This thesis attempts to fill a void in the study of the Pastoral Epistles. Its aim is to demonstrate a distinct missionary outlook undergirding the writing of the Pastoral Epistles, one which has been overlooked or underplay~d ~y commentators. Its main contention is that in spite of the other contingent concerns within the letters, especially pertaining to the problem with the false teachings, there is an underlying missionary concern for unbelievers to come to the saving truth of the gospel. This challenges the influential view of Baur and Dibelius that the communities within the Pastorals were settling down into a placid existence, that bourgeois Christian morality had begun to take hold, and that evangelistic fervour had waned. The study begins with an examination of the concept of 'household', the life-setting of the communi ties behind these letters. It is found that in spite of the common notion of the household being a private sphere, one common dimension of the first-century Mediterranean household, both Roman and Jewish, was that it possessed a public 'face', viz., it invariably intersected with the wider society. Moreover, early Christian households were shown to function as an important venue for missionary activities. A study of the main protagonists - Paul, Timothy and Titus - also found that they were predominantly presented as itinerant missionaries. Next, an analysis of the traditional pieces concluded that the accent of the teaching is weighted heavily on the side of soteriology in comparison with the christologYi besides, the letters are full of gospel terminology and metaphors expressed in fresh language and constantly challenging the readers to authentic Christian existence. The ecclesiology is also strongly suggestive of mission: the imagery of the church as the 'household of God'; the criterion of irreproachable character in its leaders; the community's perception of itself and of outsiders. Finally, the study of the ethical instructions concluded that they were not merely conservative and defensive as commonly thought, but were occasionally radical and missionary in tenor.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:327404 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Ho, Chiao Ek |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=233761 |
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