NT2200-Week One Cultural Influences Paper
The Bible gives precise and detailed information about the Apostle Paul’s heritage and cultural background. In Php 3:5 (KJV) “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;”.
And in Act 22:3 (KJV) “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.”
These words written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit should remove any doubt as to Apostle Paul being of Jewish descent. His lineage certainly would have an influence …show more content…
37). The Apostle Paul was born a Jew. He was a Jew of Diaspora. The term Diaspora is referring to a time after the exile of Judah and being dispersed outside of their homeland. The Jewish population was scattered throughout the Empire of the Persians, and later the Romans. It is from the cultural and social traditions of the Greeks and the Romans that Jews located in these areas adopted some of the Hellenistic cultures.
It was during this time that throughout the Mediterranean world the Greeks had influenced the region with their way of life, and it occurred about two hundred years before the Roman Empire. Thus, we have the term Greco-Roman being used to describe this period; whereby the Romans were “influenced by the Greek language, mythology, philosophy, literature, art, education, architecture, fashion, polity and leisure” (Capes, D. B., Reeves, R., & Richards, E. R., 2007, p. …show more content…
3:8 KJV). The effect this influence had on his letter writing can be seen in Rom 1:14 (KJV) “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. Rom 1:15 (KJV) so, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Rom 1:16 (KJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
The truth is no one’s life after meeting Jesus is ever the same. Meeting Jesus is a life changing experience and if your life does not change after that, then know, that you met someone else and not Jesus. Cultural influences of Paul’s Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and Paul’s social identity played an important part in the writing of Paul’s letters, but no influence was greater than the influence the Holy Spirit had on him. References
Bruno, B. (2014). The cultural influences on the Apostle Paul’s letters to the churches. Retrieved from http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=168646
Capes, D. B., Reeves, R., & Richards, E. R. (2007). Rediscovering Paul in his world. In Rediscovering Paul (pp. 23-53). Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity
The Bible gives precise and detailed information about the Apostle Paul’s heritage and cultural background. In Php 3:5 (KJV) “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;”.
And in Act 22:3 (KJV) “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.”
These words written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit should remove any doubt as to Apostle Paul being of Jewish descent. His lineage certainly would have an influence …show more content…
37). The Apostle Paul was born a Jew. He was a Jew of Diaspora. The term Diaspora is referring to a time after the exile of Judah and being dispersed outside of their homeland. The Jewish population was scattered throughout the Empire of the Persians, and later the Romans. It is from the cultural and social traditions of the Greeks and the Romans that Jews located in these areas adopted some of the Hellenistic cultures.
It was during this time that throughout the Mediterranean world the Greeks had influenced the region with their way of life, and it occurred about two hundred years before the Roman Empire. Thus, we have the term Greco-Roman being used to describe this period; whereby the Romans were “influenced by the Greek language, mythology, philosophy, literature, art, education, architecture, fashion, polity and leisure” (Capes, D. B., Reeves, R., & Richards, E. R., 2007, p. …show more content…
3:8 KJV). The effect this influence had on his letter writing can be seen in Rom 1:14 (KJV) “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. Rom 1:15 (KJV) so, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Rom 1:16 (KJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
The truth is no one’s life after meeting Jesus is ever the same. Meeting Jesus is a life changing experience and if your life does not change after that, then know, that you met someone else and not Jesus. Cultural influences of Paul’s Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and Paul’s social identity played an important part in the writing of Paul’s letters, but no influence was greater than the influence the Holy Spirit had on him. References
Bruno, B. (2014). The cultural influences on the Apostle Paul’s letters to the churches. Retrieved from http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=168646
Capes, D. B., Reeves, R., & Richards, E. R. (2007). Rediscovering Paul in his world. In Rediscovering Paul (pp. 23-53). Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity