To the Greeks, Vridar in a Greek publication

3 thoughts on “To the Greeks, Vridar in a Greek publication”

1. Interesting thanks Neil. You haven’t heard from me for a while as we’ve just returned from a month in Iran. This Saturday 5/5/19 at the annual conference of the Society for the Study of Early Christianity we have Dr Paul Barnett, Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University, Professor Emeritus Regent College Vancouver, Lecturer Emeritus Moore College, presenting a paper “Did Jesus speak Greek?”. He posits that because of the Gospels are in Greek (and don’t retrovert into Aramaic), their underlying sources are in Greek, and the letters of Paul, James and Peter that echo those underlying sources in Greek, and that almost no Aramaic survives in those epistles, the argument will be that Jesus taught in Greek or Aramaic dependent on his audience. You may like to attend (cost $145 to non-members) and put some questions to him on the Greek aspects of the NT.

   Also presenting will be Prof Laurence L Welborn, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Fordham University, Honorary Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University, with a paper entitled “How “democratic” was the Pauline ekklēsia?” Again this is set in Greek context and seems relevant to your interest in the Greek aspects of the NT.

   The blurb is : An assessment with special reference to the Christ groups of Roman Corinth. Several recent studies have argued for the importance of democratic practices and ideology for a proper understanding of the issues and debates reflected in Paul’s Corinthian correspondence. This new perspective stands in tension with older scholarship which emphasized the role of patronage in the structure and dynamics of the house churches that made up the ekklēsia of Christ believers at Corinth. This essay draws upon new research into the political sociology of Greek cities in the early Empire, which highlights evidence of the continuing vitality of democratic assemblies (ekklēsiai) in the first and second centuries, despite the limitations imposed upon local autonomy by Roman rule. Special attention is devoted to the epigraphic evidence of first-century Corinth, whose political institutions and social relations were those of a Roman colony. The essay seeks to ascertain whether the politics of the Christ groups mimicked those of the city in which they were located or represented an alternative.

   If you are anyone is interested, more info is at
   https://www.trybooking.com/BBWOD

   Reply

   1. Thanks for the notice, Peter. Unfortunately I would have to travel interstate to attend but at least from the details you have provided I have been able to locate related publications by Welborn — the Welborn presentation is the one that would interest me the most and I feel I have been able to catch up now with his exploration of the divisions at Corinth.

      I saw also that the Society had as a guest speaker for one function John Dickson. I see Dickson as an Australian equivalent of Josh McDowell, so I confess that was a worry that also made me think twice about making the trip to the conference.

      Reply
2. Pingback: Interview with Thomas L. Thompson #1 – Vridar

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