Paul's Idea of Community

J. Banks Robert

Description

This highly readable investigation of the early church explores the revolutionary nature, dynamics, and effects of the earliest Christian communities. It introduces readers to the cultural setting of the house churches of biblical times, examines the apostle Paul's vision of life in the Christian church, and explores how the New Testament model of community applies to Christian practice today. Updated and revised throughout, this 40th-anniversary edition incorporates recent research, updates the bibliography, and adds a new fictional narrative that depicts the life and times of the early church.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• New Testament

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 21 janvier 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493421589
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 1994, 2020 by Robert J. Banks
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Originally published in 1979 by Anzea Publishers, Australia.
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-2158-9
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Contents
Cover i
Half Title Page ii
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Preface to the Third Edition vii
Preface to the Second Edition ix
Preface to the First Edition xi
Abbreviations xv
Introduction 1
1. The Sociocultural and Religious Settings 5
2. The Gospel of Other-Directed Freedom 15
3. Church in Family Business Residences 25
4. Church as Present Heavenly Reality 35
5. The Community as a Loving Household 43
6. The Community as an Organic Harmony 51
7. Mutual Learning and Testing of Faith 59
8. Common Meals and Signs of Fellowship 67
9. The Sharing of Gifts and Ministry 77
10. The Interplay of Grace and Order 87
11. Unity and Diversity among the Members 95
12. The Contribution of Women in Church 103
13. Abolishing Religious Distinctions between Members 111
14. Defining Leadership by Function, Not Position 121
15. The Role of Visiting Missioners 131
16. The Link between Mission and Church 139
17. The Nature of Paul’s Authority 147
18. The Exercise of Paul’s Influence 155
Conclusion 163
Appendix 1: The Drift of the Pastorals 167
Appendix 2: Going to Church in the First Century 173
Glossary 193
Select Bibliography 197
General Index 209
Scripture and Ancient Sources Index 212
Back Cover 223
Preface to the Third Edition
I had never envisaged this modest book having such a long and useful life. It is particularly pleasing that it continues to cross the boundary between academic and general audiences, finding its way into scholarly writings, theological courses, and practitioner’s hands, as well as being appreciated by a wide range of thoughtful lay people.
This third edition is a thoroughly revised and updated version of the original edition that appeared forty years ago. It continues to provide a comprehensive account of what Paul said that is accessible to both an academic and an otherwise thoughtful audience, and not only to those who are religiously inclined but also to those more historically interested in first-century Christianity. This has affected the form of the book. It seeks not only to interpret Paul but also to set him firmly in his context. Only by placing him within his social and cultural setting, and comparing him with his contemporaries, do the genuinely distinctive elements in his approach appear. For while in many respects Paul was very much a man of his times, in other ways he was astonishingly ahead of them.
Though this is not a technical work, it is based on a thorough investigation of the relevant primary and secondary sources and offers a number of fresh interpretations of his writings. For me, interest in Paul’s view has been stimulated not only by academic study but also by involvement in groups convinced that Paul has a vital relevance to their life. We learn about the past not just by rational reflection upon it but by personal involvement in present activities that have links with it.
In formatting the footnotes and bibliography I have borne in mind those who will mainly use them. References to secondary works have been excluded to avoid unnecessarily weighing down the presentation. Instead I have provided an extensive select bibliography geared around the main themes of the book, omitting only works in foreign languages because of the wider audience the book has in view. References to less accessible sources (e.g., collections of Greek papyri or inscriptions and some rabbinic commentaries or codes) are to those editions that are more readily available. A glossary describes the main figures, works, and movements cited in the book for those who are less familiar with them.
Since the second edition of the book appeared in the early nineties, the main developments in Pauline studies have been first in social and cultural studies of Paul’s writings and period and second in works on Paul’s missionary and ecclesial endeavors. Though these social and cultural studies continue to provide varying interpretations of the actual form of Paul’s communities, they have definitely helped portray his activities. Even though they have not always produced agreement between scholars, they have helped portray what he did in more concrete and everyday terms. Meanwhile, substantial exegetical and theological treatments of Paul’s writings have continued to extend and enrich our interpretation of Paul’s thought and life. Interaction with all these recent studies of Paul has continued to inform and nuance my understanding of his ideas and practice.
I am particularly delighted that the publishers agreed to include in this volume my booklet Going to Church in the First Century . This little exercise in what is now called “narrative exegesis” was first written as a companion piece to Paul’s Idea of Community shortly after publication. It has also gone through several editions but until now has only ever been published separately. I have found that this storied version of the material in the larger book works with a wide range of audiences—from Sunday School classes, youth fellowships, adult Bible studies, reading groups, and seminary classes, to theological faculty—and has also been translated into several other languages, including Korean, Japanese, Danish, and German.
Robert Banks Canberra September 2018
Preface to the Second Edition
Although it is fifteen years since this book appeared, there seems to be a continuing demand for it. This has provided the opportunity for me to work through the text again and make various improvements. I have wanted to do this for some time.
This second edition is the result of a thoroughgoing revision. Only a few paragraphs remain completely untouched. One consequence of this is that the text reads more easily and clearly. I have also refined some of its interpretations and viewpoints so as to take into account more recent scholarly investigations of Paul’s writings and my own ongoing reflections. The bibliography has been extended and fully updated, and an index of ancient sources has been added. Indispensable in all this has been the help of Shirley A. Decker-Lucke, Assistant Academic Editor at Hendrickson Publishers. She has been everything one could hope for in an editor, and I am deeply grateful to her.
I am gratified by the continued interest in the book and trust that readers will now find it more current and accessible. The topic remains an important one, and the need to translate Paul’s views into contemporary practice is as urgent as ever.
Preface to the First Edition
This is not a technical book, nor a popular one either. We already have a number of stimulating technical works on Paul’s view of the church, and many popular books on church life build on aspects of Paul’s view in their presentation. But the former are too linguistically daunting for most readers, while the latter are too particular in their emphasis or psychological in their orientation to be fully satisfactory as treatments of Paul. I have written this for those who find themselves caught in the middle—seeking a comprehensive account of what Paul said, yet in terms they can understand. And I am not thinking of the Christianly-inclined only. Paul’s idea of community is too historically interesting and significant to be closeted among the religious.
This has affected the form of the book. It seeks not only to interpret Paul, but to set him firmly in his context. Only by comparing him with his contemporaries do the genuinely distinctive elements in his approach come into focus. For while in many respects Paul was very much a man of his times, in others he was astonishingly ahead of them. Many people today are finding that he speaks more relevantly about community than representatives of the counterculture groups and church structures. Meanwhile the sociologists of religion are beginning to discover that Paul is someone with whom they have not fully come to terms. Initially this book contained additional material for those who have such interests, but I did not have enough space to carry this through properly. Still, those who wish to explore further the sociological character of Paul’s ideas will find here much that is helpful. And those