A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

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3. Could pseudonymous letters have been acceptable to the early church? 4. If so, is pseudonymity more plausible than authenticity in the case of the Pastorals? He concludes that whereas pseudonymity was not uncommon, “pseudonymous letters were exceedingly rare” (Köstenberger, 2003:5; See also Bauckham, 1988:487; Carson, Moo, et al. 1992:371). According to Köstenberger (2003:7), pseudipigraphy renders all historical data fictional, but no extant example of the so called “fictive epistolary” genre in the first or second century exists. This creates the problem of interpreting the letters, since some parts of it must be discarded, being incidental. Moreover, it leaves the interpreter with the unpleasant task of having to decipher which of the didactic portions would be significant. The problem is this: By what criteria does one make the distinctions? The interpreter is thus faced with this hermeneutical conundrum. Brevard Childs (1984:383) argues that the hermeneutical assumptions flowing from the attribution of pseudipigraphy to the Pastoral Letters have resulted in “serious exegetical distortions”. In this regard, he highlights three dangers. 1. A pseudipigraphal interpretation objectifies Paul. Since Paul is not regarded as the author, a shift must occur with respect to the author’s focal position or view point. The letters are no longer from Paul but about Paul. A historical critical assumption has thus modified the canonical shaping of the Pastorals. In essence, this shift reduces the Pastorals to the level of post-apostolic references to Paul, such as, for example, as can be found in Polycarp. The canonical distinction in the image of Paul is thus obliterated. 2. The addressees are not who the text prima facie identifies them to be. Pseudipigraphical interpretation renders them to be mere fictional representatives of a later office. This has the effect of relinquishing the canonical portrayal of Timothy and Titus in place of “a hermeneutical theory of PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 17
meaning as determined by historical referentiality” (Childs, 1984:384). In other words, correct understanding of the letter is made conditional upon the “historical assumption that the real addressee must be critically reconstructed” first (Childs, 1984:383). 3. The acute presentation of the heresy is made indistinct through the pseudipigraphal genre. The tension between the heresy as a present and future threat is compromised by an interpretative assumption that views the heresy as occurring fifty years after the letter was composed (Childs, 1984:384). All of the above represent a summary of the general academic rejoinders to the pseudonymous authorship theory. A fourth response, suggested here, is the apostolic or scriptural objections. Apostolic objections We have evidence from Scripture that is indicative of the apostolic attitude to pseudonymous works. In 2 Thessalonians 3:17 and 2:2, we find what appears to be an apostolic caution. It comes in the form of a warning against false writings. In the former reference, Paul draws attention to the “distinguishing mark”, the mark that would indicate to his readers the authenticity of a letter purporting to be from him. Additionally, he adds that this mark is in every letter. In several other writings, Paul reminds his readers of the fact that he is writing in his own hand (1Cor. 16:21; Gal. 6:11; Col. 4:8; Philemon 19). The second scripture reference (2 Thes. 2:2) contains a warning to the readers not to be perturbed by a “letter as if from us”. This clearly constitutes a safeguard against any duplicitous letters. Thus, Paul himself apparently took measures to safeguard the church against any counterfeit correspondence in his name. It would, therefore, seem improbable for the early church to PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 18
Page 1 and 2: A TEXT-CENTRED RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
Page 3 and 4: DECLARATION I declare that the diss
Page 5 and 6: SECTION 2 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 2.1 R
Page 7 and 8: SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 OVERVIEW
Page 9 and 10: The content of the authorship debat
Page 11 and 12: consistently identified as pioneer
Page 13 and 14: J. Quinn. Their list of scholars ad
Page 15 and 16: Uncharacteristic Pauline theology:
Page 17 and 18: etc. are not referring to actual pe
Page 19: History never lies” (Titus 1:2)?
