or amanuensis , who would have influenced their style, if not their theological content. The Epistle to the Hebrews , although it does not bear his name, was traditionally considered Pauline (although Rome questioned its authorship), but from the 16th century onwards opinion steadily moved against Pauline authorship and few scholars now ascribe it to Paul, mostly because it does not read like any of his other epistles in style and content and because

3663-562: The Pseudo-Apuleius (author of a fifth-century herbal ascribed to Apuleius), and the author traditionally referred to as the " Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite ", are classic examples of pseudepigraphy. In the fifth century the moralist Salvian published Contra avaritiam ("Against avarice") under the name of Timothy; the letter in which he explained to his former pupil, Bishop Salonius, his motives for so doing survives. There

3774-877: The Christian Bible and are foundational for the Christian Church. Therefore, those letters which some think to be pseudepigraphic are not considered any less valuable to Christians. Some of these epistles are termed as "disputed" or "pseudepigraphical" letters because they do not appear to have been written by Paul. They instead appear to have come from followers writing in Paul's name, often using material from his surviving letters. Some choose to believe that these followers may have had access to letters written by Paul that no longer survive, although this theory still depends on someone other than Paul writing these books. Some theologians prefer to simply distinguish between "undisputed" and "disputed" letters, thus avoiding

3885-611: The Council of Jerusalem . The similarity between this epistle and the epistle to the Romans has led to the conclusion that they were both written at roughly the same time, during Paul's stay in Macedonia in roughly 56–57. This third date takes the word "quickly" in Gal. 1:6 literally. John P. Meier suggests that Galatians was "written in the middle or late 50s, only a few years after

3996-543: The Empire of Nicaea according to William of Rubruck . Even so, many contemporary scholars believed Celtes and continued to write about the existence of the missing books until well into the 17th century. Pseudepigraphy has been employed as a metafictional technique. Authors who have made notable use of this device include James Hogg ( The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner ), Thomas Carlyle ( Sartor Resartus ), Jorge Luis Borges (" An Examination of

4107-626: The Epistle to the Hebrews , the author and writer does claim to be Paul. The contested letters may have been written using Paul's name, as it was common to attribute at that point in history. Seven letters (with consensus dates) considered genuine by most scholars: The three letters on which scholars are about evenly divided: If these letters are inauthentic, then the consensus dates are probably incorrect. The letters thought to be pseudepigraphic by many scholars (traditional dating given): The content of these letters strongly suggests they were written

4218-588: The Gospel of Barnabas and the Gospel of Judas , which begins by presenting itself as "the secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot". The Vision of Ezra is an ancient apocryphal text purportedly written by the biblical scribe Ezra . The earliest surviving manuscripts, composed in Latin , date to the 11th century CE, although textual peculiarities strongly suggest that

4329-527: The Mosaic Law , so-called legalism ), whom Paul saw as preaching a "different gospel" from what Paul had taught. The Galatians appear to have been receptive to the teaching of these newcomers, and the epistle is Paul's response to what he sees as their willingness to turn from his teaching. The identity of these "opponents" is disputed. However, the majority of modern scholars view them as Jewish Christians, who taught that in order for converts to belong to

4440-627: The People of God , they must be subject to some or all of the Jewish Law (i.e. Judaizers ). The letter indicates controversy concerning circumcision , Sabbath observance , and the Mosaic Covenant . It would appear, from Paul's response, that they cited the example of Abraham , who was circumcised as a mark of receiving the covenant blessings . They certainly appear to have questioned Paul's authority as an apostle , perhaps appealing to

4551-712: The deuterocanonical books (Catholic and Orthodox) or Apocrypha (Protestant), the books that appear in extant copies of the Septuagint in the fourth century or later and the Vulgate , but not in the Hebrew Bible or in Protestant Bibles . The Catholic Church distinguishes only between the deuterocanonical and all other books; the latter are called biblical apocrypha , which in Catholic usage includes

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4662-657: The liturgy . An example of a text that is both apocryphal and pseudepigraphical is the Odes of Solomon . It is considered pseudepigraphical because it was not actually written by Solomon but instead is a collection of early Christian (first to second century) hymns and poems, originally written not in Hebrew, and apocryphal because they were not accepted in either the Tanakh or the New Testament . Protestants have also applied

