The Apostles and the Apostolic Church

Authors

  • Chandra Gunawan Theologische Universitait Kampen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v16i1.11

Keywords:

Religious Studies, Theological Analysis, Catholic Epistles, Jerusalem Tradition

Abstract

How should a contemporary reader understand the complexities of the early church? Many scholars utilize a religious studies perspective to understand the early church concluding that the church grew as a direct result (synthesis) of group conflicts (in particular, the Pauline and Petrine communities). This essay approaches the early church from a different paradigm. Using theological analysis, the author concludes that although the early church contained elements of diversity, she exhibits significant unity. The Catholic Epistles (the letters of James, Peter, John, and Jude) are independent letters that are interconnected by the Jerusalem tradition, and the theologies of these letters reflect the unique character of the early church. Therefore, it is important that NT scholars should give more attention to the Catholic Epistles so that the early church can be understood from a more constructive perspective.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Chandra Gunawan, Theologische Universitait Kampen

Penulis adalah pendeta dari Gereja Kristen Immanuel jemaat Hosanna Bandung yang sedang mengambil studi doktoral dalam bidang Perjanjian Baru di Theologische Universitait Kampen (the Netherlands).

References

Allison, Jr., Dale C. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of James. International Critical Commentary. London: T & T Clark, 2013.

Barnett, Paul W. The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.

Bauckham, Richard. “James and the Jerusalem Church.” In The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting, edited by Richard Bauckham, 4:415–480. Grand Rapids; Carlisle: Eerdmans ; Paternoster, 1995.

Bauckham, Richard. James: Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage. London: Routledge, 1999.

Bauckham, Richard. Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church. London: T & T Clark, 1990.

Bauckham, Richard, Jude, 2 Peter. WBC. Waco: Word Books, 1983.

Bauckham, Richard, ed. The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting. Vol. 4. Grand Rapids; Carlisle: Eerdmans ; Paternoster, 1995.

Baum, Armin D. Pseudepigraphie und literarische Fälschung im frühen Christentum: mit aus-gewählten Quellentexten samt deutscher Übersetzung. Tübingen: Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 2001.

Beale, Gregory K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. NIGTC. Grand Rapids; Carlisle: Eerdmans ; Paternoster, 1999.

Black, David A., and David R. Beck. Rethinking the Synoptic Problem. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.

Bockmuehl, Markus N. A. Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory: The New Testament Apostle in the Early Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010.

Bockmuehl, Markus N. A. The Remembered Peter: In Ancient Reception and Modern Debate. WUNT 262. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012.

Carson, Donald A. “The Johannine Letters.” In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T. D. Alexander and B. S. Rosner, 351–355. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 2000.

Carson, Donald A., and Douglas J Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd ed. Leicester: Apollos, 2005.

Charles, J. Daryl. Literary Strategy in the Epistle of Jude. Scranton: University of Scranton Press, 1993.

Chesnut, G. F. “Eusebius of Caesarea.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by D. N. Freedman, 2:673–767. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Clark, Andrew C. “The Role of Apostle.” In Witness to the Gospel: The Theology of Acts, edited by I. Howard Marshall, 167–190. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Crossan, John D. The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately after the Execution of Jesus. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1998.

Davids, Peter H. “2 Peter.” In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T. D. Alexander and B. S. Rosner, 350–351. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 2000.

Davids, Peter H. Commentary on James. NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Davids, Peter H. “James.” In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T. D. Alexander and B. S. Rosner, 342–346. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 2000.

Davids, Peter H. “Jude.” In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T. D. Alexander and B. S. Rosner, 355–356. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 2000.

Davids, Peter H. The First Epistles of Peter. NICNT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

Davids, Peter H. The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude. PNTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.

Dunn, James D. G. Beginning from Jerusalem. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.

Fee, Gordon D. The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians. NIGTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.

Gathercole, Simon J. Where Is Boasting?: Early Jewish Soteriology and Paul’s Response in Romans 1-5. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

Green, Gene L. “1 Peter.” In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T. D. Alexander and B. S. Rosner, 346–351. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 2000.

Green, Gene L. Jude and 2 Peter. BECNT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.

Van Houwelingen, P. H. R. “Fleeing Forward: The Departure of Christians from Jerusalem to Pella.” WTJ 65 (2003): 181–200.

Van Houwelingen, P. H. R. “Jerusalem, the Mother Church.” Sarospataki Füzetek 3-4 (2012): 11–32.

Van Houwelingen, P. H. R. “Mission and Ethics in the Epistle to the Hebrews.” In Insiders versus Outsiders: Exploring the Dynamic Relation between Mission and Ethos in the New Testament, edited by Jacobus (Kobus) Kok and J. A. Dunne. PPRT 14. New Jersey: Gorgias, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31826/9781463235901-010

Van Houwelingen, P. H. R. “Paradise Motifs in the Book of Revelation.” Sarospataki Füzetek 4 (2011): 11–25.

Van Houwelingen, P. H. R. “Riddles around the Letter to the Hebrews.” Fides Reformata 16, no. 2 (2011): 151–162.

Van Houwelingen, P. H. R. “The Authenticity of 2 Peter.” EJT 19, no. 2 (2010): 119–129.

Van Houwelingen, P. H. R. “Why Are There Four Gospels.” LuxMundi (December 2013): 106–107.

Johnson, Luke T. Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Letter of James. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.

Keener, Craig S. Acts: An Exegetical Commentary. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.

Lalleman, P. J. “Adversaries Envisaged in the Johannine Epistles.” Netherlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 53 (1999): 17–24.

Lieu, Judith. I, II, III John: A Commentary. NTL. Philadelphia: Westminster, 2008.

Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene A. Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. Vol. 1. 2 vols. New York: United Bible Societies, 1989.

Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene A. Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. Vol. 2. 2 vols. New York: United Bible Societies, 1989.

Marshall, I. Howard. James. BECNT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004.

Marshall, I. Howard. James. New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. Downers Grove: IVP, 2004.

McCartney, Dan. James. BECNT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009.

Moo, Douglas J. “James, Theology of.” In Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by Walter A. Elwell, 386–388. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996.

Nanos, Mark D. “The Inter-and Intra-Jewish Political Context of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.” In The Galatian Debate, edited by Mark D. Nanos, 396–407. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2002.

Schreiner, Thomas R. Interpreting the Pauline Epistles. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011.

Smalley, S. 1, 2, 3 John. Rev. Ed. WBC 51. Dallas: Thomas Nelson, 2007.

Stowers, Stanley K. Letter Writing in Greco-Roman Antiquity. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986.

Thielman, Frank. Theology of the New Testament: A Canonical and Synthetic Approach. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.

Wall, R., and David R. Nienhuis. Reading the Epistles of James, Peter, John and Jude as Scripture: The Shaping and Shape of a Canonical Collection. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013.

Wenham, David. Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

Whiston, Wm., tran. The Complete Works of Josephus. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1991.

“Josephus and Jesus: The Testimonium Flavianum Question.” Accessed July 30, 2016. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/testimonium.html.

Downloads

Published

01-06-2017

How to Cite

Gunawan, Chandra. “The Apostles and the Apostolic Church”. Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan 16, no. 1 (June 1, 2017): 67–90. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://ojs.seabs.ac.id/index.php/Veritas/article/view/11.

Issue

Section

Articles