The Early Reception of Paul the Jew / 7th Nangeroni Meeting (2016 Rome), conference

Chair:

• Isaac W. Oliver, Bradley University

Co-Chair:

• Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan

Paul was no doubt a complex Second Temple Jewish thinker whose figure, writings, and ideas were repeatedly appropriated and recast in various ways by his earliest interpreters. The study of the reception history of Paul during the first two centuries of the Common Era has traditionally been performed without sufficient appreciation for the Jewish matrix and heritage of early Christianity, built on the assumption that Paul had forsaken his Jewishness after “converting” to “Christianity” and that “the ways had already parted” between all Jews and Christians once the first generation of Jesus’ Jewish followers had passed away. The following seminar will focus on the earliest reception of Paul by assessing how his first interpreters handled and perceived his relationship to Judaism within the broader framework and scholarly study of early Jewish-Christian relations. Special attention will be granted to the interpretation of Jewish themes in the early reception history of Paul such as Torah observance and Jewish-Gentile relations. The seminar will seek to uncover the neglected Jewish strata of Paul’s Wirkungsgeschichte during the first two centuries of the Common Era in an attempt to comprehend the complex and diverse nature of Jewish-Christian relations at the time. A wide spectrum of writings and figures from right after Paul’s time until roughly the end of the second century CE will be assessed, including, to name just a few: Marcion and his recasting of Paul’s thought over against Judaism, the depiction of Paul as a Torah observant Jew in the Acts of the Apostles, the denunciation in the Pastoral Letters of “Jewish myths” (e.g., Titus 1:10–16; 3:9), the condemnation of Paul as an apostate Jew (“anti-Paulinism”) in writings such as the Pseudo-Clementines, the handling of Jewish-Gentile relations in Deutero-Pauline Epistles such as Ephesians, as well as the relationship between Pauline teachings and canonical gospels such Matthew. An edited volume containing chapters written by the participants of the conference on the relevant primary sources will be published with the aim of serving as a reference on the topic. For further information, including paper proposals, please contact Isaac W. Oliver at ioliver@bradley.edu.

Advisory Board

• Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
• Robert B. Foster, Madonna University
• Isaac W. Oliver, Bradley University
• Eric Noffke, Waldensian School of Theology

Confirmed Participants

1. Albert I. Baumgarten, Bar Ilan University: Respondent
2. Giovanni Bazzana, Harvard University: Pseudo-Clementines and Paul
3. Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan (co-chair)
4. Daniel Boyarin, University of California – Berkeley: Mark and Paul
5. William S. Campbell, University of Wales – Trinity Saint David: Ephesians and Paul
6. George Carras, Washington and Lee University: The Acts of the Apostles and Paul
7. James C. Charlesworth, Princeton Theological Seminary: The Acts of the Apostles and Paul
8. David J. Downs, Fuller Theological Seminary: 2 Peter and Paul
9. Kathy Ehrensperger, University of Wales – Trinity Saint David: The Pastorals and Paul
10. Robert B. Foster, Madonna University (advisory committee): Ephesians and Paul
11. Gabriella Gelardini, University of Basel: The Letters to the Hebrews and Paul
12. Anders Klostergaard Petersen, Aarhus University: Colossians and Ephesians
13. Judith Lieu, Cambridge University: Marcion and Paul
14. Harry O. Maier, Vancouver School of Theology: 1 Clement and Paul
15. Eric F. Mason, Judson University: Respondent
16. Simon Claude Mimouni, École pratique des hautes études: Paul, James, and Peter in Acts
17. David Nienhuis, Seattle Pacific University: Letter of James and Paul
18. Eric Noffke, Waldensian School of Theology (advisory committee): Ephesians and Paul
19. Isaac W. Oliver, Bradley University (chair): The Acts of the Apostles and Paul
20. Ilaria L.E. Ramelli, Catholic University, Milan: Paul and Seneca
21. Yann Redalié, Waldensian School of Theology: The Pastorals and Paul
22. David Rudolph, The King’s University: The Acts of the Apostles and Paul
23. Timothy B. Sailors, Tübingen (discussant)
24. David Sim, Australian Catholic University: Matthew and Paul
25. Matthew Thiessen, Saint Louis University: Ephesians and Paul
26. James Waddell, Ecumenical Theological Seminary: Colossians and Paul
27. Luigi Walt, University of Regensburg: Paul and 6 Ezra
28. Sze-kar Wan, Southern Methodist University: Respondent
29. Emma J. Wasserman, Rutgers University: Respondent
30. Benjamin White, Clemson University: Justin Martyr and Paul
31. Joel Willits, North Park University: Revelation of John and Paul

Provisional Schedule

Sunday, June 26, 2016

8:00-15:00 -- Arrivals

17:00 -- Opening Session & Welcome (Hotel Casa Valdese)

17:45–19:30 -- Session 1

20:00 -- Dinner (Hotel Casa Valdese)

Monday June 27, 2016

8:00 -- Breakfast

9:00-12:30 -- Morning Sessions

12:45 - Lunch (Hotel Casa Valdese)

14:15–18:00 -- Afternoon Sessions

18:15pm (public lecture): Daniel Boyarin: Moses in Mark and Paul: When Mark Isn't Pauline (Waldensian Faculty)

Free Dinner

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

8:00 -- Breakfast

9:00-12:30 -- Morning Sessions

12:45 -- Lunch (Hotel Casa Valdese)

14:00 -- Afternoon Bus Tour to the Hadrian Villa in Tivoli, near Rome and dinner at a restaurant in Tivoli.

22:30 -- Return from Tivoli.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

8:00 -- Breakfast

9:00–12:30 -- Morning sessions

12:45 -- Lunch (Hotel Casa Valdese)

14:30–18:00 -- Afternoon Sessions

Free Dinner

Thursday, June 30, 2016

8:00 -- Breakfast

9:00–12:30 -- Final sessions

12:45 -– Lunch & Farewells (Hotel Casa Valdese)