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E.-M. Becker, Das Markus-Evangelium im Rahmen der antiken Historiographie (WUNT 194; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006).
E.-M. Becker, The Birth of Christian History. Memory and Time from Mark to Luke Acts (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).
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II Philip MelanchthonMelanchthon, Philip(p)’s reading of Paul’s letter to the Philippians and contemporary exegesis*
1. The quest
Since the 1960/70s, widely initiated by Krister Stendahl’s (1921-2008) deconstruction of the “introspective Self,”Melanchthon, Philip(p)1 the so-called “New PerspectiveNew Perspective on Paul” (NPP) has formulated a strong critique on a Pauline exegesis dominated by Lutheran hermeneutics.2 By Lutheran hermeneutics we generally mean a specific Lutheran readingLutheran reading by which certain theologoumena of reformatory theology are taken as an interpretative frame for reading Paul’s letters and understanding Pauline anthropological thinking.Selbst, self, selfhood3
With its strong focus on terms like πίστις, νόμος, and δικαιοσύνη, Paul’s letter to the Romans was and still is the focus of NPP- and “Radical New PerspectiveRadical New PerspectiveNew Perspective” (RNP)-debates.4 Paul’s letter to the Philippians, by contrast, never really was in the frontline of these discussions. However, when it comes to the interpretation of Paul’s autobiographical narrative in Phil 3:4bff., the question about how to analyze the genitive Χριστοῦ in 3:9 (… διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ) – whether it is an objective or a subjective genitiveHolloway, Paul A.5 – in fact reflects some hermeneutical issues implied in the (Lutheran) justification-concept as uncovered by the NPP.
In many ways, Paul’s letter to the Philippians is an interesting test case for the study of reformatory exegesis: The topics of “law,” “faith” and “circumcision” appear most prominently in Phil 3. Likewise, Paul’s polemics against those who practice “mutilation” (3:2) is of constant interest for studying Philippians in light of the NPP or RNP.6 So far, however, the role of Paul’s letter to the Philippians for reformatory theology has not been studied systematically.7 This applies despite the fact that reformatory exegesis has – based on Pauline exegesis – produced fresh ideas about Paul and his life course as the discussion about the interpretation of Phil 4:3 most impressively shows.Clemensstrom3.448BWeiß, Bernhard071 Kor07071 Kor07,88
In this contribution, I shall provide some observations on Philip MelanchthonMelanchthon, Philip(p)’s approach to Philippians. Beside a rather “Lutheran”-inspired reference to Philippians in his Loci Communes (see 2.), Melanchthon shows multiple hermeneutical interests when reading and interpreting Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Melanchthon’s multi-faceted interest in Philippians becomes evident especially in his “Oratio in funere reverendi viri D. Martini Lutheri” from 1546 (see 3.).
2. MelanchthonMelanchthon, Philip(p)’s interpretation of Philippians in the Loci Communes (1521)
Protestant theology in the first half of the 16th century emerged in a specific historical context, where its theological pragmatics (justification of the believer) and hermeneutical principles (“Schriftprinzip”) had socio-political relevance (critical attitude towards religious authorities).Melanchthon, Philip(p)1 In this context, the theologoumenon of justification played an important role. Gerhard EbelingEbeling, Gerhard once has pointed out that LutherLuther, Martin’s idea on the justification sola fide cannot be seen as an
arbitrary preference of a favorite teaching …, but rather as a declaration of what the inner structure of all theological assertions are about.Ebeling, GerhardRechtfertigungLuther, Martin2
EbelingEbeling, Gerhard’s statement, however, also implies that biblical theology and Pauline exegesis in particular is the material center of Lutheran hermeneutics. In a similar way and inspired by LutherLuther, Martin’s hermeneutics,Melanchthon, Philip(p)3 MelanchthonMelanchthon, Philip(p) makes use of the theologoumenon of justification. His interpretation of Paul’s letter-writing is widely informed by a Lutheran theological hermeneutics.
2.1. MelanchthonMelanchthon, Philip(p)’s approach to Philippians in the Loci
MelanchthonMelanchthon, Philip(p)’s approach becomes evident in his most prominent writing, his “Hauptwerk,”Melanchthon, Philip(p)1 which at the same time is commonly known as the first “protestant dogmatic”: the Loci Communes (1521). Melanchthon formulates one of the central theological statements already in the introduction (0.13):
Nam ex his (= vis peccati, lex, gratia [0.12]) proprie Christus cognoscitur, siquidem hoc est Christum cognoscere beneficia eius cognoscere, non, quod isti docent, eius naturas, modos incarnationis contueri.Melanchthon, Philip(p)2
In his comment to this Locus, Horst Georg Pöhlmann emphasizes how MelanchthonMelanchthon, Philip(p) partly has based this thesis of protestant theology on his reading of Paul (see “Declamatiuncula in Divi Pauli Doctrinam”, 1520). Melanchthon partly refers to LutherLuther, Martin’s “Heidelberger Disputation” (1518) and Luther’s Operationes in Psalmos (1519-1521).Melanchthon, Philip(p)3 How can we best describe the potential of “protestant” –