4773-607: The western part of the Roman Empire to the Pope . Composed probably in the 8th century, it was used, especially in the 13th century, in support of claims of political authority by the papacy . Lorenzo Valla , an Italian Catholic priest and Renaissance humanist , is credited with first exposing the forgery with solid philological arguments in 1439–1440, although the document's authenticity had been repeatedly contested since 1001. The Privilegium maius ('greater privilege')

4884-462: The " Homeric Hymns " was recognized as pseudepigraphical, that is, not actually written by Homer. The only surviving Ancient Roman book on cooking is pseudepigraphically attributed to a famous gourmet, Apicius , even though it is not clear who actually assembled the recipes. In secular literary studies, when works of antiquity have been demonstrated not to have been written by the authors to whom they have traditionally been ascribed, some writers apply

4995-467: The "Mosaic law is abolished", the new "law of Christ fits with the Zion Torah", which "hails from Zion ... and is eschatological". Schreiner himself believes that the law of Christ is equivalent to Galatians 5:13–14's "law of love". According to Schreiner, when believers love others, "they behave as Christ did and fulfill his law". As Thomas Schreiner explains, there is significant debate over

5106-668: The Antiochene incident he narrates". Eminent biblical scholar Helmut Koester also subscribes to the "North Galatian Hypothesis". Koester points out that the cities of Galatia in the north consist of Ankyra, Pessinus, and Gordium (of the Gordian Knot fame of Alexander the Great ). The South Galatian view holds that Paul wrote Galatians before the First Jerusalem Council, probably on his way to it, and that it

5217-582: The Apostle to a number of Early Christian communities in Galatia . Scholars have suggested that this is either the Roman province of Galatia in southern Anatolia , or a large region defined by Galatians , an ethnic group of Celtic people in central Anatolia. The letter was originally written in Koine Greek and later translated into other languages. In this letter, Paul is principally concerned with

5328-461: The Apostle , and Jesus's brothers James and Jude . Three of the seven letters are anonymous. These three have traditionally been attributed to John the Apostle , the son of Zebedee and one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Consequently, these letters have been labelled the Johannine epistles , despite the fact that none of the epistles mentions any author. Most modern scholars believe the author

5439-577: The Galatian congregation. Jacqueline de Roo noticed a similar phrase in the works found at Qumran and argues that "works of the law" is speaking of obedience to the Torah acting as a way of being atoned for. Michael Bachmann argues that this phrase is a mention of certain actions taken by Jewish people to distinguish themselves and perpetuate separation between themselves and Gentiles. Much debate surrounds what Paul means by "law of Christ" in Galatians 6:2,

5550-512: The Galatians represents a sweeping rejection of Jewish Law (Torah). In so doing, Paul clearly takes his Christ movement out of the orbit of Judaism and into an entirely different milieu. Paul's stance constitutes a major contrast to the position of James, brother of Jesus , whose group in Jerusalem adhered to the observance of Torah. Galatians 3:28 is one of the most controversial and influential verses in Galatians. There are three different pairs that Paul uses to elaborate his ideology. The first one

5661-895: The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) to take place at all if the issue were settled in Acts 11:30/12:25, as this view holds. Defenders of the view do not think it unlikely an issue of such magnitude would need to be discussed more than once. New Testament scholar J.B. Lightfoot also objected to this view since it "clearly implies that his [Paul's] Apostolic office and labours were well known and recognized before this conference." Defenders of this view, such as Ronald Fung , disagree with both parts of Lightfoot's statement, insisting Paul received his "Apostolic Office" at his conversion (Gal. 1:15–17; Acts 9 ). Fung holds, then, that Paul's apostolic mission began almost immediately in Damascus (Acts 9:20). While accepting that Paul's apostolic anointing

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5772-462: The New Testament canon whose authorship is misrepresented. Such works include the following: Various canonical works accepted as scripture have since been reexamined and considered by modern scholars in the 19th century onward as likely cases of pseudepigraphica. The Book of Daniel directly claims to be written by the prophet Daniel , yet there are strong reasons to believe it was not written until centuries after Daniel's death, such as references to

