Reading and Study Guide – 1
Timothy, Acts of Paul and Thecla, Thecla sections
I Timothy represents one
trajectory from the earlier letters of Paul we have read--either because it was written by
a follower after his death or because it represents the situation and thoughts of
Paul’s later life. This trajectory represents the church becoming an ongoing
institution within Greco-roman culture. The Acts of Paul (probably compiled in the second
century), especially the section of the Acts dealing with Thecla, represents another
trajectory. Barr describes it as a more radical, counter-cultural trajectory. However, I
Timothy and the Acts of Paul do have some things in common.
1. Make a list of the external and internal evidence that supports A.
Paul’s personal authorship of I Timothy and the other Pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy
and Titus) and B. I Timothy and the other Pastorals authorship by someone in the Pauline
tradition writing in the name of Paul.
2. Which view seems more
convincing to you? List your reasons why.
3. List the purposes for which determining whether Paul
personally wrote I Timothy would be important and the purposes for which it would not
important? How are you defining importance? Be sure that you read Barr’s
comments on the question of authorship on pp. 93-96, 186-88, and 195-203.
4. Compare and contrast at
least two ideas and/or practices discussed in I Timothy with those in the Acts of Paul and
Thecla excerpt. Be sure to cite specific passages. To what degree may historical and
social circumstances account for the differences and similarities?
5. In what ways can the Acts
of Paul and Thecla excerpt be seen in continuity with the undisputed Pauline letters we
have read (I Thessalonians, I Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans) and in what ways in
discontinuity? Be sure to give at least two examples of continuity and two of
discontinuity. How would you account for these similarities and differences?
6. The church made Thecla a
saint and her cult was widespread in both the Western the Eastern branches of
Christianity. Her story influenced later Christian art and literature. What do you think
proved compelling about the narrative of Thecla for believers in the second and following
centuries? At the same time, the Acts of Paul including the section on the Acts of Thecla
did not make it into the final canon of the New Testament. Why do you think it was
excluded?