BRATISLAVA, JUNE 2024
BRATISLAVAJUNE 2024
Loss and Gain in (Cultural) Translation?
Receptions of Paul the Apostlein the First Four Centuries
Receptions of Paul the Apostle in the First Four Centuries
DATE & LOCATION
Date and Location of the Conference
The conference will take place
in the first week of June 2024 in Bratislava.
location
Comenius University Science Park in Bratislava
Ilkovičova 8
841 04 Bratislava
Slovakia
location
Comenius University Science Park in Bratislava
Ilkovičova 8
841 04 Bratislava
Slovakia
HOW TO GET THERE
Take the tram no. 9 from the city centre or no. 4 from River Park
From The Grand Hotel River Park you can take a tram no. 4 at “Chatam Sófer” station, from hotels Tatra, Falkensteiner and Ibis you can take the tram no. 9 from “Kapucínska” station. Both trams goes to “Botanická záhrada” station near Science Park.
Conference
The Early Reception of Paul in the Corpusof New Testament Writings
We intend to follow the current findings of the historical-critical approach to Paul’s message
as part and parcel of Second Temple Judaism, as well as the findings of the previous Bratislava
conference in September 2022 which focused on the early reception of Paul in the first two
centuries, and to deal with the question of the cultural translation process involved in the
reception of Pauline traditions in contexts that differed from the situation and context of the
undisputed Pauline letters. What implications does it have when terms, narratives, concepts,
and notions are transmitted from a Greek Jewish context into contexts where cultural and
linguistic traditions differ, including different political and social settings after the Jewish War,
the Bar Kochba revolt, and later on? This and related questions are in the spotlight of this
conference. In this way, we would like to better understand and historically critically evaluate
the way Paul’s Jewish heritage was received and transformed in terms of ideas, culture, and
religion, including the implications for the development of the Christ movement, as well as of
early Christian-Jewish relations in the following period.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
List of Our Publications
The Message of Paul the Apostle within Second Temple Judaism
Noting that a traditional understanding of Paul as “convert” from Judaism has fueled false and often dangerous stereotypes of Judaism, and that the so-called “new perspective on Paul” has not completely escaped these stereotypes, František Ábel has gathered leading international scholars to test the hypotheses of the more recent “Paul within Judaism” movement. Though hardly monolithic in their approach, these scholars’ explorations of specific topics concerning Second Temple Judaism and Paul’s message and theology allow a more contextually nuanced understanding of the apostle’s thought, one free from particular biases rooted in unacknowledged ideologies and traditional interpretations transmitted by particular church traditions.
Israel and the Nations: Paul's Gospel in the Context of Jewish Expectation
Israel and the Nations: Paul’s Gospel in the Context of Jewish Expectation provides various perspectives of leading contemporary scholars concerning Paul’s message, particularly his expressed expectation of the end-time redemption of Israel and its relation to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish nations, in the context of Jewish eschatological expectation. The contributors engage the increasingly contentious enigmas relating to Paul’s Jewishness: had his perception of living in a new era in Christ and anticipating an imminent final consummation moved him beyond the bounds of what his contemporaries would have considered Judaism, or did Paul continue to think and act “within Judaism”?
Receptions of Paul during the First Two Centuries: Exploration of the Jewish Matrix of Early Christianity
Receptions of Paul during the First Two Centuries: Exploration of the Jewish Matrix of Early Christianity examines the historical context of Paul and the way Paul’s Jewish heritage was received. Contributors take into consideration the aftermath of the Jewish War and its impact on the development of the Jesus movement and early Christian-Jewish relations in the following period. The chapters come to the conclusion that after the Jewish War, the reception of the authentic Paul was transformed more and more into the tradition about Paul, based and established by the second and third generations of Jesus-believing Gentiles, which perceived Paul as a convert from what is labeled “Judaism” (Ἰουδαϊσμός) to the complete opposite of it, “Christianity” (Χριστιανισμός).
TRAVEL TIPS
We Recommend
From the Austrian airport Schwechat near Vienna, you can travel to Bratislava with several companies, which operate regularly every hour. You can also use their apps to buy a ticket and show the QR code in the app when you get on the bus.
RegioJet
The ticket costs approximately 8 € and in 50 minutes you are directly from Schwechat airport at one of the two stops in Bratislava ("Most SNP" – historical center or "Nivy center" – main bus station).
Slovak Lines
The ticket costs approximately 8 € and in 50 minutes you are directly from Schwechat airport at one of the two stops in Bratislava ("Most SNP" – historical center or "Nivy center" – main bus station).
