Robert J. Banks - Pauls Idea of Community: Spirit and Culture in Early House Churches

I had never envisaged this modest book having such a long and useful life. It is particularly pleasing that it continues to cross the boundary between academic and general audiences, finding its way into scholarly writings, theological courses, and practitioners hands, as well as being appreciated by a wide range of thoughtful lay people.

This third edition is a thoroughly revised and updated version of the original edition that appeared forty years ago. It continues to provide a comprehensive account of what Paul said that is accessible to both an academic and an otherwise thoughtful audience, and not only to those who are religiously inclined but also to those more historically interested in first-century Christianity. This has affected the form of the book. It seeks not only to interpret Paul but also to set him firmly in his context. Only by placing him within his social and cultural setting, and comparing him with his contemporaries, do the genuinely distinctive elements in his approach appear. For while in many respects Paul was very much a man of his times, in other ways he was astonishingly ahead of them.

Though this is not a technical work, it is based on a thorough investigation of the relevant primary and secondary sources and offers a number of fresh interpretations of his writings. For me, interest in Pauls view has been stimulated not only by academic study but also by involvement in groups convinced that Paul has a vital relevance to their life. We learn about the past not just by rational reflection upon it but by personal involvement in present activities that have links with it.

In formatting the footnotes and bibliography I have borne in mind those who will mainly use them. References to secondary works have been excluded to avoid unnecessarily weighing down the presentation. Instead I have provided an extensive select bibliography geared around the main themes of the book, omitting only works in foreign languages because of the wider audience the book has in view. References to less accessible sources (e.g., collections of Greek papyri or inscriptions and some rabbinic commentaries or codes) are to those editions that are more readily available. A glossary describes the main figures, works, and movements cited in the book for those who are less familiar with them.

Since the second edition of the book appeared in the early nineties, the main developments in Pauline studies have been first in social and cultural studies of Pauls writings and period and second in works on Pauls missionary and ecclesial endeavors. Though these social and cultural studies continue to provide varying interpretations of the actual form of Pauls communities, they have definitely helped portray his activities. Even though they have not always produced agreement between scholars, they have helped portray what he did in more concrete and everyday terms. Meanwhile, substantial exegetical and theological treatments of Pauls writings have continued to extend and enrich our interpretation of Pauls thought and life. Interaction with all these recent studies of Paul has continued to inform and nuance my understanding of his ideas and practice.

I am particularly delighted that the publishers agreed to include in this volume my booklet Going to Church in the First Century . This little exercise in what is now called narrative exegesis was first written as a companion piece to Pauls Idea of Community shortly after publication. It has also gone through several editions but until now has only ever been published separately. I have found that this storied version of the material in the larger book works with a wide range of audiencesfrom Sunday School classes, youth fellowships, adult Bible studies, reading groups, and seminary classes, to theological facultyand has also been translated into several other languages, including Korean, Japanese, Danish, and German.

Robert Banks
Canberra
September 2018