In reading Paul's Epistles the reader is confronted with the problem of how an intended audience informs and forms the medium, style, and message of an autobiographical narrative. Sacrosanct to the majority of Christians, these letters are also seminal to the genres of memoir, spiritual autobiography, and even the epistolary novel form of the nineteenth century.
Scholars debate over whether the recipients of Galatians are Christian Jews or messianic gentiles, but it seems to me that Paul's recounting of his own μετάνοια (metanoia; Greek for "turning around") is certainly strategic. In the context of discussing how much of the הלכה (halachah; Heb. "Jewish Law") a gentile should follow, Paul advances a theological idea that will ultimately become a sine qua non to the Christianity that he pioneered--namely, that Christianity is a new paradigm that has been established which lessens the legalistic demands of Judaism.
As critical literary readers of this narrative, after having read Ezekiel, we see Paul affecting the prophetic voice and donning the mask of prophetic messenger in order to confirm his message. He explains that he had been the Pharisee par excellence, but a vision from the Jewish Messiah has given him the authority to dictate the next stage of Mosaic Law--abrogation.
For Paul, the autobiographical narrative and the details that frame it are only as important as their utility in conveying the message of his prophecy. In other words, his use of autobiography is purely instrumental, for Paul only needs to tell the Galatians that he had been a zealot and the foremost persecutor of the Jews in order to exaggerate the vicissitude which came from his conversion. He illustrates that he had been and perhaps continues to be a credible Pharisee and the law to which he had once fervently adhered has been superseded. We learn little details concerning his life that depart from this overarching narrative and its intent.
In this context, the medium is more intuitively not the message, but rather authenticates that message. Even Paul's invocation of the deity at the beginning of the letter--which both echoes prophetic texts and the classical convention of imploring the Muses to aid in the composition of poetry--seems instrumental; namely, praising God suggests a relationship that Paul later uses to confirm his prophetic authority.
As we continue to explore autobiographies this semester, we should also continue to scrutinize the motives for autobiographical narratives. What prompts the creation of autobiography? If an autobiographical snippet is included in a broader narrative for expressly didactic purposes, can it be veracious or is it simply crafted in order to instruct or orient readers on a given path? Can autobiographies which have a tacit agenda (Read: ALL autobiographies!) ever be an objective record of a given life?
When discussing autobiographies and memoirs, it is important to be critical about the “reason for writing”. For whom is the author writing? What is the message or meaning that is trying to be portrayed, if there even is such a simple and clear purpose? For Paul, his conversion to Christianity occurred because of a revelation through Jesus Christ, but he was questioned and criticized (for being so suddenly persuaded), so he wrote the Epistles to not only give proof of his new-found faith, but to also give a sort of counter-criticism. In writing these letters, Paul says “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please the people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of God.” This decree leads the reader to speculate that perhaps the only true audience is Paul himself, which is very much the same for the Book of Ezekiel where the narrator seems to be recounting events as proof that he has received a divine epiphany.
ReplyDeleteHowever, for Paul, the tone of his narration shifts (during section 3: Faith or Works of the Law)- and quite drastically. This is where I see criticism from Paul to the Galatians, especially in the first two exclamations: “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”. Paul essentially questions the role of Mosaic Law in declaring/justifying one’s faith in God, and asserts that once you have reached God, the law is no longer applicable. This part of his Epistle appears as both a sort of commentary/criticism on society, and as a set of guidelines. Compared to the Book of Ezekiel, which reads almost like a mystical story of Greek Mythology, Paul presents his revelation and his ideas as a critical analysis of conversion, ultimately justifying his own past/conversion with the rejection of Law and Faith being bound together. I definitely noticed a much stronger tone in the letters of Paul, but I saw that it was purposefully done due to the dispute of his conversion (between Jews and Christians [and those who are Gentile] and Mosaic Law).