Q. Thanks for stressing the ethical or moral use of the Christological hymn by Paul in Phil. 2. It is a mystery to me why some scholars (e.g. Ralph Martin’s treatment of this hymn) strive so hard to avoid the conclusion that Paul is using this material for moral formation, as if theology is one thing which has to do with salvation, whereas ethics is just a response to the divine act and fiat but isn’t involved in salvation. I... Read more

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... Read more

Q. Your treatment of the exordiums in these various letters is very helpful. It is the place where Paul is establishing rapport with his audience, sometimes with laudatory words that are later followed by a strong critique— for example in 1 Cor. the exordium praises the audience in regard to their many spiritual gifts, but then Paul goes on to strongly rebuke the abusive way they have used the gifts. My students call the exordium ‘the sucking up’ to make... Read more

Q. Let’s talk Pauline eschatology a bit. One of the things that has constantly bewildered me is the misreading of 1 Thess. 4-5 going all the way back to Schweitzer. What I mean by this is that Paul’s image of the return of Christ, like a thief in the night, clearly implies that the return will be at an unknown time, as for instance Mk. 13.32 says. It could be soon, it could be later, it could be imminent, it... Read more

Q. After the helpful chapter on Paul’s ethos, I expected a following chapter on his ‘logos’ and then one on his ‘pathos’ to cover the major rhetorical progressions in a discourse. Had you considered doing it that way instead of working through letters one by one?   A.  Actually, the primary issue in each chapter is logos. Paul gives reasoned arguments, sometimes using arguments that are consistent with both Greek and Jewish argumentation (i.e., qal wachomer in several instances, which... Read more

Q. Towards the end of your excellent ethos chapter, a few things came to mind. The first is that in a rhetorical narratio, one only narrates what is necessary for the subsequent arguments, the longer the narratio, the more one can anticipate considerable problems to be dealt with thereafter, as is the case in Galatians where we have the longest one.  By contrast, Paul must take a different approach in Romans, writing largely to a group of people he has... Read more

Q. I was very pleased to see Chapter 3. Some 30+ years ago I wrote a book entitled Jesus, Paul, and the End of the World comparing the eschatology of Jesus and Paul, and this chapter of yours fills out the picture in a broader way of Paul’s indebtedness to Jesus and the Jerusalem church in his theology and ethics. It seems we have finally gotten well past the legacy of Bousset and Bultmann, and I agree with you that... Read more

Q. I was glad to see you weigh in on the Jewishness of Paul’s thought world. In the old pendulum swing from Bultmann at one end of the spectrum and now Nanos, Fredricksen and others at the extreme other end of the spectrum I appreciate your attempt to delineate the ways Paul was both in accord with his Pharisaic faith tradition, and at odds with it in other respects. I myself have not been persuaded by our friend Tom Wright’s... Read more

Q. At the end of your first full chapter, you make the point that Paul’s telos or goal of moral formation determines the nature of his rhetoric. I would say it often determines the content of his rhetoric, but frankly does not explain its rhetorical form. I don’t think Paul saw himself as inventing new rhetorical tropes, arrangements, etc.  But the content is another matter. Here apocalyptic, prophetic speech come into play. Yes, the content is in-house content, but the... Read more

  With all the kudos, much of it deserved for Coach K at Duke, as he faces retirement, a few facts need to be taken into account so we are comparing With all the kudos, much of it deserved for Coach K at Duke, as he faces retirement, a few facts need to be taken into account so we are comparing apples to apples as we get ready for March Madness.  First of all, John Wooden has a greater record... Read more