Downers2004

Rediscovering the Real Paul
The legacy of the apostle Paul clearly dominates the shape of early Christianity— he is credited as author of half of the New Testament writings and he is the dominant character in the book of Acts. Is the historical Paul the Paul of the great undisputed letters or the Paul of the Pastoral Letters? What about the portrait in Acts—and the composite Paul of traditional Protestantism? Recognizing these portraits is the first step in searching for the historical Paul.

Reading and Translating Paul
A perceptive reading of the letters attributed to Paul begins with an appreciation for his rhetorical style. Paul uses a variety of strategies—including a parody of his opponents. The interpreter must sort out Paul's own position on the issues, which often hinges on key words, and how a Jew such as Paul would have used them. The next step is translating them into English. This workshop examines popular Christian concepts such as "righteousness" and "faith" and explores how the new Scholars Version translates them.

Relevance and Irrelevance in Paul
Paul is often credited—or blamed—for many traditional moral positions now debated in our culture. How does a more historical perspective on Paul affect our understanding of Paul's arguments about sexuality and the role of women, or about theological issues such as the meaning of Jesus' death? What can we learn from Paul's attempt to define a "Christian" point of view on such issues? Can this help shape a valid view for today?

Arthur J. Dewey is Professor of Theology, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio and co-founder of the Healing Deadly Memories Program, a unique project that conducts workshops on how to deal with the question of anti-Semitism in the New Testament.

Daryl D. Schmidt is John F. Weatherly Professor of New Testament and Chair of the Department of Religion at Texas Christian University. A general editor of the Scholars Version translation project, he is the author of The Gospel of Mark: Scholars Bible edition (1991) and editor of Forum, the scholarly magazine of Westar Institute.