UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Authority and Persuasion: Self-Presentation in Paul's Letters Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mj0k16m Author Scull, Kevin Ronald Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Authority and Persuasion: Self-Presentation in Paul's Letters A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History by Kevin Ronald Scull 2012 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Authority and Persuasion: Self-Presentation in Paul's Letters by Kevin Ronald Scull Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Professor S. Scott Bartchy, Co-chair Professor Ronald J. Mellor, Co-chair This study examines Paul's self-presentation in Galatians, Philippians, and 1 Corinthians in order to determine the purpose of each letter and Paul's relationship to each community. A fundamental premise of this study is that Paul did not provide communities with autobiographical information so that they might possess a more robust portrait of Paul. Rather, the information he provided was carefully selected in order to fit the needs of each audience and to increase the chance of success for each letter. I begin by identifying and examining Paul's four primary categories of self-presentation: deeds, personal suffering, self-effacing language, and agent of God. Then, I examine the Greco- Roman rhetorical handbooks, speeches, and letters, and I note that they all contain similar categories and techniques for self-presentation, including the four categories outlined by this ii study. From this examination I demonstrate that awareness of the proper methods of self- presentation was not restricted to those who received a formal rhetorical training but that all educated individuals such as Paul of Tarsus would have been aware of the categories and techniques outlined in the handbooks because were "in the air." Next, I examine Galatians, Philippians and 1 Corinthians by focusing on Paul's self-in order to determine his purpose for writing each letter and his relationship with each audience. Using this approach I am able to confirm the scholarly consensus concerning Paul's relationship with the Galatians and Philippians. Moreover, I confirm the scholarly consensus concerning the purpose of Paul's letter to the Galatians, concluding that the letter serves as a self-defense. However, this approach also provides new insights regarding Paul's purpose for writing to the Philippians and the interpretation of many difficult passages. For instance, I am able to conclude that a primary purpose for writing to the Philippians is to address their recent gift, and I note that Paul prepares the community throughout the letter to accept his potentially insulting claim that God would reciprocate on his behalf. Moreover, by identifying the importance of Paul's self-presentation throughout the letter for the success of his handling of the Philippians gift, I provide further evidence for the unity of the letter. iii The dissertation of Kevin Ronald Scull is approved. Robert A. Gurval S. Scott Bartchy, Committee Co-chair Ronald J. Mellor, Committee Co-chair University of California, Los Angeles 2012 iv Table of Contents Curriculum Vitae vii Introduction 1 I. Previous Studies 1 II. Methodology 9 II. 1. Formal Rhetorical Criticism 10 II. 2. Paul's Education 11 II. 3. Functional Rhetorical Criticism 14 III. Rhetorical Criticism and Epistolography 15 IV. Rhetorical Criticism in This Study 17 V. Paul's Self-presentation 18 VI. Moving forward 27 Chapter 1: Greco-Roman Self-Presentation 29 I. Rhetorical Handbooks 30 II. The Progymnasmata and Plutarch 46 II. 1. The Progymnasmata 47 II. 2. Plutarch - "On Inoffensive Self-Praise" 48 III. Speeches 50 IV. Letters 58 V. Conclusion 65 Chapter 2: Paul’s Self-Presentation in Galatians 67 I. Self-Presentation 69 II. Relationship to Audience 70 v III. Purpose of the Letter 72 IV. Conclusions and Ramifications 87 Chapter 3: Paul’s Self-Presentation in Philippians 90 I. Self-Presentation 91 II. Relationship to Audience 93 III. Purpose of the Letter 94 III. 1. Purpose #1: Addressing the Philippians’ Gift 95 III. 2. Purpose #2: Paul’s Presentation as a Model Worth Imitating 107 IV. Conclusions and Ramifications 120 Chapter 4: Paul’s Self-Presentation in 1 Corinthians 123 I. Self-Presentation 125 II. Relationship to Audience 128 III. Purpose of the Letter 129 IV. Conclusions and Ramifications 144 Conclusions 146 Appendix 1: Ignatius and Self-Effacement 151 I. Ignatius and Self-Effacement 151 II. Rhetoric and Self-Effacement 156 III. Ignatius, Self-Effacement, and Paul 159 IV. Conclusions 161 Bibliography 162 I. Primary Sources 162 II. Secondary Sources 163 vi Curriculum Vitae Education C.Phil., History, UCLA, 2008 M.A., History, UCLA, 2007 M.A., Religious Studies, California State University, Long Beach, 2004 B.S., Psychology, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, 1996 Publications “James, the brother of Jesus” in The Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture: A Handbook for Students. Santa Barbara: Baylor University Press, 2011. “Tiberius” in The Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture: A Handbook for Students. Santa Barbara: Baylor University Press, 2011. “Early Christian Anti-War Responses” in World History Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC- CLIO, 2011. “The Roman Legion” in World History Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011. “Marius and His Mules” in World History Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Select Presentations “Paul's Self-Presentation in Philippians: Providing a Model for Enduring Suffering,” presented for the Rhetoric and the New Testament program unit at the 2011 Annual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 11, 2011. “Paul and the Philippians' Gift: Self-Presentation as a Tool for Avoiding Reciprocity,” presented for the Social Scientific Criticism of the New Testament program unit at the 2010 Annual vii Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 23, 2010. “Paul's Use of Self-Presentation as a Defense of His Oratorical Abilities in 1 Corinthians 1:10- 4:21,” presented for the Pauline Epistles program unit at the 2010 Annual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 22, 2010. “Paul, Self-Presentation and the Philippians' Gift,” Presented at the Enoch Graduate Seminar, Budapest, Hungary, July 22, 2010. “Self-Effacement in the Letters of Ignatius and Paul,” Presented at the North American Patristics Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, May 27, 2010. Teaching (Teaching fellow UCLA) History 96W: The Historical Jesus, UCLA, Winter and Spring, 2011 History 96W: The Earliest Christian Documents, UCLA, Spring, 2010 History 96W: 1 Corinthians, UCLA, Winter, 2010 History 97K: Paul, the New Testament, and Ancient Letter Writing, UCLA, Winter and Spring, 2009 Teaching Assistantships History 1B: World Civilization: 843 - 1715, UCLA, Spring, 2008 History 4: Introduction to World Religions, UCLA, Winter 2008 History 20: World History to 600 CE, UCLA, Fall, 2007 History 1A: Western Civilization: Ancient World to 843 CE, UCLA, Fall, 2006 History 4: Introduction to World Religions, UCLA, Winter 2006 Religious Studies 100: Introduction to Religion, CSULB, Fall and Spring, 2004 viii Introduction Paul's use of self-presentation as a persuasive tool is a prevalent and critical aspect of his letters; however, not many studies have addressed this issue. While there are a number of works which have examined one aspect of Paul's self-presentation or focused on one of his letters, there has not been a work which examines Paul's self-presentation over multiple letters. Therefore, this study seeks to fill this gap by examining Paul's self-presentation in order to pursue two primary goals. 1. Situating Paul's self-presentation within the Greco-Roman world. This entails comparing Paul's self-presentation to the established Greco-Roman norms for presenting oneself, which are preserved in the Greco-Roman rhetorical handbooks. This assumption is confirmed through an analysis of the progymnasmata, speeches, and letters, which all reflect the advice found in the handbooks. 2. Examining Paul's self-presentation in his letters to the Galatians, Philippians, and 1 Corinthians in order to determine the purpose of each letter and Paul's relationship with each audience. I. Previous Studies While there are a number of works which address some aspect of Paul's self-presentation, few examine it as a persuasive tool.1 For example, the 2011 work Documents and Images for the Study of Paul dedicates an entire fifty page chapter to Paul's self-presentation; however, it 1 Neil Elliot, "The Apostle Paul's Self-Presentation as Anti-Imperial Performance," in Paul and the Roman Imperial Order (ed. Richard A. Horsley: Harrisburg, Pa: Trinity Press International, 2004); Steven J. Kraftchick, "Self- Presentation and Community Construction in Philippians," in Scripture and Traditions (ed. Patrick Gray and Gail R. O'Day: Leiden: Brill, 2008). These works specifically state their intention of examining Paul's self-presentation, but they do not examine its persuasive impact. There are many works that indirectly engage an aspect of Paul's self- presentation such as topics addressing Paul's status as an apostle, his use of metaphors, references to athletics and running, and similarities to the Greco-Roman philosophers. 1 focuses on providing contemporary parallels, rather than addressing its persuasive nature.2 Despite the small number of relevant works, there have been excellent studies focusing on Paul's self-presentation as a persuasive tool, which have provided valuable contributions to this study.3 However, each of these works focuses on only one aspect of Paul's self-presentation, or only one letter. Thus, despite the valuable contribution of each, none of them comprehensively applies Paul's self-presentation as a means for interpreting his letters.