5883-547: The Old Testament backdrop of Galatians 6:16—e.g. a verse such as Isaiah 54:10 wherein God promises mercy and peace to Israel—suggests that "the Israel of God" refers to a portion of the new, eschatological Israel "composed of Jews and Gentiles". Luther’s fundamental belief in justification by faith was formed in large part by his interpretation of Galatians. Masaki claims At the heart of Luther's Lectures on Galatians

5994-877: The Old and New Testaments or by persons involved in Jewish or Christian religious study or history. These works can also be written about biblical matters, often in such a way that they appear to be as authoritative as works which have been included in the many versions of the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Eusebius indicates this usage dates back at least to Serapion of Antioch , whom Eusebius records as having said: "But those writings which are falsely inscribed with their name ( ta pseudepigrapha ), we as experienced persons reject...." Many such works were also referred to as Apocrypha , which originally connoted "private" or "non-public": those that were not endorsed for public reading in

6105-638: The Works of Herbert Quain "; " Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote "), Vladimir Nabokov ( Pale Fire ), Stanislaw Lem ( A Perfect Vacuum ; Imaginary Magnitude ) Roberto Bolaño ( Nazi Literature in the Americas ) and Stefan Heym ( The Lenz Papers ). Edgar Rice Burroughs also presented many of his works – including the most well-known, the Tarzan books – as pseudepigrapha, prefacing each book with

6216-595: The Zohar. This accords with the traditional claim by adherents that Kabbalah is the concealed part of the Oral Torah . Modern academic analysis of the Zohar, such as that by the 20th century religious historian Gershom Scholem , has theorized that de León was the actual author, as textual analysis points to a Medieval Spanish Jewish writer rather than one living in Roman-ruled Palestine. Conrad Celtes ,

6327-431: The ability to make such determinations with a reasonable degree of certainty has been called into question. It has often been presumed that they traveled from Jerusalem, but some commentators have raised the question of whether they may have actually been insiders familiar with the dynamics of the community. Furthermore, some commentaries and articles pointed out the inherent problems in mirror-reading, emphasizing that there

6438-503: The author to whom the work is falsely attributed is often prefixed with the particle " pseudo- ", such as for example " pseudo-Aristotle " or " pseudo-Dionysius ": these terms refer to the anonymous authors of works falsely attributed to Aristotle and Dionysius the Areopagite , respectively. In biblical studies , the term pseudepigrapha can refer to an assorted collection of Jewish religious works thought to be written c. 300 BCE to 300 CE. They are distinguished by Protestants from

6549-416: The authorship ascribed to them, but which stood outside both the biblical canons recognized by Protestants and Catholics. These works were also outside the particular set of books that Roman Catholics called deuterocanonical and to which Protestants had generally applied the term Apocryphal. Accordingly, the term pseudepigraphical , as now used often among both Protestants and Roman Catholics (allegedly for

6660-551: The book only appearing in the 2nd century BCE and onward. The book is an apocalypse wherein Daniel offers a series of predictions of the future, and is meant to reassure the Jews of the period that the tyrant Antiochus IV Epiphanes would soon be overthrown. By backdating the book to the 6th century BCE and providing a series of correct prophecies as to the history of the past 400 years, the authorship claim of Daniel would have strengthened

6771-474: The book's authorship. The term has also been used by some Muslims to describe hadiths ; who claim that most hadiths are fabrications created in the 8th and 9th century CE, and falsely attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad (see Quranism ). The word pseudepigrapha (from the Greek : ψευδής , pseudḗs , "false" and ἐπιγραφή , epigraphḗ , "name" or "inscription" or "ascription"; thus when taken together it means "false superscription or title"; see

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6882-414: The books that Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants accept. The same is true of some Jewish religious movements . Many works that are "apocryphal" are otherwise considered genuine. There is a tendency not to use the word pseudepigrapha when describing works later than about 300 CE when referring to biblical matters. But the late-appearing Gospel of Barnabas , Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius ,

6993-399: The church of Christ as a whole (Jewish and Gentiles all included). Those who believe that "Israel of God" only refers to ethnically Jewish believers, argue that had Paul meant the entire church, he would use the word "mercy" before "peace", because Paul "sees peace as the petition for the church, while mercy is the request for unredeemed Jews". Other scholars, such as G. K. Beale, argue that

