Excerpt from Book Review:
Paradoxically, while the whole of Molina’s book states that a sociological, network-centric analysis of the New Testament is important to understand the spread of Jesus groups in the first century AD, Molina will not pay much attention to the sociological and cultural information which structured interpersonal human relationships in the first century ADVERTISEMENT. Aside from wide conceptions of in-group/out-group relations as they affect Jews based around Jerusalem and those “Greek” Jews which Paul and Timothy are likely part, Molina does not take a look at the contextual realities that will have knowledgeable and restricted Paul and Timothy’s romantic relationship. In other words, Paul and Timothy’s travels throughout the Mediterranean had been likely organized by a far more complex set of interpersonal specifications than those arranging the communications between co workers on an expanded business trip. Thessalonica is definitely not Toledo, and the establishment of chapels practicing an offshoot, apocalyptic Judaism seems a far cry coming from regional product sales calls. It appears that Molina covers Paul and Timothy’s operating relationship in relatively “modern” terms since way of making the often obscure operating of early on Christianity more accessible, but in doing this, he glosses over details that seem intrinsic to the understanding of the spread of Pauline Christianity.
he book assumes Paul and Timothy’s success, therefore rather than look at what specific, individual facets of their social networking made them so successful in growing their communication (more so than concurrent Jesus theologies), Molina is true of a larger analysis, and points out the differences between the Pauline generations of Jesus teams and others with no really pulling any findings regarding the effects of these differences. Of course , this can be beyond the intended opportunity of the book, as Molina’s analysis shows itself getting only a great introductory evaluation as to the sociological underpinnings of Paul’s missionary work, nevertheless nonetheless, that runs the risk of selling by itself short simply by failing to engage its thing of analyze in more details.
Bruce J. Molina’s Timothy: Paul’s Closest Associate investigates Timothy as part of a larger generational struggle regarding the legacy of Jesus next his loss of life. Molina locates Timothy, and Paul, in a second era of Christ groups which in turn made it goal the pass on of Christianity to storage compartments of Jews living in predominantly Gentile regions. Timothy was especially suited for this target, as his cultural backdrop made his particularly good at conferring with churches in several regions. Nevertheless , Molina’s examination only will go so far, in addition to his efforts to discuss Timothy in considerable, sociological conditions, he handles to obscure relevant particulars concerning the particular standards of interpersonal relationships during the business of the early on Christian chapel.
Malina, Bruce J. Timothy:
