The Greek World
The Greek World
Nineteenth-century scholars frequently read Paul against the background of their own considerable knowledge of classical Greek literature and philosophy. Paul’s indebtedness to the Greek world in which he grew up and in which he worked was assumed. Early in the twentieth century, the focus was narrowed, as the history-of-religions school stressed Paul’s dependence on the Hellenistic mystery religions. These religions, which were very popular in Paul’s day, stressed one’s ability to be joined in a mystic relationship with a deity, secret mystery rites, and frequently a religious enthusiasm or ecstasy. Scholars such as Richard Reitzenstein, Wilhelm Bousset, and Rudolf Bultmann found many of these features in the letters of Paul and concluded that, to varying degrees, Paul had cast his teaching of Christ into the categories provided by these religions.29 In its most extreme form, Paul was thought to have drastically transformed the simple, ethically oriented message of Jesus into a speculative and mystical religion.
Wherever he was raised (see above), Paul must have known the Greek world well, and it is to be expected that he would use the language of that world to express the significance of Christ and even borrow its concepts where they could help illuminate aspects of the gospel. But it is unlikely that we should consider the Greek world a source for Paul’s teaching in the strict sense. It sometimes provided the clothing, but rarely, if ever, the body of teaching that was clothed. Particularly unlikely is the hypothesis that Paul borrowed from the mystery religions. 30 The parallels are simply not very close, and every one of the alleged cases of borrowing can be explained more satisfactorily in other terms. 31