The faith of Jesus Christ : the narrative substructure of Galatians 3:1-4:11 / Richard B. Hays.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hays, Richard B.

Series:

Biblical resource series

The biblical resource series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Galatians III, 1-IV, 11--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible.

Bible. Epistles of Paul--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible. Epistles of Paul.

Physical Description:

lii, 308 pages ; 24 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Grand Rapids, Mich. : W.B. Eerdmans ; Dearborn, Mich. : Dove Booksellers, 2002.

Summary:

In this important study Hays argues against the mainstream that any attempt to account for the nature and method of Paul's theological language must first reckon with the centrality of narrative elements in his thought. Through an in-depth investigation of Galatians 3:1-4:11, Hays shows that the framework of Paul's thought is neither a system of doctrines nor his personal religious experience but the "sacred story" of Jesus Christ.

Contents:

I. The Search for the Constant Elements of Paul's Gospel 1

A. Statement of the Problem and Elaboration of the Thesis 1

1. The Quest for the "Core" of Paul's Thought 1

2. Intimations of Narrative Elements in Paul 9

a. Amos Wilder 10

b. Stephen Crites 11

c. James A. Sanders 12

d. William Beardslee 13

3. Terminological Clarifications 15

a. "Story" vs. "Myth" 15

b. "Story" and "Narrative" 18

4. Aims of the Investigation Contrasted to Other Approaches 19

B. Methodology and Procedure 21

1. The Relationship between Narrative and Reflective Discourse 21

a. Northrop Frye: Mythos and Dianoia 22

b. Paul Ricoeur: Episodic and Configurational Dimensions of Narrative 24

c. Robert Funk: Foundational Language and Primary Reflectivity 25

2. Galatians 3:1-4:11 as a Test Case 29

3. Steps in the Investigation 31

II. How Has the Narrative Dimension in Paul's Thought Been Handled? An Overview of Previous Interpretations 33

A. The Identification of Narrative Elements in Paul 34

1. Wilhelm Bousset: Cultic Myth 34

2. Albert Schweitzer: Eschatology and "Mysticism" 39

B. Disposing of Narrative Elements 47

1. Rudolf Bultmann: "Demythologizing" 47

C. Attempts to Reclaim Narrative Elements in Paul 52

1. Oscar Cullmann: Heilsgeschichte 52

2. Ernst Kasemann: War on Two Fronts 58

3. C. H. Dodd: The Apostolic Preaching 60

4. Dan Via: Paul and the Comic Structure 64

III. Analysis of Narrative Christological Formulations in Galatians 73

A. The Relationship between Galatians 4:3-6 and 3:13-14: The Problem 74

1. Similarities 75

2. Differences 77

3. Origins 79

4. The Relation between the Texts: A Hypothesis 81

B. A Model for Analyzing Narrative Structure 82

1. Theoretical Presuppositions 83

2. Narrative Sequences 84

3. Narrative Syntagms 85

4. Canonical Functions 85

5. The Actantial Model 90

6. Interrelation of the Model's Components 93

C. Analysis of the Narrative Structure of Gal 4:3-6 and 3:13-14 95

1. Gal 4:3-6 95

2. Gal 3:13-14 102

D. The Relationship between Gal 4:3-6 and 3:13-14: Some Conclusions 106

E. Analysis of the Narrative Structure of Gal 3:21-22 112

F. Summary and Preview 116

IV. The Function of [characters not reproducible] in the Narrative Structure of Paul's Gospel 119

A. The Message of Faith (Gal 3:2-5) 124

1. Possible Meanings of [characters not reproducible] 125

2. The Meaning of [characters not reproducible] 128

3. The Meaning of [characters not reproducible] 131

B. The Righteous One Will Live [characters not reproducible] (Gal 3:11) 132

1. What Does [characters not reproducible] Modify? 133

2. Who Is [characters not reproducible] 134

3. By Whose Faith Shall the Righteous One Live? 138

C. The Faith of Jesus Christ (Gal 3:22) 141

1. A Brief History of the Question 142

2. The Grammatical Issue 148

3. The Theological Issue 150

4. Other Texts 153

a. Gal 2:20b 153

b. Gal 3:26 155

D. "The Faith of Jesus Christ" in Rom 3:21-26 156

V. The Logic of Argumentation in Gal 3:1-4:11 163

A. The Problem: Internal Coherence of the Argument 163

B. A Reinterpretation of Gal 3:1-14 166

1. Gal 3:1-5 166

2. Gal 3:6-9 168

a. The Function of Gal 3:6 in the Argument 169

b. The Meaning of [characters not reproducible] 170

c. The Function of the Genesis Quotation in Gal 3:8 173

3. Gal 3:10-14 177

a. Why Is No One Justified [characters not reproducible] 177

b. Christ as the Agent of Redemption 179

c. The Spirit as Fulfillment of the Promise 181

C. Narrative Logic in the Argument 184

1. The Nature of Paul's Logic: Other Proposals 184

a. Greer M. Taylor: Juristic Logic 184

b. Nils Dahl: Rabbinic Logic 189

c. Hans Dieter Betz: Rhetorical Logic 192

2. What Is "Narrative Logic"? 194

3. Patterns of Narrative Logic in Gal 3:16-4:11 196

a. Participation in the Inheritance 196

b. The Place of Law in the Narrative Structure 198

c. [characters not reproducible] in the Narrative Pattern 200

d. New Creation 204

e. A Practical Application 205

VI. Conclusion: Implications for Pauline Interpretation 209

A. The Contours of Paul's Theology 210

B. Paul's Place within Early Christianity 215

C. Paul's Gospel and the Gospel Genre 218

D. Pauline Ethics: How Does the Christ-Story Shape Paul's Sense of Self and World? 220

E. The Character of Paul's Language 226

A. Commentaries on Galatians 231

B. Studies Pertinent to the Interpretation of Gal 3:1-4:11 232

C. Studies on Stories and Narrative Structure 242

Appendix 1 Once More, [characters not reproducible] / James D. G. Dunn 249

Appendix 2 [characters not reproducible] and Pauline Christology: What Is at Stake? / Richard B. Hays 272.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-248) and indexes.

ISBN:

0802849571

OCLC:

48554873