The Emergence of Gentile Leadership
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Durham E-Theses THE EMERGENCE OF GENTILE LEADERSHIP AND THE JERUSALEM CONFERENCE: A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE GROUP DYNAMICS OF THE PARTICIPATION OF GENTILE BELIEVERS IN THE EARLY CHURCH FAULKNER, ANNE How to cite: FAULKNER, ANNE (2009) THE EMERGENCE OF GENTILE LEADERSHIP AND THE JERUSALEM CONFERENCE: A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE GROUP DYNAMICS OF THE PARTICIPATION OF GENTILE BELIEVERS IN THE EARLY CHURCH , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/119/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 THE EMERGENCE OF GENTILE LEADERSHIP AND THE JERUSALEM CONFERENCE: A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE GROUP DYNAMICS OF THE PARTICIPATION OF GENTILE BELIEVERS IN THE EARLY CHURCH by Anne Faulkner A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham Department of Theology and Religion 2009 A B S T R A C T This thesis looks at the Jerusalem Conference and Antioch dispute as described by Paul in Galatians (2.1-14) and Acts (15). A new approach to the topics is used, that of using models derived from socio-psychological research. The Jerusalem Conference and Antioch dispute are concerned with group interactions and dynamics; socio- psychological research studies the behaviour of individuals in social groups and so is well suited to study this aspect of early church history. I argue that the emergence of Gentile leadership at Antioch precipitated the need for the Jerusalem Conference. Whereas ‘sympathizers’ to Judaism, lacking circumcision, were not fully integrated into Jewish communities, Gentile believers at Antioch underwent the initiation rite of baptism. Thus Gentile believers had a greater sense of belonging than did ‘sympathizers’ in Judaism. Also Gentiles entered the Antiochene church in numbers, forming a distinct subgroup within the community. These two factors provided ideal conditions for Gentile leadership to emerge. However, leadership inferred a certain status for Gentile believers. This was opposed by some Jewish believers who insisted on complete Torah observance, including circumcision, for full membership of the early church. The Jerusalem Conference met to resolve the issue. Paul’s claim that nothing was added to his gospel implies that the Jerusalem Conference accepted Gentile membership of the church, including Gentile leadership, without circumcision. This would be unacceptable to the Law-observant Jewish believers. To avoid schism the Conference needed a compromise which appeased the Jewish believers. I suggest that the compromise was the ‘two missions’; Gentile believers were accorded the status of full membership as Gentiles, but provision was made for those Jewish believers, who experienced threats to their Jewish identity by associating with Gentile believers under these conditions, to avoid such Gentile contacts. The test of the ‘two missions’ came at Antioch. Peter, in eating with Gentiles, accepted their status as full members of the church. However, the ‘people from James’ did not accept the Gentile believers on equal terms and insisted on their right to avoid such contact with Gentiles. Peter and the other Antiochene Jews had to choose – offer hospitality to their fellow Jews and withdraw from Gentile contact or maintain table fellowship with Gentiles and isolate their fellow Jews. They opted to extend hospitality to the Jews, but this decision implied a rejection of the Gentiles’ status within the early church. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ___________________________________________________________ ii LIST OF FIGURES_____________________________________________________vi DECLARATION ______________________________________________________ vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ______________________________________________viii Chapter 1 _____________________________________________________________ 1 General Introduction________________________________________________________ 1 1.1 The Issues ___________________________________________________________________ 1 1.1.1 Early Approaches to the Antioch Dispute_______________________________________ 1 1.1.2 Recent Approaches to the Jerusalem Conference and Antioch Dispute _________________ 3 1.1.3 The Approach of This Thesis ________________________________________________ 6 1.2 Leadership __________________________________________________________________ 9 1.2.1 Leadership in Groups ______________________________________________________ 9 1.2.2 Leadership in the Early Church______________________________________________ 11 1.2.2.1 Charismatic Leadership________________________________________________ 11 1.2.2.2 Institutionalization of Charismatic Leadership ______________________________ 12 1.2.3 The Emergence of Gentile Leadership in the Early Church ________________________ 16 1.3 Methodology________________________________________________________________ 18 1.3.1 Archival Sources_________________________________________________________ 19 1.3.1.1 New Testament Sources _______________________________________________ 20 1.3.1.2 Jewish Sources ______________________________________________________ 30 1.3.1.3 Gentile Sources ______________________________________________________ 32 1.3.2 The Socio-Psychological Approach __________________________________________ 32 1.3.2.1 Objections to the Use of Sociology in New Testament Research ________________ 33 1.3.2.2 The Basics of Social Psychology ________________________________________ 39 1.3.2.3 Social Psychology across Cultures _______________________________________ 40 Chapter 2 ____________________________________________________________ 43 Using Socio-Psychological Tools in the Situation of the Ancient Mediterranean World 43 2.1 Introduction_________________________________________________________________ 43 2.2 The Small Group_____________________________________________________________ 44 2.2.1 The Early Church ________________________________________________________ 44 2.2.2 The Household __________________________________________________________ 45 2.2.3 Voluntary Associations____________________________________________________ 45 2.2.4 The Jewish Synagogues ___________________________________________________ 46 2.2.5 The Philosophical Societies ________________________________________________ 48 2.3 Group Socialization: The Five Stages of Passage____________________________________ 48 2.3.1 Investigation ____________________________________________________________ 48 2.3.2 Socialization ____________________________________________________________ 50 2.3.3 Maintenance ____________________________________________________________ 51 2.3.4 Resocialization __________________________________________________________ 53 2.3.5 Remembrance ___________________________________________________________ 54 2.3.6 Evaluation ______________________________________________________________ 54 2.3.7 Commitment ____________________________________________________________ 55 2.3.8 Role Transition __________________________________________________________ 55 2.4 Minority Influences within Small Groups _________________________________________ 57 2.4.1 Innovation during the Socialization Process ____________________________________ 58 2.4.1.1 Unintended Innovation ________________________________________________ 58 2.4.1.2 Intentional Innovation _________________________________________________ 59 2.4.1.3 Environmental Factors ________________________________________________ 60 2.4.2 Minority Influence and Social Psychology _____________________________________ 60 2.5 Leadership of Groups: The Evidence of Social Psychology____________________________ 63 2.5.1 Historical Perspective _____________________________________________________ 64 2.5.2 Social Identity Theory of Leadership _________________________________________ 66 2.5.3 Cultural Status and Leadership ______________________________________________ 68 iii 2.5.4 Summary of the Social Scientific View of Emerging Leadership____________________ 72 2.5.5 Leadership in the Graeco-Roman World ______________________________________ 73 2.5.5.1 Leadership of the Household____________________________________________ 73 2.5.5.2 Leadership in the Voluntary Associations__________________________________ 73 2.5.5.3 Leadership of the Jewish Synagogues_____________________________________ 75 2.5.5.4 The Philosophical Societies_____________________________________________ 77 2.5.5.5 Assessment of the Models of Leadership from the Graeco-Roman World_________ 78 2.5.5.6 Leadership in the Early Church Community________________________________ 78 2.6 Group Identity and Inter-Group Bias _____________________________________________ 80 2.6.1 Examples of Inter-group Bias in the Ancient Mediterranean World__________________ 83 2.6.2 Processes for Improving Inter-group Relationships ______________________________