Paul, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Early Church (review)

2008 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-762
Author(s):  
Jerry L. Sumney
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
Pastoral Epistles

Unravelling the Threads: The Origins of Women's Asceticism in the Earliest Christian Communities

1997 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-155
Author(s):  
Patricia Moss
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
History Of

The question of the origins of women's asceticism in Christianity is one of the most intriguing puzzles in the history of the early church, at first glance seeming to appear virtually out of nowhere. This paper seeks to untangle the threads of evidence a little, first by exploring the precedents for women's asceticism in the Jewish and Græco-Roman worlds, and then by suggesting possible motives for Christian women's asceticism in Corinth and the community of the Pastoral Epistles.

Re-envisioning Ekklēsia Space: Evidence of the Flexible Use of Household Space for Religious Instruction and Practice in the Pastoral Epistles

2017 ◽  
Vol 18-19 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Margaret Y. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
Religious Instruction ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Home And School ◽  
Church Communities

Abstract While the Pastoral Epistles do not explicitly mention church groups meeting in houses, they are infused with household ethics and preoccupations. The purpose of the essay is to challenge dominant notions of religious instruction and practice being restricted to communal gatherings of the ekklēsia. Drawing especially on scholarship on education in the Roman world, it is argued that a much more flexible use of household space framed the life of early church communities involving a merging of aspects of home and school.

scholarly journals From timely exegesis to contemporary ecclesiology: Relevant hermeneutics and provocative embodiment of faith in a corona-defined world – Generosity during a pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Scot McKnight
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Good Works ◽  
Economic Climate ◽  
Mean Equality ◽  
Fair Balance

In a world where economies have no moral conscience, biblical theologians can challenge local cultures with ancient wisdom about generosity and equity. Systemic solutions require changes in the habits of virtue, and this study focuses on the habit of generosity. Building on the work of Stephan Joubert’s Paul as Benefactor, this study concentrates on Paul’s collection in one notable instance: what he says about generosity in 2 Corinthians 8-9 and, in particular, what he means by isotēs in 2 Cor 8:13–15. Does it mean “equality” or “equity”? Beginning with a reinvigorated interest in the economic vision of the apostle Paul about what is meant by “weak” and “good works” and what the Pastoral Epistles communicate with eusebeia (not “godliness” but “social respectability and civility”), we reconsider the collection as an act on the part of the Pauline mission churches to express more than ecclesial unity. This act embodied a theology of grace in mutual reciprocity and in equitable provision on the part of the wealthy for the poor, not least and not limited to those in their own Christian assemblies. The term isotēs is too easily glossed over when translated as “fair balance”, “fairness”, and so the translation of the term with “equity” or “equality” comes closest to the vision of the apostle. Too few studies on this term baptize it sufficiently in the economics of the ancient world and the early Christian radical vision of siblingship and family.Contribution: From the perspective of the Historical Thought and Source Interpretation of the work of Paul, the question of systemic equality or equity is as crucial to navigating the current economic climate as it has ever been. Equality or equity is not limited to Christian communities but following the early church in embodying a theology of grace.

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