Opposition to Paul in Jewish Christianity (1989 Lüdemann), book (English ed.)

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Opposition to Paul in Jewish Christianity (1989) is the English edition of Paulus, der Heidenapostel. Bd. 2: Antipaulinismus im frühen Christentum (1983 Lüdemann), book. Translated by M. Eugene Boring from the German.

Abstract

Building upon the works of Marcel Simon and especially Ferdinand Christian Baur, Luedemann approaches the topic of Jewish Christianity by collecting and examining various anti-Pauline statements found in the early Christian literature of the first two centuries. In the first part of his book, Luedermann analyzes anti-Pauline materials from the Pauline period. He argues that the church of Jerusalem was composed of a liberal and conservative wing, both of which were opposed to Paul. It was mainly the apostleship of Paul which kindled this opposition from both segments of the Jerusalem church. Sometime after the Jerusalem conference and Paul's visit to Jerusalem to deliver the monetary contribution he had collected from his churches in the Diaspora, James attained a prominent position in the Jerusalem church. In addition, the “false brethren” of the Jerusalem church, who were opposed to the decisions of the Jerusalem conference, attained greater influence, succeeding even in reversing the situation that had been obtained at the conference. Consequently, the collection brought by Paul was rejected by the Jerusalem church ... In the second part of his work, Luedemann explores anti-Pauline materials from the post-Pauline period. Also in this period anti-Paulinism was originally limited to Jewish-Christian communities. These anti-Pauline texts and traditions, extending over one hundred years (80-180 C.E.), belong to the Syrian-Palestinian area. They had primarily Paul himself in view and not his disciples, since their anti-Paulinism was already a constituent part of their community. In Luedemann's opinion, these texts hardly represent a unified theology, but show that Jewish Christianity possessed an amazing capacity for development. Within this variety, the Elkesiates and the tradents of the Letter of James (Luedemann rejects the "authenticity" of James) stand at the two poles of the anti-Pauline traditions. The former group developed from a Jewish-Christian foundation, emphasizing more and more the role of the prophet Elkesai, until it became a new religion. The latter group came closer to the average catholic understanding of the law of second-century Christianity.--Isaac W. Oliver, University of Michigan

Editions

Published in Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1989.