7104-422: The clarity it brings to the discussion), may make it difficult to discuss questions of pseudepigraphical authorship of canonical books dispassionately with a lay audience. To confuse the matter even more, Eastern Orthodox Christians accept books as canonical that Roman Catholics and most Protestant denominations consider pseudepigraphical or at best of much less authority. There exist also churches that reject some of

7215-435: The collection of the four Gospels was actually made. Besides as well pointed out by Prof. Bacon, "the historical books of the New Testament differ from its apocalyptic and epistolary literature, as those of the Old Testament differ from its prophecy, in being invariably anonymous, and for the same reason. Prophecies, whether in the earlier or in the later sense, and letters, to have authority, must be referable to some individual;

7326-458: The concept of faith in Christ. Rather, it reestablishes priorities. One is justified by the faith of Jesus Christ manifested in his obedience to God by his death upon the cross. It is on the basis of that faith that one believes in Christ". Galatians 3:28 says, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." According to Norbert Baumert, Galatians 3:28

7437-404: The controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law during the Apostolic Age . Paul argues that the Gentile Galatians do not need to adhere to the tenets of the Mosaic Law, particularly religious male circumcision , by contextualizing the role of the law in light of the revelation of Christ. The Epistle to the Galatians has exerted enormous influence on the history of Christianity,

7548-469: The corpus of Paul's writings. They internally claim to have been written by Paul, but some biblical scholars present strong evidence that they could not have been written by Paul. Those known as the "Pastoral Epistles" (Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are all so similar that they are thought to be written by the same unknown author in Paul's name. There are seven letters in the New Testament which are attributed to several apostles, such as Saint Peter , John

7659-402: The course of history but are now considered pseudepigraphic : David Trobisch finds it likely that Paul first collected his letters for publication himself. It was normal practice in Paul's time for letter writers to keep one copy for themselves and send a second copy to the recipient(s); surviving collections of ancient letters sometimes originated from the senders' copies, at other times from

7770-399: The decision of the Council of Jerusalem that Gentiles should not be circumcised. The absence of this argument from Paul strongly implies Galatians was written prior to the council. Since the council took place in 48–49 AD, and Paul evangelized South Galatia in 47–48 AD, the most plausible date for the writing of Galatians is 48 AD. Paul's letter is addressed "to the churches of Galatia", but

7881-412: The development of Christian theology, and the study of the Apostle Paul. The central dispute in the letter concerns the question of how Gentiles could convert to Christianity, which shows that this letter was written at a very early stage in church history, when the vast majority of Christians were Jewish or Jewish proselytes , which historians refer to as the Jewish Christians . Another indicator that

7992-487: The early 2nd century, long after Peter had died. Yet, opinions on the first epistle are more divided; many scholars do think this letter is authentic. (see: Authorship of the Petrine epistles ) In one epistle, the author only calls himself James (Ἰάκωβος Iákobos ). It is not known which James this is supposed to be. There are several different traditional Christian interpretations of other New Testament texts which mention

8103-541: The end of Paul's letters and before the general epistles . This practice was popularized through the 4th century Vulgate by Jerome , who was aware of ancient doubts about its authorship , and is also followed in most medieval Byzantine manuscripts with hardly any exceptions. The placement of Hebrews among the Pauline epistles is less consistent in the manuscripts: Paul's own writings are sometimes thought to indicate several of his letters that have not been preserved: Several other epistles were attributed to Paul during

8214-550: The energy and determination of his soul. Some commentators have postulated that Paul's large letters are owed to his poor eyesight, his deformed hands, or to other physical, mental, or psychological afflictions. Other commentators have attributed Paul's large letters to his poor education, his attempt to assert his authority, or his effort to emphasize his final words. Classics scholar Steve Reece has compared similar autographic subscriptions in thousands of Greek, Roman, and Jewish letters of this period and observes that large letters are

8325-400: The epistle does not indicate that Paul is the author, unlike the others. A number of scholars have argued that from biographic details from Paul, he likely suffered from some physical impediment such as vision loss or damaged hands and Paul does explicitly state, or even names, in multiple epistles that he used secretaries, which was a common practice in the Greco-Roman world; likely explaining

8436-522: The epistles that are seemingly non-Pauline. The Pauline epistles are usually placed between the Acts of the Apostles and the catholic epistles (also called the general epistles) in modern editions. Most Greek manuscripts place the general epistles first, and a few minuscules ( 175 , 325 , 336 , and 1424 ) place the Pauline epistles at the end of the New Testament. In all of these epistles, except

