Lexington Books / Fortress Academic
Pages: 382
•
Trim: 6½ x 9
978-1-9787-0222-6 • Hardback • June 2019 • $142.00 • (£109.00)
978-1-9787-0223-3 • eBook • June 2019 • $134.50 • (£104.00)
G. Roger Greene is professor of Christian Studies at Mississippi College.
1. The Scope of the Problem
2. Luke and the Book of Acts
3. Lukan Redaction in Acts
4. The Pauline Letters
5. Chronological Data Points
6. The Ministry of Paul the Apostle
7. Conclusion
Appendix A: The Source Tradition of Acts (STA)
Appendix B: Romans 16
Appendix C: Persons Mentioned in the Letters and the STA
Appendix D: The Developed Chronology of Paul
Appendix E: Maps of Paul’s World and Ministry
Green’s work is creative, challenging, and compelling. It is not an easy read. It demands and merits serious study. Whether it provokes a paradigm shift in Pauline studies will be for future judgment. In my opinion, G.’s work merits a place on prescribed reading lists for all who seriously seek new insight into the ministry of Paul the apostle.
— Catholic Biblical Quarterly
G. Roger Greene offers a creative and provocative reconstruction of the career of the Apostle Paul. Acknowledging the long recognized tension between the epistles (the primary data for information about Paul) and the problematic presentation of Paul in Acts, Greene suggests that this tension can be relieved somewhat by comparing the picture of Paul revealed in the epistles with the presentation found in what Greene has detected as the basic underlying source tradition utilized and redacted by the author of Acts. By careful and incisive analysis, Greene draws intriguing conclusions about Paul’s career (characterized by two major campaigns, not three journeys), his ministry in Corinth, his relationship with and visits to the Jerusalem church, the significance of Romans 16, and a reevaluation of the authenticity of several of the “disputed letters.” Greene’s book represents innovative New Testament scholarship at its best.— Naymond Keathley, Baylor University, retired
In The Ministry of Paul the Apostle, Roger Greene has re-focused the comparison of “Paul of the Letters” with “Paul of Acts” away from Pauline theology per se (which he still locates in the Pauline epistles) to understanding Paul’s ministry in its historical context. Along the way, through careful redactional analysis and historical reconstruction (aided by external historical data), Greene has rehabilitated Acts as a source, properly sifted (which he labels the Source Tradition of Acts), for situating Paul in his pastoral relationships with his churches. Scholars and students of Paul and Acts alike will profit from following Greene’s sleuthing in these ancient sources for fresh insights into old questions.— Mikeal C. Parsons, professor and Macon Chair in Religion, Baylor University
Roger Greene provides us with clever, exegetical and historical detective work to offer an impressive solution to the long-standing problem regarding how to correlate Acts and Paul’s letters to construct a chronology of Paul’s ministry. It is wonderfully well-reasoned and will repay careful study. It offers much for Pauline scholars, pastors, students, and those who simply love the unraveling of a mystery.— David E. Garland, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University
Roger Greene’s work represents a fresh and compelling approach to a question that has long proven troublesome for Pauline scholars, namely, how to correlate the autobiographical information contained in Paul’s epistles with Luke’s account of Paul’s ministry in Acts in order to reconstruct a Pauline chronology that is credible and coherent. Although he follows other scholars in looking to Paul’s letters as the primary source for such a reconstruction, Greene proposes that we must also analyze closely and carefully the manner in which Luke adapted the source materials he used to redact both his Gospel and the Book of Acts in order to accomplish his purposes in each of these works. By focusing on the narrative underlying the source tradition of Acts and examining the alterations Luke makes to that narrative, we are able to arrive at a chronology of Paul’s career that not only fits the evidence found in his epistles and the Book of Acts but also opens up a new paradigm for understanding Paul’s evangelistic ministry. Thoroughly-researched, well-written, and highly original, Greene’s work on Pauline chronology deserves a place alongside that of the most well-respected scholars in the field of Pauline studies and cannot be ignored by any who wish to engage this subject seriously.— David A. Brondos, The Theological Community of Mexico
With remarkable clarity and cogency, Roger Greene constructs a comprehensive overview of Paul’s life and ministry. Laying aside the traditional but problematic assumptions of standard chronologies of Paul’s life, Greene advances Pauline scholarship by supplementing the data in Paul’s letters with information from source traditions he identifies in the book of Acts. The result is a fresh understanding of Paul’s life in five periods, including a “foundational campaign” and a “collection campaign” (rather than the traditional three journeys). In the process, Greene establishes a new sequence of Paul’s letters, the context of the Jerusalem council, and fresh insights into Luke’s redactional work in Acts. The study of Paul’s theology can now start from a clearer understanding of his life and writings.— R. Alan Culpepper, Mercer University
Informed by the best of contemporary scholarship, G. Roger Greene makes a powerful case for a coherent Pauline chronology based on the letters, Source Tradition of Acts, and Lukan redaction. Calling for a paradigm shift, Greene stresses how Paul himself understood his eschatological mission in terms of three geographically-focused campaigns--across the Eastern Mediterranean, to Rome, and then to Spain. An important read for all serious scholars and students of early Christianity.— Jonathan Reed, Provost, University of La Verne