The Pseudepigraphal Letters to the Thessalonians

by Marlene Crüsemann (Author)

• New

  Hardcover
  2018

  $227.05

  Marlene Crusemann examines the Thessalonian letters in the context of Jewish-Christian social history; building upon her analysis of 1 Thessalonians, Crusemann comes to the conclusion that it is post-apostolic epistolary communication, and questions whether it is a letter of Paul and indeed whether it is an early letter. This analysis in turn adds weight to the traditional thesis that the letter is somewhat out of place and may be a later work by another author. Crusemann subsequently illustrates that 2 Thessalonians, by contrast, revokes the far-reaching social separation from Judaism that characterizes 1 Thessalonians, and thus aims socio-historically for a solidarity with the entire Jewish people. Analysing the concept of the Jews as supposed enemy, the future of the Greek gentile community and the relationship between the two letters, Crusemann concludes that the discussion about a divergence of the ways of Christians and Jews in early Christian times needs to be realigned.