I and II THESSALONIANS:
The books of I and II Thessalonians, which are in the New Testament, are both letters to a church that Paul the apostle helped establish in the city of Thessalonica. First Thessalonians is agreed by biblical scholars to be written by Paul. The author of II Thessalonians, however, is still being debated about.
In II Thessalonians itself, and in secondary sources, there is evidence to support the theories that Paul wrote II Thessalonians as well as the first letter but also that someone wrote II Thessalonians in his name. First Thessalonians was written from Corinth in about 51 AD. If Paul actually wrote the second letter, it was written shortly after that. If he did not, then it is hard to decide when the book of II Thessalonians was written. Since it is agreed that Paul wrote I Thessalonians, the text and style of II Thessalonians can be compared to it. If things such as vocabulary and style differ between the two, it shows that Paul may not have written II Thessalonians. An example of this is found in II Thessalonians 1:3 and again 2:13. The verses have the phrase, "we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters…"
I found quite a few sites that believe that Paul did not write II Thessalonians but don’t get me wrong there are also some who do believe the he did write this book but I will not make a decision because there because it is not clear from my readings of both books who is the actual writer is. I agree that this is an important part of Biblical history because it helps us date the writing of II Thessalonians.
In approximately 50 A.D. Paul had traveled to Philippi and then to Greece for the first time. During this time, he and two traveling companions, Timothy and Silas, they spread the word about Jesus to the Thessalonians. They formed a community of believers there and Paul was the founder of this new Christian community. He, Timothy, and Silas exercised authority over the Thessalonians according to 1 Thessalonians 4:7. “we were able to impose our weight as apostles of Christ”. The three stayed with the newly founded community for quite a while and it was not specifically stated as to how long they stayed all the book said was that “they stayed for a time to be”.
Paul the Apostle, was a famous preacher of first century Christianity and was God’s tool used to spread the light of the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul is credited fir having written many books in the New Testament of the Bible. He was born an Israelite to a clan of the tribe of Benjamin, speaking the Aramaic and Hebrew tongues from infancy. He was an enthusiastic student and a stringent devotee of the Torah. He was the man that later had a peculiar meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ while on the road to Damascus. His life and duty were considerably altered and in turn eventually changed the course of the development of Western Civilization and culture.
Scholars of the Pauline writings have divided them into the following categories: (1) those unquestionably by Paul: Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, I Thessalonians, and Philemon; (2) a letter that was probably written by Paul, but has had serious questions raised about its' authorship: II Thessalonians; (3) letters that were not actually written by Paul but were developed from his thought: Colossians and Ephesians; (4) letters that bear Paul's name but clearly come from another time and different set of circumstances in the church: I and II Timothy and Titus (the so-called Pastoral Letters); (5) a letter not bearing Paul's name and which evidences a wholly different thought and religious vocabulary from that of Paul: the Letter to the Hebrews (Kee, 5th Ed. 224).
The author of the book is Zechariah, he whom the lord remembers. The book was written to the Jews in Jerusalem that had returned from their captivity in Babylon. The book was written in and around 520 B.C.
Paul, also known as Saul, was an apostle of God who wrote the book of Ephesians and was sent to set up churches for Him. He changed his name from Saul to Paul because he wanted to start his life over, follow God, and live for Him. He wanted to start over because he was known as a man who persecuted Christians. Saul did not even notice he was doing wrong until he started to reach Damascus and a voice yelled from the Heavens saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul answered back, “Who are you, Lord?” then the Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But, rise and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.” For three days Saul was made blind by Jesus and did not eat or drink. Then, Ananias walked into where Saul was staying and restored his sight, something like scales fell off his eyes and he could see. After being in Damascus with the disciples he proclaimed that Jesus is the one true God. Then, he fled to Jerusalem where he joined the disciples with the help of Barnabas, changed his name to Paul and became a missionary to Christ. He set out on three missionary journeys where on his third, he was put under house arrest in Rome for two years where he wrote the book of Ephesians. After his release, he left, went to Spain, and was eventually persecuted and martyred by Nero.
In book eight of Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is on the island of the Phaeacians and is waiting to return home to Ithaca. Meanwhile, Alcinous, the Phaeacian king, has arranged for a feast and celebration of games in honor of Odysseus, who has not yet revealed his true identity. During the feast, a blind bard named Demodocus sings about the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at Troy. The song causes Odysseus to start weeping, so Alcinous ends the feast and orders the games to begin. During dinner after the games, Odysseus asks Demodocus to sing about the Trojan horse and the sack of Troy. This song too causes Odysseus to break down and cry. Homer uses a dramatic simile to describe the pain and sorrow that Odysseus feels as he recalls the story of Troy.
