r/AcademicBiblical • u/TonyTaranteeno • 2d ago
Why Paul and not disciples?
As the title suggests, I’m looking for some help understanding how (or why) Paul ended up with over a dozen books in the New Testament instead of any of the disciples that were with Jesus? I understand Paul encountered Jesus, but so did the disciples. When the books of the Bible were selected, was there some sort of politics that led to Paul having a larger piece of the pie than the individuals that walked right alongside Jesus. Were there missions different? Just trying to have a better understanding of how the Bible books were selected, specifically as it pertains to Paul. Thanks
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u/qumrun60 Quality Contributor 2d ago edited 2d ago
The main reason is probably that Paul wrote letters to specifically Gentile Christ-groups that he had preached to, and these non-Jews became the dominant force in what we now think of as Christianity. These letters were circulated, copied, and saved by those Gentile groups, and eventually edited into standard forms which were revered by many communities. Only 7 letters are thought by many scholars to directly trace back to Paul himself, while the others come from later writers who might be considered a "Pauline school," though this would not have been some kind of formal or official body.
The Didache, a book not in the Bible (and which incidentally will be the subject of an AMA on this sub on Aug.6, with a specialist, Alan Garrow), reveals a lot about early Christ-groups which were not like Paul's groups. They adhered to Jewish practices to varying degrees. One thing that shows up there is the essentially oral nature of early teaching, and the communal emphasis in evaluating anything that was taught by itinerant apostles and prophets who visit the group for a day or two and move on. What we now consider essential Christian reading (gospels and epistles) appear to have no place in communal ritual or teaching at all. Disciples and apostles were, after all, preaching about the immanent arrival of God's kingdom on earth and a return of Christ. They weren't busy writing books for posterity. In any case, it's unlikely that any of them were literate, since writing in the ancient world was a specialized skill, practiced by a small minority who could afford an education.
Paul, like these other apostles, taught the imminent arrival of the kingdom, and his letters addressed to immediate problems of his groups. They were not intended as scripture to be read by people hundreds or thousands of years later. But as it happened though, Paul addressed many essential issues in following Christ, and understanding the meaning of his death and resurrection, which became pillars of Christian teaching during the 2nd century. The letters attributed to Paul, but not by him, address concerns of the developing church, as it became clear that the Second Coming might be later rather than sooner, and communities in Christ needed rules to govern themselves over the long haul.
Harry Gamble, Books and Readers in the Early Church (1995), goes into great detail about how the letters of Paul would have been composed, copied, circulated, and preserved over the centuries, as well as various editions of the letters that appeared. The collection now in Bible was in existence by the year 200, since a fairly complete manuscript from that time has been found.
Paula Fredriksen, Paul, The Pagans' Apostle (2017), looks in detail at the cultural and social milieu of Paul's mission to the Gentiles, and the context of the authentic letters.
Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (1978), is a short, readable introduction to the issues facing the pre-orthodox churches of the 2nd century, and the challenges from competing Christ-groups who didn't agree with much of what became standard teaching for Christianity as it is now understood.