The Pedagogy of Paul

Abstract

In addition to being a remarkable theologian, there can be no doubt that Paul was a skilled teacher. In this article we highlight connections between Paul's pedagogy and educational principles that are currently propounded. Religious educators today can follow Paul's pedagogy as they teach by example, know their audiences, redirect conversations when necessary, speak students’ language, seek for common ground, and reach out to those who struggle. Although Paul lived and taught nearly 2,000 years ago he provides patterns of pedagogy that modern educators can apply.

Notes

In Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, Calvin J. Roetzel refers to Paul as “the foremost apologist for the gentile mission, and the most eloquent defender of the centrality of Jewish traditions, Scriptures, deity, and morality for his predominantly gentile churches” (Roetzel 2000, p. 1016).

The label “New Perspective on Paul” comes from Dunn (2008). Despite the title, however, there is no “one” perspective on the apostle's theology. However, within this “new perspective” movement there is a general notion that good behavior has a positive role to play in the life of a disciple of Jesus (Wright, 2003). Similarly, our paper shows in the life of Paul how setting a good example by one's actions can be an important element in the craft of an affective Christian teacher.

See also the counsel given in 2 Thessalonians 3:8–9: “We worked night and day … in order to give you an example to imitate.” Unless otherwise noted, translations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Compare Paul's assessment in 1 Corinthians 1:22–24.

See Acts 13:33–35, where Paul quotes Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, and Psalm 16:10, respectively.

This speech is the first in the book of Acts given to an audience composed entirely of gentiles. The Roman centurion Cornelius was a God-fearing man when he and his household came in contact with Peter (see Acts 10:1–2).

The phrase “living God” is in contrast to the god of the idols, about which Paul said elsewhere: “We know that ‘no idol in the world really exists,’ and that ‘there is no God but one' ” (1 Corinthians 8:4).

Compare Paul's message to his gentile converts at Thessalonica: “The people of those regions [i.e., Macedonia] report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

Those Jews who originally seized Paul on the temple precinct “were trying to kill him” (Acts 21:31). The day after Paul's defense before the Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin would be complicit in a plot to kill Paul (see Acts 23:12–15).

According to the Synoptic Gospels, this is what the Sanhedrin attempted to do with Jesus, whom the Sanhedrin accused of “blasphemy” (Matthew 26:65; Mark 14:64; Luke 22:71), but then brought the charge of claiming to be “king” before Pilate (Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:1).

Compare the reaction of Gallio, the Roman proconsul of Achaia. When he perceived that the accusations against Paul concerned violating Jewish religious sensitivities rather than crimes against Roman law, he responded: “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters” (Acts 18:14–15).

Recall the negative reaction of the Roman proconsul Gallio concerning the laws and traditions of the Jews (see Acts 18:12–16). Gallio also turned a blind eye when a group of men beat Sosthenes the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth (see v. 17).

Diaspora Jews who did not know Hebrew were dependent upon the Septuagint—the Hebrew Bible translated into Greek in the 3rd century BC. Compare the statement of the Jewish leaders concerning the general Jewish crowds who believed in the words of Jesus: “This crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed” (John 7:49). Similarly, when Peter defended himself for preaching about Jesus, the Sanhedrin were amazed because the viewed Peter and John as “uneducated and ordinary men” (Acts 4:13).

Technically, Paul spoke in Aramaic, a Semitic language related to Hebrew and the local dialect of Judea since the return from exile in the 6th century BC.

This is the same Gamaliel mentioned in Acts 5:34–39 and who was a leading Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. When the disciples were causing a stir by their teaching, Gamaliel wisely counseled the Sanhedrin members to be patient and “let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” (Acts 5:38–39).

For example, the King James Version rather famously translates this scripture as “I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious” (Acts 17:22).

The first quote is possibly from Epimenides, a 6th-century BC philosopher. The second quote is from Aratus, a 3rd-century BC poet (Barrett 1998, 2:846–49).

Compare Paul's counsel to the Galatians, a congregation that Paul has also sharply chastised: “If anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1).

This is the same place from which Paul first sailed to the European continent, following a dream in which a man of Macedonia plead with him: “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Frank F. Judd

Frank F. Judd Jr., is Associate Professor in Religious Education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and has taught at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies on the Mount of Olives. He holds a PhD in New Testament Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

John Hilton

John Hilton, is an Assistant Professor in Religious Education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. John has a Masters degree in from Harvard and a PhD from Brigham Young University, both in Education.