Grayston, Kenneth. The Letters of Paul to the Philippians and to the Thessalonians. CBC. London: Cambridge U.P., 1967.
Hu•bris /ˈ(h)yo͞obris/ noun: excessive pride or self-confidence. Hubris is believed to be the most serious of all seven deadly sins. Some say it was the original sin that led to all others. A word with such loathsome synonyms like arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, pomposity, and egotism was seen as one of the worst possible sins in Greek culture. They believed that no matter your social status those who exhibited it were destined to fall down into damnation. Yet some Grecian heroes seemed to ooze hubris in the form of confidence or cockiness. There was a fine line between the two that they should never cross. One hero in particular showed this sin on more than one account. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus, shows the sinful trait of hubris, in the form of cockiness when he talks to Polythemus, his crewmen, his wife, and his son.
Plato’s Theaetetus is one of the most read and interpreted texts under the subject of philosophy. Within the dialect, many topics and questions are analyzed and brought to light. Leon Pearl is the author of Is Theaetetus Dreaming?, which discusses the positions taken on the topic of ‘dreaming’ and ‘being awake’, which is conferred about within the Theaetetus. Pearl critiques the question: “How can you determine whether at this moment we are sleeping and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake and talking to one another in the waking state” asked by Socrates within Plato’s Theaetetus (Pearl, p.108). Pearl first analyzes the question from the skeptic’s point of view and then proceeds to falsify the skeptic’s argument by his own interpretation, stating that “if a man is awake and believe that he is awake, then this constitutes a sufficient condition for his knowing the he is awake” (Pearl, p.108). Within Pearl’s argument, the conclusion at the end of section II becomes questionable when considering that knowledge and true belief have no distinction in the ‘awake state’ of mind.
Since the beginning of human civilization, women have often occupied inferior roles in society while the dominant role has been played by men. In Homer’s The Odyssey gender roles in Greek society are emphasized showing how men controlled society while women were undervalued and constantly disrespected. Although it may be argued that Homer poses some rather feminist views, it is evident by several elements that The Odyssey is a misogynistic text. First, women in the Odyssey were continually oppressed by men never having true free will. In addition, Women were depicted as symbols of lust, seduction, and evil who bring destruction to men, undermining the true values of women. Furthermore, Women were expected to remain loyal to men while men have no expectation for themselves which promoted gender inequality. Exemplified by these three elements, it is evident that The Odyssey is a misogynistic text depicting a society where women occupy subservient and inferior positions.
Sleeping with your mother, killing your father, watching your only son commit suicide, and gouging your own eyes out are only a few results of Oedipus and Creon’s flaws. In the books Oedipus The King and Antigone, written by Sophocles, the characters Creon and Oedipus meet horrific fates. During Oedipus The King, Oedipus becomes the king of Thebes but is ignorant to the fact that he is the son of Laius and Jocasta. In Antigone, Creon refuses to bury the former king Polyneices because he attacked Thebes. During these books Oedipus and Creon’s flaws result in the destruction of their lives.
In this work he makes mention of the fact that during his lifetime, James, Jude, 2 and 3 John, as well as 2 Peter were among the disputed writings. However, while there was some degree of confusion over the authorship, he is quick to mention that they were nevertheless recognized by many within the church. While some detractors might wish to discredit the canon over this issue of confusion, Köstenberger is quick to point out that what is more telling in this letter is that there was a discussion about which books were to be considered canonical in the first place. Athanasius, in his AD 367 Easter letter to the churches in Egypt, for the first time declared that the books of the Old and New Testament, as we have them today, were to be considered canonical. As he wrote, they are to be considered fountains of salvation. Notably, he also wrote that the apocryphal books, such as The Wisdom of Solomon and Tobit, serve as mere reading material, as they are only the inventions of heretics. His recommendations were then accepted at the Council of Hippo Regius in AD 393 when 27 books of the New Testament were affirmed. Of note is the fact that these lists were in no sense the result of debate. The church simply "recognized as scripture...those writings that had guided its
It should be first noted that scholars believe the Acts of Paul and Thecla exists alongside
earliest copy was found in 400 BC. This is compared to the New Testament that
Divine Intervention is a “direct and obvious intervention by a god or goddess in the affairs of humans”. In various myths such as the Iliad, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Herakles, divine intervention was called upon in order to restrain a hero’s destructive or too powerful forces. Although the divine intervention was used to impair different heroes, the purpose to constrain was the same in all the narratives.
Documentary hypothesis says that there were several authors who wrote first five books of the Bible. In my essay I will try to discuss J, P, and E - authors of Genesis, Exodus and Numbers. I must admit that all these authors had lived after the division of the kingdom.