8547-402: The existence of those headings in the latter part of the second century of our era. Indeed, the manner in which Clement (Strom. I, xxi), and St. Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. III, xi, 7) employ them implies that, at that early date, our present titles to the gospels had been in current use for some considerable time. Hence, it may be inferred that they were prefixed to the evangelical narratives as early as

8658-495: The faith as it is in Jesus. Paul engages in an exegetical argument, drawing upon the figure of Abraham and the priority of his faith to the covenant of circumcision. Paul explains that the law was introduced as a temporary measure, one that is no longer efficacious now that the seed of Abraham, Christ, has come. Chapter 4 then concludes with a summary of the topics discussed and with the benediction, followed by 5:1–6:10 teaching about

8769-478: The female was understood to be the inferior version of the male. It is under this one sex understanding that Paul says that "there is no longer male and female", and it therefore does not show an abolition of the boundary between genders because that boundary did not exist in Paul's time. "There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female" refers to the universality of salvation through Christ which does not discriminate ethnicity, social status or gender. At

8880-490: The first part of that same century. That however, they do not go back to the first century of the Christian era, or at least that they are not original, is a position generally held at the present day. It is felt that since they are similar for the four Gospels, although the same Gospels were composed at some interval from each other, those titles were not framed and consequently not prefixed to each individual narrative, before

8991-409: The gospel shared among the Gentiles precludes the Acts 15 visit, but fits perfectly with Acts 11 . It further holds that continuing to remember the poor (Gal. 2:10) fits with the purpose of the Acts 11 visit, but not Acts 15. In addition, the exclusion of any mention of the letter of Acts 15 is seen to indicate that such a letter did not yet exist, since Paul would have been likely to use it against

9102-523: The greater authority of the Jerusalem church governed by James (brother of Jesus) . The North Galatian view holds that the epistle was written very soon after Paul's second visit to Galatia. In this view, the visit to Jerusalem , mentioned in Galatians 2:1–10 , is identical with that of Acts 15 , which is spoken of as a thing of the past. Consequently, the epistle seems to have been written after

9213-406: The greater his name, the better. But history was regarded as common possession. Its facts spoke for themselves. Only as the springs of common recollection began to dwindle, and marked differences to appear between the well-informed and accurate Gospels and the untrustworthy ... become worth while for the Christian teacher or apologist to specify whether the given representation of the current tradition

9324-405: The legalism confronted in Galatians. Finally, this view doubts Paul's confrontation of Peter (Gal. 2:11) would have been necessary after the events described in Acts 15. If this view is correct, the epistle should be dated somewhere around 47, depending on other difficult-to-date events, such as Paul's conversion. Kirsopp Lake found this view less likely and wondered why it would be necessary for

9435-422: The letter is early is that there is no hint in the letter of a developed organization within the Christian community at large. This puts it during the lifetime of Paul himself. The original of the letter (autograph) is not known to survive. Papyrus 46 , the earliest reasonably complete version available to scholars today, dates to approximately AD 200, around 150 years after the original was drafted. This papyrus

9546-595: The literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah , first appeared in Spain in the 13th century, and was published by a Jewish writer named Moses de León . De León ascribed the work to Shimon bar Yochai ("Rashbi"), a rabbi of the 2nd century during the Roman persecution who, according to Jewish legend, hid in a cave for thirteen years studying the Torah and was inspired by the Prophet Elijah to write

9657-434: The location of these churches is a matter of debate. Most scholars agree that it is a geographical reference to the Roman province in central Asia Minor, which had been settled by immigrant Celts in the 270s BC and retained Gaulish features of culture and language in Paul's day. Acts records Paul traveling to the "region of Galatia and Phrygia ", which lies immediately west of Galatia. Some scholars have argued that "Galatia"

9768-517: The meaning of Peter's eating with the Gentiles—specifically, why might the eating have been considered wrong? E. P. Sanders argues that though Jews could eat in the same location with Gentiles, Jews did not want to consume food from the same vessels used by Gentiles. As Sanders explains, Galatia's Jews and Gentiles might have had to share the same cup and loaf (i.e. food from the same vessels). Other scholars such as James Dunn argue that Cephas

