Q. The Thessalonians chapter in dealing with the Holy Spirit and sanctification made me wonder if you had read and worked through Gordon Fee’s classic treatment of this in his God’s Empowering Presence when he goes through every reference to the Spirit and also sanctification in Paul. I also wondered if you had been influenced by Furnish’s The Love Command in the NT?
A. I read Fee’s and Furnish’s work many years ago, but I did consult them only briefly, if at all. I was most influenced on the love commandment by the works of Thomas Söding, Das Liebesgebot bei Paulus (1995) and Die Trias Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe (1992). I cite these works at length in my Moral Formation according to Paul.
Q. I was so pleased to see your strong emphasis on pp. 124-25 on the ad hoc nature of Paul’s letters and how his rhetoric addresses the situation of the moment, and you are rightly wary of developmental schemes in regard to Paul’s theology including his eschatology. And I completely agree these letters are pastoral documents addressing the needs of the moment that are not systematic treatment of theological themes but rather efforts to promote the moral formation of the audience. Why do you think it is that some have been so resistant to this whole analysis and approach?
A. I can only guess in answering your question. My guess is that our study of Paul has been shaped by Protestant dogmatics. We come to the text with our own doctrinal questions, often forgetting that these are ad hoc documents that answer specific questions.
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