Polemic Of The Pastorals: A Sociological Examination Of The Development Of Pauline Christianity

This volume is a revision of the authors doctoral dissertation, directed by Loveday Alexander at the University of Sheffield. Utilizing insights from modern sociological studies, Pietersen contends that the polemic of the Pastoral Epistles is directed against Jewish-Christian enthusiasts and visionaries who had successfully attracted members of the Pauline churches, particularly women, with a message of realized eschatology, asceticism, and thaumaturgy. The opening chapter provides a succinct summary of the debate concerning the identity of the opponents in the Pastoral Epistles, an issue that Pietersen identifies as the most essential feature of the background of these letters. Pietersen rejects as historically problematic the notion that the heresy confronted in the Pastoral Epistles is an incipient Gnosticism and as unconvincing the view that the polemic is merely a literary device aimed at imaginary opponents. Instead, the fact that certain opponents are named (2 Tim 2:17; 4:14) suggests to Pietersen that the polemic of the Pastorals is directed at specific individuals whom the author perceives as a threat to the community. Chapter 2 introduces the sociological models that Pietersen employs in his attempt to discern the identity of the authors opponents. [Full Review]