9879-482: The only references to it in the whole New Testament; not until half a century later in the writings of Ignatius would "Judaism" and "Christianity" be considered two "religions". Galatians 2:11-14 describes the incident at Antioch , a reported dispute between the apostles Paul and Peter over whether to continue following the Law of Moses on issues like circumcision. Chapter 3 exhorts the Galatian believers to stand fast in

9990-521: The original composition to c.  50–60 . Jon Jordan notes that an interesting point to be made in the search for the dating of Galatians concerns whether or not it is a response to the Council of Jerusalem or a factor leading up to the Council. He writes, "did Paul's argument in Galatians flow out of the Jerusalem Council's decision, or did it come before the Jerusalem Council and possibly help shape that very decision?" It would have been enormously helpful to Paul's argument if he could have mentioned

10101-418: The popular reading of Paul, the Law was possible to keep. Regarding "under the law" (Gal. 3:23; 4:4 , 5 , 21; 5:18), Todd Wilson argues that "under the law" in Galatians was a "rhetorical abbreviation for 'under the curse of the law ' ". Regarding "works of the law" ( Gal. 2:16 ), Robert Keith Rapa argues Paul is speaking of viewing Torah-observances as the means of salvation which he is seeking to combat in

10212-534: The position espoused by opponents who were attempting to influence Paul's community to return to the patriarchal standards held by the majority culture. There are two different interpretations within the modern scholarship regarding the meaning and function of Paul's statement that "there is no longer male and female". The first interpretation states that Paul's words eliminate the biological differences between males and females and thus calls gender roles into question. Nancy Bedford says that this does not mean that there

10323-708: The prefix pseudo- to their names. Thus the encyclopedic compilation of Greek myth called the Bibliotheca is often now attributed, not to Apollodorus of Athens , but to "pseudo-Apollodorus" and the Catasterismi , recounting the translations of mythic figure into asterisms and constellations, not to the serious astronomer Eratosthenes , but to a "pseudo-Eratosthenes". The prefix may be abbreviated, as in "ps-Apollodorus" or "ps-Eratosthenes". In biblical studies , pseudepigrapha refers particularly to works which purport to be written by noted authorities in either

10434-487: The pseudepigrapha. In addition, two books considered canonical in the Orthodox Tewahedo churches, the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees , are categorized as pseudepigrapha from the point of view of Chalcedonian Christianity . In addition to the sets of generally agreed to be non-canonical works, scholars will also apply the term to canonical works who make a direct claim of authorship, yet this authorship

10545-487: The recipients' copies. A collection of Paul's letters circulated separately from other early Christian writings and later became part of the New Testament. When the canon was established, the gospels and Paul's letters were the core of what would become the New Testament. Epistle to the Galatians The Epistle to the Galatians is the ninth book of the New Testament . It is a letter from Paul

10656-471: The related epigraphy ) is the plural of "pseudepigraphon" (sometimes Latinized as "pseudepigraphum"). There have probably been pseudepigrapha almost from the invention of full writing . For example, ancient Greek authors often refer to texts which claimed to be by Orpheus or his pupil Musaeus of Athens but which attributions were generally disregarded. Already in Antiquity the collection known as

10767-430: The right use of their Christian freedom. Chapter 5 also discusses circumcision. In the conclusion of the epistle, Paul wrote, "See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand." (Galatians 6:11, ESV ) Regarding this conclusion, Lightfoot , in his Commentary on the epistle, says: At this point the apostle takes the pen from his amanuensis , and the concluding paragraph is written with his own hand. From

10878-406: The same time, the women in Paul's time would also not necessarily have heard an ideology of gender equality from the message of Galatians 3:28 because of their subordinated status in society at that time. Punt argues that in Galatians 3:28, Paul's intention was to fix social conflicts rather than to alter gender norms. By stating the importance of becoming one in Christ, Paul tries to give his society

10989-693: The supposed approval by the Patriarch added weight. The Anaphorae of Mar Nestorius , employed in the Eastern Churches , is attributed to Nestorius but its earliest manuscripts are in Syriac which question its Greek-authorship. Scholars have identified seven levels of authenticity which they have organized in a hierarchy ranging from literal authorship, meaning written in the author's own hand, to outright forgery: The Zohar ( Hebrew : זֹהַר , lit. Splendor or Radiance), foundational work in

