THE EPISTLES: LEARNING TO THINK CONTEXTUALLY
OVERVIEW NOTES
- Adolf Deissman made a distinction between letters and epistles
- Think paragraphs in order to trace epistle arguments.
- Epistles: an artistic literary form intended for the public.
- New Testament real letters: Paul's Epistles, 2 John, 3 John
- Form of ancient letters: name of the writer; name of the recipient; greeting, prayer wish or thanksgiving; body, final greeting and farewell.
- Occasional documents: documents arising out of a specific occasion; documents intended for a specific occasion.
- Task theology: theology being written for or brought to bear on the task at hand
- Kinds of historical context notes: recipient characteristics, author's attitude, specific occasion, letter's divisions
- Epistle content question: What is the author saying: why did the author say it?