Saturday, August 11, 2007
This project is delayed, obviously
As much as I was excited about doing this, and I still am, this blog and any attempts to contribute to it have to be placed on the back-burner for a while due to a lot of obligations elswhere. I'll still keep it up, but I probably won't post much until I get into the rhythm with the things I need to do and become efficient at it. But I do plan on getting this going.... eventually.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The book of Hebrews and Clement of Rome?
This is originally posted at my other blog, Renewed Theology:
In my study of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, I began to notice some similarities between the styles of the author of Hebrews and Clement's letter. Maybe they are juss coinicidences, perhaps a result of sharing similar backgrounds (the author of Hebrews seems to have been from Italy, like Clement, as Hebrews 13:24 indicates), or a variety of other possible explanations.
I have yet to really focus in on the idea though, so I haven't fully collected my thoughts on it. However in brief research online that I have done, it apparently has been suggested in the past that Clement authored Hebrews.
Here are a few things I noticed: Both letters have a heavy reliance upon the Old Testament. Additionally, the quotations can be quite lengthy in both. Third, both are from Italy. Also, both authors are fond of using Old Testament people as examples for behavior (see Hebrews 11). Finally, the tone of the two letters seem similar. Now, I haven't compared the two letters in greater detail, but it is something I am probably going to pursue.
Now certainly, there are some difficulties with Clement being the author. For instance, Hebrews 2:16 seems to suggest the author himself was an Israelite. In order for Clement to be the author, either we have to go against the generally accepted idea that Clement was a Gentile (though by no means proven) and declare him to be a Jew or we have to see the references to the descendants of Abraham not in the literal sense of physical descendants, but rather in metaphorical sense to include all people who mimick Abraham in his faith (like Paul in Romans 4:16 and Galatians 3:29).
The latter is possible, since Clement may have been a disciple of Paul (if he is indeed the Clement of Philippians 4:3) and the author of Hebrews seems to have a disciple of the apostles (Hebrews 2:3-4). However, past conjecture, we have little exegetical means to ascertain that the author was speaking metaphorically in Hebrews 2:16 instead of literally. Secondly, if it is metaphorical, then we will have to probably change the idea that the audience is Jewish. That is problematic with the amount of quotations from the Old Testament and the detailed exposition of it, indicating a good knowledge of the Old Testament by the audience. However, then again the letter to the Corinthians by Clement does contain plenty of Old Testament quotations.
This is just a brief look at the question of the authorship of Hebrews, and also a look at the importance of Christian literature to the Bible. I'll post more on Clement's letter to the Corinthians later. And if anyone is interested in commenting on the premise of Clement being the author Hebrews, feel free to on my post at my other blog here.
In my study of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, I began to notice some similarities between the styles of the author of Hebrews and Clement's letter. Maybe they are juss coinicidences, perhaps a result of sharing similar backgrounds (the author of Hebrews seems to have been from Italy, like Clement, as Hebrews 13:24 indicates), or a variety of other possible explanations.
I have yet to really focus in on the idea though, so I haven't fully collected my thoughts on it. However in brief research online that I have done, it apparently has been suggested in the past that Clement authored Hebrews.
Here are a few things I noticed: Both letters have a heavy reliance upon the Old Testament. Additionally, the quotations can be quite lengthy in both. Third, both are from Italy. Also, both authors are fond of using Old Testament people as examples for behavior (see Hebrews 11). Finally, the tone of the two letters seem similar. Now, I haven't compared the two letters in greater detail, but it is something I am probably going to pursue.
Now certainly, there are some difficulties with Clement being the author. For instance, Hebrews 2:16 seems to suggest the author himself was an Israelite. In order for Clement to be the author, either we have to go against the generally accepted idea that Clement was a Gentile (though by no means proven) and declare him to be a Jew or we have to see the references to the descendants of Abraham not in the literal sense of physical descendants, but rather in metaphorical sense to include all people who mimick Abraham in his faith (like Paul in Romans 4:16 and Galatians 3:29).
The latter is possible, since Clement may have been a disciple of Paul (if he is indeed the Clement of Philippians 4:3) and the author of Hebrews seems to have a disciple of the apostles (Hebrews 2:3-4). However, past conjecture, we have little exegetical means to ascertain that the author was speaking metaphorically in Hebrews 2:16 instead of literally. Secondly, if it is metaphorical, then we will have to probably change the idea that the audience is Jewish. That is problematic with the amount of quotations from the Old Testament and the detailed exposition of it, indicating a good knowledge of the Old Testament by the audience. However, then again the letter to the Corinthians by Clement does contain plenty of Old Testament quotations.
This is just a brief look at the question of the authorship of Hebrews, and also a look at the importance of Christian literature to the Bible. I'll post more on Clement's letter to the Corinthians later. And if anyone is interested in commenting on the premise of Clement being the author Hebrews, feel free to on my post at my other blog here.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
A little delay
Alright. So I was a little ambitious with Friday being my first substantive post. Combining my other blog, my preaching duties on Sunday, and some personal issues that came up late this week, I have put this on the temporary back burner. I hope to finish up my reading and studying of Clement's letter Sunday afternoon and hope to past something either between Sunday and Tuesday. But rest assured, I am still at this point motivated to keep on with this.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
My future first attempt
So the first attempt for me at this thing will be on the letter entitled "The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians." I debated between that and 1 Enoch, but I figure Clement of Rome will be a easier introduction into this rather than Apocalyptic literature.
My hope is to have my first posting on Clement's letter up by Friday. We shall see, but that is my hope.
My hope is to have my first posting on Clement's letter up by Friday. We shall see, but that is my hope.
Purpose of this blog
I have two other blogs, Renewed Theology and Confessions of a Procathodox. The first one is dedicated to anything related to Christian theology whereas the second is my personal blog. However, I have recently begun to be reading a lot more literature that I have previously have.
Something I have been wanting to do is to read through Christian and Jewish literature during the Biblical times and the early church fathers. The little that I have read has been very enlightening. Additionally, with the new emphasis of Judaism within Christian studies (especially with Romans and the New Perspective), I figure it would be very good to look at the Jewish literature.
So the purpose of this blog is to primarily look at older Christian and Jewish literature. However, I figure I will also including Christian literature after the church fathers, but I will try to keep my emphasis on earlier writings.
Something I have been wanting to do is to read through Christian and Jewish literature during the Biblical times and the early church fathers. The little that I have read has been very enlightening. Additionally, with the new emphasis of Judaism within Christian studies (especially with Romans and the New Perspective), I figure it would be very good to look at the Jewish literature.
So the purpose of this blog is to primarily look at older Christian and Jewish literature. However, I figure I will also including Christian literature after the church fathers, but I will try to keep my emphasis on earlier writings.
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