11100-633: The term "pseudepigraphical". Authorship of 6 out of the 13 canonical epistles of Paul has been questioned by both Christian and non-Christian biblical scholars. These include the Epistle to the Ephesians , Epistle to the Colossians , Second Epistle to the Thessalonians , First Epistle to Timothy , Second Epistle to Timothy , and Epistle to Titus . These six books are referred to as "deutero-Pauline letters", meaning "secondary" standing in

11211-575: The text was originally written in Greek . Like the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra , the work is clearly Christian, and features several apostles being seen in heaven . However, the text is significantly shorter than the Apocalypse. The Donation of Constantine is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the 4th-century emperor Constantine the Great supposedly transferred authority over Rome and

11322-427: The time when letters began to be forged in his name it seems to have been his practice to close with a few words in his own handwriting, as a precaution against such forgeries ... In the present case he writes a whole paragraph, summing up the main lessons of the epistle in terse, eager, disjointed sentences. He writes it, too, in large, bold characters (Gr. pelikois grammasin ), that his hand-writing may reflect

11433-584: The title of Tsar . This, too, turned out to be false. While earlier Russian Monarchs had on some occasions used the title "Tsar", Ivan the Terrible previously known as "Grand Prince of all the Russias" was the first to be formally crowned as Tsar of All Rus ( Russian : Царь Всея Руси ). This was related to Russia's growing ambitions to become an Orthodox " Third Rome ", after the Fall of Constantinople – for which

11544-399: The two schools of thought are (1) this only applies to the spiritual standing of people in the eyes of God, it does not implicate social distinctions and gender roles on earth; and (2) this is not just about our spiritual standing but is also about how we relate to each other and treat each other in the here and now. Position (1) emphasises the immediate context of the verse and notes that it

11655-473: The well-known biblical figures to whom the early Christian leaders originally attributed authorship. The earliest and best manuscripts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were all written anonymously. Furthermore, the books of Acts, Hebrews, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John were also written anonymously. There are thirteen letters in the New Testament which are attributed to Paul and are still considered by Christians to carry Paul's authority. These letters are part of

11766-501: The word Apocrypha to texts found in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox scriptures which were found in the Septuagint but not found in the Masoretic Text Hebrew manuscripts. Catholics call those " deuterocanonical books ". Furthermore, there arose in some Protestant biblical scholarship an extended use of the term pseudepigrapha for works that appeared as though they ought to be part of the biblical canon, because of

11877-524: Was "already observing the basic food laws of the Torah" and then "men from James advocated an even stricter observance". Schreiner himself argues that Peter "actually ate unclean food—food prohibited by the OT law—before the men from James came". Depending on how one construes "eating with the Gentiles" in Galatians 2:12, one may reach different conclusions as to why Paul was so angry with Peter in Antioch. There

11988-531: Was 'according to' this or that special compiler, and to state his qualifications". It thus appears that the present titles of the Gospels are not traceable to the Evangelists themselves. However, agnostic biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman holds that only seven of Paul's epistles are convincingly genuine, and that all of the other 20 books in the New Testament appear to be written by unknown people who were not

12099-572: Was a document composed in 1358 or 1359 – but purporting to be much older. Its text elevated the Duchy of Austria into an Archduchy of Austria , thus greatly increasing the prestige of Rudolf IV of Austria (1358–65) of the House of Habsburg . In Russian history, in 1561 Muscovites supposedly received a letter from the Patriarch of Constantinople which asserted the right of Ivan the Terrible to claim

12210-565: Was likely only recognized by the Apostles in Jerusalem during the events described in Galatians 2 /Acts 11:30, Fung does not see this as a problem for this theory. Scholars have debated whether it is possible to reconstruct the arguments against which Paul is arguing. Though these opponents have traditionally been designated as Judaizers , this classification has fallen out of favor in contemporary scholarship. Some instead refer to them as Agitators. While many scholars have claimed that Paul's opponents were circumcisionist Jewish followers of Jesus,

12321-573: Was written to churches he had presumably planted during either his time in Tarsus (he would have traveled a short distance, since Tarsus is in Cilicia) after his first visit to Jerusalem as a Christian, or during his first missionary journey, when he traveled throughout southern Galatia. If it was written to the believers in South Galatia, it would likely have been written in 49. A third theory

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