Читать книгу Paul Among the Gentiles: A "Radical" Reading of Romans - Jacob P. B. Mortensen - Страница 34

There are two reasons why scholars (mainly new perspective scholars) still contend that Paul wrote to Jews as well as Gentiles. The first concerns the historical circumstances: We know that Jews lived in Rome at the time of the letter.1 The second concerns the thematic content of Romans. The letter seems to revolve specifically around Jewish issues.

Concerning the first reason, even if we argue that Jews probably lived in Rome at the time of the letter (even though Jews were expelled from Rome because of Claudius’s edict only after Claudius’s death in 54 CE to return to Rome), it does not necessarily follow that there were any Jews in the assembly Paul addressed. Neither does it follow that Paul addressed these Jews. Furthermore, even if we can argue that Jews lived in Rome at the time of the letter, we must ask, do we accept that as the point of departure for our perception of the situation underlying Romans, or do we follow Paul’s simple and straightforward statement in his letters that he considered himself to be apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13), since God had entrusted him with the gospel for the uncircumcised, and Peter with the gospel for the Jews (Gal 2:7ff.)? From my point of view, supported by the analysis presented above, Paul was quite clear in his letters: He did not address any Jews with his gospel. Since those are his own words – also in Romans – I do not regard Paul as addressing his gospel to Jews.

Concerning the second reason for contending that Paul wrote to Jews as well as to Gentiles, many scholars assume that since Paul presupposes an acceptance and understanding of Judaism and the Jewish scriptures, the audience must surely have consisted of Jews. Thus, many scholars interpret these implicit inferences as explicit facts. But these inferences constitute a referential fallacy. Paul’s use of Jewish scriptures, and his thorough discussions of Jewish concerns do not necessarily imply that the audience consisted of Jews. The fact that Paul discusses and makes use of these things tells us only that he presupposed the audience’s acquaintance with Judaism and the Jewish scriptures.2 Thus, the audience may well be considered ‘God-fearers’. We know from ancient sources and the LXX that ‘God-fearers’ found the Jewish Scriptures and customs attractive.3 From Acts we know Cornelius, the Roman military officer, whom Luke describes as ‘righteous’ (δίκαιος, Acts 10:22) and ‘pious’ (εὐσεβής, Acts 10:2), a respected man who was known for his alms to Israel (Acts 10:2, 4, 31), and Luke also calls him a ‘fearer of God’ (φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν, Acts 10:22).4 Martial and Plutarch tell us that non-Jews adopted Jewish practices,5 and both (and several others) decried the practice.6 Hence, the fact that Romans is densely filled with Jewish references and concerns does not contradict the fact that Paul explicitly identifies the audience as Gentile. As Thorsteinsson observes: ‘Paul’s speaking about Jews and Judaism does not make the audience Jewish’.7 Thus, the only thing we may infer from the explicit identification of the audience as Gentiles is that they knew Judaism and the Jewish scriptures, because many Gentiles throughout the ancient world found various aspects of Judaism attractive. We should think of these Gentiles in terms similar to ‘God-fearers’ or proselytes, as identified in the previous chapter on terminology.