TY - CHAP

T1 - Mislæste Luther vitterlig Paulus? Arvesynd og filosofi i tidlig jødisk eksegese

AU - Buch-Hansen, Gitte

PY - 2017/10/27

Y1 - 2017/10/27

N2 - Abstract: The celebration of the reformation has left historicallyminded New Testament scholars in a state of embarrassment.Since Krister Stendahl’s seminal article from 1963, “The ApostlePaul and the Introspective Consciousness of the West”, the prevailingunderstanding among scholars subscribing to The New Perspectiveon Paul has been that Luther (1483 – 1546) misunderstoodthe apostle: He read Paul’s letters through a fine-mashed Augustinianfilter. Especially Luther’s use of the concept ‘original sin’ inhis exegesis of Pauls’ letters has been condemned as an illegitimateeis-egesis. However, as a pragmatic missionary, so goes Stendahl’sargument against Luther’s reading, Paul was not interested in developinga universal anthropology, but in solving the social problemsthat the acceptance of the Gospel among Gentiles created.Nevertheless, this article challenges the strong focus on ethnicityin contemporary Pauline scholarship. The argument proceeds intwo steps. First, it demonstrates that although solus Christus, solafides etc. to the young Luther constituted the answer, a close readingof his lecture on Rom 7 reveals that the question with whichhe struggled concerned the desire inherent in the flesh. Second,attention is drawn to the fact that in the Jewish philosopher andexegete Philo’s allegorical exposition of the fall narrative in Gen1-3, we find a well-developed and philosophically reflected conceptof ‘original sin’. Thus, the idea of a sexually transmitted sinfuldesire goes back to the intellectual milieu in the context throughwhich we often read Paul’s correspondence. Together, these twosteps make possible a reevaluation of Luther’s exegesis of the Paul’sletters.

AB - Abstract: The celebration of the reformation has left historicallyminded New Testament scholars in a state of embarrassment.Since Krister Stendahl’s seminal article from 1963, “The ApostlePaul and the Introspective Consciousness of the West”, the prevailingunderstanding among scholars subscribing to The New Perspectiveon Paul has been that Luther (1483 – 1546) misunderstoodthe apostle: He read Paul’s letters through a fine-mashed Augustinianfilter. Especially Luther’s use of the concept ‘original sin’ inhis exegesis of Pauls’ letters has been condemned as an illegitimateeis-egesis. However, as a pragmatic missionary, so goes Stendahl’sargument against Luther’s reading, Paul was not interested in developinga universal anthropology, but in solving the social problemsthat the acceptance of the Gospel among Gentiles created.Nevertheless, this article challenges the strong focus on ethnicityin contemporary Pauline scholarship. The argument proceeds intwo steps. First, it demonstrates that although solus Christus, solafides etc. to the young Luther constituted the answer, a close readingof his lecture on Rom 7 reveals that the question with whichhe struggled concerned the desire inherent in the flesh. Second,attention is drawn to the fact that in the Jewish philosopher andexegete Philo’s allegorical exposition of the fall narrative in Gen1-3, we find a well-developed and philosophically reflected conceptof ‘original sin’. Thus, the idea of a sexually transmitted sinfuldesire goes back to the intellectual milieu in the context throughwhich we often read Paul’s correspondence. Together, these twosteps make possible a reevaluation of Luther’s exegesis of the Paul’sletters.

M3 - Bidrag til bog/antologi

T3 - Forum for Bibelsk Eksegese

SP - 137

BT - Bibelen og Reformationen

A2 - Friis, Martin

A2 - Bundvad, Mette

A2 - Müller, Mogens

A2 - Buch-Hansen, Gitte

PB - Eksistensen

ER -