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Mirror-Reading Moral Issues In Paul's Letters, Nijay Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Biblical interpreters have long recognized the need to engage in mirror-reading when it comes to studying the apostle Paul’s letters, as they are ‘occasional’ writings, where an understanding of the context of the wider conversation gives insight into the proper understanding of the text’s meaning. In 1987, John Barclay made a key contribution to the practice of interpreting Paul’s letters by offering a criticism of unwieldy attempts at mirror-reading and by presenting a methodological standard for how mirror-reading can and should be carried out.While Barclay’s article has brought a helpful critical standard to the practice of mirror-reading Paul’s letters in …