Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

The theology of Christ’s death in 1 Thessalonians really is (not seems) more primitive than that of the major epistles. More primitive? How so? Do you find statements in 1 Thessalonians about the death of Paul’s Jesus Christ that are explicitly more primitive compared to Paul’s other letters? Or is...

So far as I know, as you pointed out, the only argument for 1 Thess being the first or second epistle is that it "seems primitive", which is obviously pretty subjective. Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not seems. The theology of Christ’s death in 1 Thessalonians really is (not seems) more primitiv...

It seems to me that the early dating of 1 Thess has more to do with external factors than internal ones. Not sure what this means. All we have is the text. But other than this, I'm not really sure why so many people put 1 Thess as the first or second Pauline epistle. Not sure whether to read this a...

1 Cor 15 states that, "I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received" (1 Cor 15:3) This indicates that Paul is passing on something he was told by others. Wait, why? Why does παρέλαβον in Corinthians mean “something he was told by others” if it means exactly the opposite in ...

Of course 1 Thess 2:13-16 causes many problems, but it seems that most scholars are willing to see this as a later interpolation into the work. But why not see 1 Thess 2:13-16 as an authentic indication that the whole letter was written after 70 CE? Even if 1 Thss is inauthentic, the arguments for ...

On the commandment issue, I agree with David: is it really the case the 'new commandment' is about love? i'm not so sure it really is, it says "For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another" This isn't presented as being new at all But in the discussion ...

it seems to me that 1 John is trying to address issues that have arisen in the wake of the publication of GJohn, within a community that may have previously held a purely spiritual conception of Jesus. I'll admit I haven't read the whole thread. My focus is on 1 John 2 :22 Who is the liar except th...

well Irish 1 John appears to be conversing using language current within the community... like his emphasis on light and darkness as well. He is obliged to use this kind of language set, and i think can be fairly sure his opponents also used it as well. This is why he uses it, if he doesn't he isn'...

What is the evidence that you see in 1 John for the author presenting himself as (a) the beloved disciple, or (b) any kind of historical witness? I defer to Georg Strecker's commentary (Strecker, Georg. The Johannine Letters. A Commentary on 1, 2, and 3 John Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996. -- pa...

He seems to think that the author of 1 John is presenting himself as an eyewitness to Jesus in essentially the same manner as the GJohn puts forward the beloved disciple, and I don’t see any basis for that. Are there any good arguments for Gospel priority? At the risk of testing your patience and a...