I have written before here at What's Wrong With the World about William Paley's Horae Paulinae. Now I have a new post up about the intersection of Acts and the Pauline epistles concerning Aquila and Priscilla. Exciting stuff for those of us interested in the evidences of Christianity. Feel free to comment either here or at Extra Thoughts.
New post up about Paley's Horae Paulinae
by Lydia McGrew
Comments (3)
Fascinating. Thanks for bringing careful light to bear on this, Lydia; and many thanks to Paley for his patient, faithful work.
Posted by Paul J Cella | September 18, 2014 8:55 AM
It's funny that one can get so excited about a book that _sounds_ so dry, but I really do recommend picking it up and reading it. Since it is divided into shorter sections epistle by epistle, one can dip into it rather than having to read it cover to cover. One can just read what Paley has to say about Colossians or II Timothy, etc. Then, of course, one may get interested in Paley's cross references ("As discussed in number III in Romans...") and go back and read that part. Howson, the editor of the edition that I link to, has a whole series of fascinating apppendices as well that one can dip into. Howson also has many footnotes of his own where he amplifies upon or even occasionally disagrees with Paley.
Posted by Lydia | September 18, 2014 10:02 AM
Lydia,
You frequently amaze! I think I must go back over the post while keeping a map and timeline to follow details that slip my mind in casual reading. But a few thoughts are readily kindled by your observations from Paley.
First, I recall a great discussion of "unintended coincidences" in D.A. Carson's commentary on John, which tend towards the historicity of that often challenged text (which is thought to be so theological that it could scarcely be historical, ahem). Among its conclusions are that there were, indeed, two temple cleansings by Jesus, one early and one late in His Messianic ministry. Also, F.F. Bruce mentions Paley in his commentary on the Greek text of Acts, and goes on to mention an argument by J.J. Blunt on "coincidences" between OT and NT.
I also have long recognized a Palestinian source used by Luke, which leads me to speculate that written gospel materials probably existed long before some extended period of oral transmission led to the writing of the canonical Gospels. I should not be surprised at the discovery of writings that go back to the lifetime of Jesus.
You have also prompted me to go back and revisit discussions on the "we passages" in Acts, which provoke debate over whether Luke and Paul were travelling companions. And, I've yet to find a satisfactory explanation of the correlation between the Jerusalem visit of Acts 15 and those mentioned in Galatians.
Thanks Again,
John
Posted by John Krivak | October 15, 2014 7:19 AM