Page 23 and 24: other to explain what these critics
Page 25 and 26: 1.1.2.4 Conclusion The various theo
Page 27 and 28: Excursus: Cumulative-complimentary
Page 29 and 30: Lumping or clustering apparent oppo
Page 31 and 32: these letters on a more individual
Page 33 and 34: Furthermore, the name Jesus Christ
Page 35 and 36: C. 1. qeou` and swthvr depend on do
Page 37 and 38: accentuate the unmistakable role of
Page 39 and 40: order to prove issues of authorship
Page 41 and 42: Miller (1997:124) is particularly u
Page 43 and 44: Next, Van Neste goes on to show how
Page 45 and 46: There have been some recent excepti
Page 47 and 48: The first part of the analysis is e
Page 49 and 50: offer any translations in this rega
Page 51 and 52: novel. To the best of my knowledge,
Page 53 and 54: ather than as a supplement to the T
Page 55 and 56: Accordingly, the research hypothesi
Page 57 and 58: •Step 3: Where deemed necessary,
Page 59 and 60: The rhetorical situation correspond
Page 61 and 62: Titus' primary assignment is to app
Page 63 and 64: Throughout the letter, Paul shares
Page 65 and 66: equally negative conduct (1:16). In
Page 67 and 68: 2.2.1.1 Emphasising the legitimacy
Page 69 and 70: strategically throughout this secti
Page 71 and 72:
This section is suffused with the r
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and trustworthiness. This choice of
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“By whose authority are you imple
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“shared knowledge”. The qualiti
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espectively within the same sentenc
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dichotomy at the front end of this
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church. Implicit contrasting is als
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aijscrokerdhv", and these false tea
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The second part of verse 13 contain
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different groups. He relentlessly p
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implicit contrasting. The negative
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marker is the use of the plural of
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instruction in this regard. “Heal
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almost desirable. Thus, legitimate
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The subject is the older women. Thi
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negatively upon the oJ lovgo" tou`
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2.2.5.6 The behaviour of slaves In
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or originating from God (tou' … q
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to God and this paves the way for t
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This explains the use of inclusive
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Furthermore, through the direct rep
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what grace is instructing the belie
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Paul demonstrates that he is himsel
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The section closes with the apostle
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Another technique is personificatio
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the apostle adopts to persuade his
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Most commentators treat ejxousivai
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person. Interestingly, both instanc
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2.2.8 Titus 3:3: Evoking disgust wi
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purpose while Mounce (2000:446) bel
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negative. Paranomasia and the metap
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conformity to the divine example. I
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as traditional, with verse 3 as an
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aptism effected by the Holy Spirit
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exclusively or that this constitute
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through self-vilification in the op
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crhstovth" and filanqrwpiva of God
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ejpoihvsamen hJmei`" (works) ajlla;
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these titles. The future appearance
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The certainty and completeness of t
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The next two words in v. 7 are exam
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their salvation by God. The divine
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discourse. In this regard, consider
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two groups is accentuated and the d
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Verse 9 opens with the adversative
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awareness of the insidiousness of f
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This is a very tight unit, carefull
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turn, requires the presence of soun
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closing greeting to the Cretans inv
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SECTION 3 CONCLUSION In Section 1,
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7: Titus 3:1-2: Persuading the Cret
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apostles and lay leaders appointed
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In unit 7 (3:1-2), the relationship
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The second objective is to highligh
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These four objectives may be summar
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expected manner can look forward to
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f. Arguments based on the use of vi
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m. Example. For example, in 3:4-7 G
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ehaviour expected of older men. In
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Aageson, J. W. (1997).
Page 191 and 192:
Everts, J. M. (1993). Hope Dictiona
Page 193 and 194:
Lea, D. and H. P. Griffin (1992). 1
Page 195 and 196:
Sumney, J. L. (1996). “A Reading
Page 197 and 198:
ABSTRACT This study has been conduc
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In Section 3 the results of the stu
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amanuensishipotese en die allonieme
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KEY TERMS 1. Pastoral Letters 2. Rh
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A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

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