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

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him. The letter concludes with a greeting in the second person plural of the pronoun uJmei'", modified by the adjective pa'". To conclude, Paul feels deeply responsible for the congregations of Crete. He writes as one who owns them; who feels a responsibility towards them. His concern for the well-being of the congregation is suggested by his unwillingness to leave them unattended. This is deducible from his plans to send Artemas or Tychicus to replace Titus. Paul also writes as a co-recipient of God's salvific grace, by identifying fully with the believers in their past sinful actions. He refers to God and Jesus Christ as “our” (hJmw`n) Saviour, thereby including himself, Titus and the congregations as mutual benefactors of God’s saving actions. The relationship between Paul, Titus and the congregations is at once a relationship between equals. At the same time, it is reminiscent of that which characterises the relationship between a superior and a subject. While on the surface therefore, the letter appears formal, it is so in a warm sense. The author assumes that a relative degree of intimacy and endearment exists between him and the recipients. 2.1.6 PAUL AND THE OPPOSITION The opponents are introduced very early in the letter. They are called tou;" ajntilevgonta" (1:9). They appear to be a mixed group, dominated by a Jewish segment (1:10, 14; 3:9). Paul is extremely negative towards them. He describes them, in 1:10-16, as a very sordid bunch. In 3:10, he mentions a factious or heretical individual (aiJretiko" a[nqrwpo") and the measures to deal with him. Paul has no direct relationship with the unqualified teachers. They are not attacking him, his teaching or his credentials. However, their teachings are affecting the congregations negatively and this is part of the reason for the apostle's letter. Their teachings are unhealthy or unwholesome and result in PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 61
equally negative conduct (1:16). Interestingly, Paul does not elaborate upon their teaching, nor is he very specific in his identification of the aberrant teachers. Instead, he advises that this recalcitrant faction be opposed with healthy teaching from qualified teachers. While the unqualified teachers appear to have the ear of some believers (1:11), their teaching can still be stopped by the introduction of sound doctrine (1:9, 13). The treatment of these unqualified teachers is concentrated in chapter one, except for a brief mention to something similar in 3:9. The bulk of the letter is concerned with instructions to believers. These two factors confirm that Paul, at the time of writing, does not consider the false teachers and their teaching as major threats. It seems as if the influence of the unqualified teachers among the churches could be controlled, if not eliminated, by this extreme negative portrayal of them. 2.1.7 PAUL AND OTHER CHARACTERS Several peripheral characters appear in the letter. These include Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas and Apollos. The first two are only mentioned (3:12). One of them would be dispatched to release Titus and enable him to re-unite with Paul at Nicopolis (3:12). Thus, Titus is hereby informed or reminded that his mission in Crete is not indefinite. Zenas and Apollos appear to be at Crete (3:13). The congregation must render them support for their impending journey (3:14). In this way, they present an opportunity to the congregation to demonstrate good works that is in evidence for healthy doctrine. 2.1.8 CONCLUSION So why did Paul write, if the opposition was not a major threat to the Cretan churches, and if Titus knew what was expected of him? The letter evinces a construct I call layered or dual recipiency. On the surface layer Titus is the designated recipient. However, the temporary duration of his term of office, the appointment of elders who would eventually be responsible PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com 62
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A TEXT-CENTRED RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
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DECLARATION I declare that the diss
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SECTION 2 RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 2.1 R
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SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 OVERVIEW
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The content of the authorship debat
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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 and 20: History never lies” (Titus 1:2)?
Page 21 and 22: meaning as determined by historical
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: Throughout the letter, Paul shares
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
Page 73 and 74: and trustworthiness. This choice of
Page 75 and 76: “By whose authority are you imple
Page 77 and 78: “shared knowledge”. The qualiti
Page 79 and 80: espectively within the same sentenc
Page 81 and 82: dichotomy at the front end of this
Page 83 and 84: church. Implicit contrasting is als
Page 85 and 86: aijscrokerdhv", and these false tea
Page 87 and 88: The second part of verse 13 contain
Page 89 and 90: different groups. He relentlessly p
Page 91 and 92: implicit contrasting. The negative
Page 93 and 94: marker is the use of the plural of
Page 95 and 96: instruction in this regard. “Heal
Page 97 and 98: almost desirable. Thus, legitimate
Page 99 and 100: The subject is the older women. Thi
Page 101 and 102: negatively upon the oJ lovgo" tou`
Page 103 and 104: 2.2.5.6 The behaviour of slaves In
Page 105 and 106: or originating from God (tou' … q
Page 107 and 108: to God and this paves the way for t
Page 109 and 110: This explains the use of inclusive
Page 111 and 112: Furthermore, through the direct rep
Page 113 and 114: 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).
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Everts, J. M. (1993). Hope Dictiona
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Lea, D. and H. P. Griffin (1992). 1
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Sumney, J. L. (1996). “A Reading
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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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