This is forever the obstacle for all the heirs of Ferdinand Christian Baur (i.e. the people who cry "Freedom for Paul!"):
(Nina E. Livesey, The Letters of Paul in their Roman Literary Context: Reassessing Apostolic Authorship, p. 133, my bold)
(ibid., p. 89, my bold)
(ibid., p. 90, original cursive)
(ibid., my bold)
Without sufficient methodological rigor, this scholarship falsely reifies Paul as historical. By contrast, the character Paul takes shape in a fanciful passage in Acts (13:6-12) and as the result of a common-to-Acts change in character name. Nearly all the many characters in Acts 13:6-12 — including Paul — are historically unverifiable. The sole exception, Sergius Paulus, known to Galen as prefect or governor of the City of Rome and trained in Aristotelian philosophy, appears to function as Paul's namesake.
(Nina E. Livesey, The Letters of Paul in their Roman Literary Context: Reassessing Apostolic Authorship, p. 133, my bold)
Indeed it seems likely that the new name “Paul” signifies the character's first act of conversion of a prominent Roman official, whose name he then inherits. The adoption of a non-Jewish name likewise mirrors his mission to the gentiles.
While scholars routinely assess that the book of Acts postdates the seven “authentic” Pauline letters — with several scholars arguing that the author of Acts relied on the Pauline letters as a souce — one can also argue for the reverse scenario. Namely, that Pauline letters succeed the book of Acts and are dependent upon it. In this scenario, the character Paul is first made known in Acts and the letters promote a characterization different from Acts' biographical account of him.
While scholars routinely assess that the book of Acts postdates the seven “authentic” Pauline letters — with several scholars arguing that the author of Acts relied on the Pauline letters as a souce — one can also argue for the reverse scenario. Namely, that Pauline letters succeed the book of Acts and are dependent upon it. In this scenario, the character Paul is first made known in Acts and the letters promote a characterization different from Acts' biographical account of him.
(ibid., p. 89, my bold)
As mentioned in this book's Introduction, pseudonymous letters collections customarily follow on what is known of ancient figures either from the individual's own works, or from the character's creative biography.
(ibid., p. 90, original cursive)
Again, rather than a historical Paul, we have instead “Christian” epistolographers who — deploying a common and contemporary genre — adopted and extended the characterization of Paul from its creation in Acts into new directions for the promotion of theological/philosophical teachings (see Chapter 3). As I indicate in Chapter 4, the letters likely derive from the second-century school of Marcion, whose pseudonymous collection (the Apostolikon) represents the first witness of Pauline letters.
(ibid., my bold)
Statistics: Posted by Giuseppe — Sat Jan 25, 2025 6:36 am