Reconstructing the Historical Background of Paul’s Rhetoric in the Letter to the Colossians (The Library of New Testament Studies, 585)

Copenhaver, Adam

ISBN 10: 0567678814 / ISBN 13: 9780567678812

Published by T&T Clark, 2018

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Reconstructing the Historical Background of Paul?s Rhetoric in the Letter to the Colossians (The Library of New Testament Studies, 585)
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0567678814
• ISBN 13: 9780567678812
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In approaching the debate surrounding the opponents in Colossians from a methodological standpoint, Copenhaver contends that Paul was not actually confronting active opponents when he wrote the letter.

Rather, Copenhaver takes the view that Paul's letter was written to the churches in the Lycus Valley, in a desire to develop their identity as a new people in Christ and to appeal to them to live a new kind of life. His warnings in Colossians 2 function as oppositional rhetoric, contrasting the religious practices of the Lycus Valley with this new belief. Paul's warnings are therefore broadly representative of the ancient world, while at the same time focused especially on two threads of historical referents, Judaism and pagan religions.

Development of the above argument demonstrates that the challenge of reconstructing a singular opponent arises not only from the limitations of textual and historical evidence, but also from the assumptions and methodologies inherent in historical approaches to the text. By modifying these assumptions and adjusting the methodology, Copenhaver can show how Paul's letter takes on a new relationship to its historical context.

About the Authors

Adam Copenhaver is Senior Pastor of Mabton Grace Brethren Church and Founder of the Ezra Bible Institute, USA.

Chris Keith is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway. He is the author of The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John and the Literacy of Jesus, a winner of the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee. He is also the co-editor of Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels, and was recently named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.