MisterC wrote:

Furthermore, if you want to add a fourth one, Chris Shea, in the Fall 2008 "Seminar Papers" shows that there is another myth out there... that of "Saul." Here is his conclusion:

"Since 13 is the only place in Acts where the name of the character Saul and the name of the character Paul are equated - and that with a formula suspiciously reminiscent of the "Sergios te kai ho Paulos" of Galen - we may have to consider that we have (at least) three characters here: (1) Saul, the hero with the folktale name redolent of lost kingdoms, who represents Jews who first reject then adopt Christianity; (2) Paul, the letter-writer; (3) and the character whose actions are reported in Acts only after 13, our little Roman, Paul."

Dennis

Uh. So let me see if I've got this right.:) We have this somewhat fictive Paul, who has at least three different identities and maybe even a nickname (Saul). The various Pauline entities are constructed by numerous somewhat anonymous authors and then, likely, edited over a period of maybe one hundred years. And one of the sources about Paul is a book called Acts, which is viewed by many as total fiction.

And Paul is viewed as one of the primary and earliest formulators of the Christian Church.:)........ I think I'm getting a headache.;)

I think I understand why you say there's a preference for dealing with the theology of the NT rather than the historicity.

Dennis. This would make one helluva article for the Fourth R. You should write it when you run out of things to do.