Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

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Giuseppe
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Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by Giuseppe »

Where precisely does Paul praise an anomymous “brother” who preached a “gospel” ?

Thanks in advance for the reference.
Nihil enim in speciem fallacius est quam prava religio. -Liv. xxxix. 16.
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GakuseiDon
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by GakuseiDon »

Paul talks about various gospels. Not sure which fits. The following is a non-exhaustive list:

* Gospel of God (Rom 1:1, Rom 15:16, 2 Cor 11:7)
* Gospel of Christ (Rom 1:16, Rom 15:19, Gal 1:7, 1 Cor 9:18, 2 Cor 2:12, 2 Cor 4:4)
* 'My' gospel (Rom 16:25, Gal 1:11)
* 'Our' gospel (2 Cor 4:3)
* Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles (Gal 2:2)
* Gospel to the circumcised, committed to Peter to preach (Gal 2:7)
* Gospel to the uncircumcised, committed to Paul to preach (Gal 2:7)

Maybe you mean Apollos?

1 Cor 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
...
1 Cor 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.


Paul actually disparages other gospel messages in Gal 1:

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
It is really important, in life, to concentrate our minds on our enthusiasms, not on our dislikes. -- Roger Pearse
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MrMacSon
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by MrMacSon »

Giuseppe wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:50 pm Where precisely does Paul praise an anonymous 'brother' who preached a “gospel” ?
What would "gospel" be in Greek? Ευαγγέλιο? - the revelation of Christ? teaching about Christ?

ie. not necessarily from or related to a text?
Giuseppe
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by Giuseppe »

I mean an *anonymous* preacher of (presumably) the same Gospel ('Good news') of Paul.
Nihil enim in speciem fallacius est quam prava religio. -Liv. xxxix. 16.
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Giuseppe wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:50 pm Where precisely does Paul praise an anomymous “brother” who preached a “gospel” ?

Thanks in advance for the reference.
You probably mean "the brother" in this passage:

2 Corinthians 8.16-21: 16 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. 18 We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches; 19 and not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness, 20 taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; 21 for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

Last edited by Ben C. Smith on Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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perseusomega9
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by perseusomega9 »

Ben, do you think the original letter actually named an individual and later redactors replaced it with the phrase you underlined above? Kind of like the mysterious woman who annointed Jesus in Mark

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.... Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
The metric to judge if one is a good exegete: the way he/she deals with Barabbas.

Who disagrees with me on this precise point is by definition an idiot.
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by Ben C. Smith »

perseusomega9 wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:00 am Ben, do you think the original letter actually named an individual and later redactors replaced it with the phrase you underlined above?
That is certainly my suspicion, and I know I am not alone. (The "phrase" may have been just "the brother" alone, or it may have been more complete.) Indeed, what if Paul himself published the epistle for a broader readership than just Corinth, but in the meantime this individual had fallen from Paul's good graces? David Trobisch suggests something like this, IIRC.
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perseusomega9
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by perseusomega9 »

Or the brother was in Paul's good graces but not the redactors.
The metric to judge if one is a good exegete: the way he/she deals with Barabbas.

Who disagrees with me on this precise point is by definition an idiot.
-Giuseppe
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by Ben C. Smith »

perseusomega9 wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:13 am Or the brother was in Paul's good graces but not the redactors.
That is a good point and seems altogether possible. Do you have any candidates in mind? :)
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perseusomega9
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Re: Where does Paul praise an anonymous preacher of a Gospel?

Post by perseusomega9 »

No, it's just another red-flag in the evaluation and reception of Paul's letters, and an indication of how much editing was involved. Though I'm guessing the name could be found in a list of heretics from some church writer or another. I have to wonder, with the inclusion of Titus in that passage, if we aren't seeing the pastoral redactor at work.

eta: some quick googling came across Conflict and community in Corinth: A socio-rhetorical commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians by Ben Witherington (not one of my favorites) in a footnote 2 Corinthians seems to be unknown to Clement of Rome
The metric to judge if one is a good exegete: the way he/she deals with Barabbas.

Who disagrees with me on this precise point is by definition an idiot.
-Giuseppe
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