Flixbus
The ticket costs approximately 8 € and in 50 minutes you are directly from Schwechat airport at one of the two stops in Bratislava ("Most SNP" – historical center or "Nivy center" – main bus station).
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Time Schedule
JUNE 3, MONDAY
10:00 – 10:15 – Opening
František Ábel, Maroš Nicák (vice dean for science, international relations and development)10:15 – 12:15 – Session One
(chair František Ábel)- 10:15 – 11:15
(1) Did Paul Truly Become All Things to All People? The Respective Claim in 1 Corinthians 9 Revisited. Esther Kobel, Faculty of Protestant Theology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany
- 11:15 – 12:15
(2) Social Memory Theory and the Inculturation of the Gospel into Roman Contexts. Sandra Huebenthal, Department of Catholic Theology, University of Passau, Germany
13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch
14:00 – 16:00 – Session Two
(chair František Ábel)- 14:00 – 15:00
(3) Paul as Cultural Transposer: An Alternative Paradigm to Translation. J. Brian Tucker, Moody Theological Seminary, USA
- 15:00 – 16:00
(4) Clothes Make the Jew — Even in the Diaspora. Hans Foerster, Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät, University of Vienna, Institut für Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, Austria (online via MS Teams)
18:00 – 21:00 – Dinner Party
JUNE 4, TUESDAY
09:00 – 12:30 – Session Three
(chair Stefan Krauter)- 09:00 – 10:00
(5) Paul and Roman Citizenship. Valéria Terézia Dančiaková, Faculty of Law, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia
- 10:00 – 11:00
(6) What Happened After Phoebe Left Rome? The Development of Proto-Supersessionism Beyond Paul. William S. Campbell, Faculty of Theology, University of Basel, Switzerland (online via MS Teams)
- 11:00 – 11:30
Coffee Break
- 11:30 – 12:30
(7) Pauline and Early Post-Pauline Statements on the “Gospel,” on “Israel,” on the “Law,” and on “Works.” Michael Bachmann, University of Siegen, Germany
13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch
14:00 – 16:00 – Session Four
(chair Sandra Huebenthal)- 14:00 – 15:00
(8) Paul and the Canon. Joshua Garroway, Rabbinical Department, Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion, USA
- 15:00 – 16:00
(9) Examining Paul’s Thought and Its Development in Light of the First Jewish Revolt. Kenneth Atkinson, Department of History, University of Northern Iowa, USA (online via MS Teams)
Personal leisure activities
JUNE 5, WEDNESDAY
09:00 – 12:30 – Session Five
(chair Michaela Prihracki)- 09:00 – 10:00
(10) Hebrews, Paul’s First Interpreter? Eric Noffke, Facoltà Valdese di Teologia, Italy
- 10:00 – 11:00
(11) Was Luke a “Good” Disciple of Paul? The Pauline Gospel of Justification in Lukan Reception. Simon Butticaz, Faculté de théologie et de sciences des religions, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland
- 11:00 – 11:30
Coffee Break
- 11:30 – 12:30
(12) Reception of Paul in 2 Peter 3:14–18 as an Early Witness to the Emergence of an Antinomian Paul without Judaism. Jakub Pogonowski, Judaic Studies Center, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland(online via MS Teams)
13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch
14:00 – 17:30 – Session Six
(chair Pavel Prihracki)- 14:00 – 15:00
(13) “Not from works of righteousness”: Reception of the Pauline Theme of Works in the Letter to Titus. Michael Scott Robertson, Universität Regensburg, Germany
- 15:00 – 16:00
(14) Paul in the Context of the Ephesian Tradition: The Image of the Apostle and the City Through the Lens of Different Genres and Collective Memory. Jiří Lukeš, Hussite Theological Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- 16:00 – 16:30
Coffee Break
- 16:30 – 17:30
(15) The imagery of the Rock in Matthew: Pauline Reception in an Antiochene Context. Michaela Prihracki, Evangelical Lutheran Theological Faculty, Comenius University, Slovakia
Personal leisure activities
JUNE 6, THURSDAY
09:00 – 12:30 – Session Seven
(chair Jakub Pogonowski)- 09:00 – 10:00
(16) Paul, Origen, Midrash, and the Parting of the Ways. Daniel Boyarin, Department of Rhetoric emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, USA
- 10:00 – 11:00
(17) The Older will Serve the Younger (Rom 9.12): Esau and Jacob in Paul and in Tertullian. Kathy Ehrensperger, Faculty of Theology, University of Basel, Switzerland (online via MS Teams)
- 11:00 – 11:30
Coffee Break
- 11:30 – 12:30
(18) The Jewish Paul in Pelagius’s Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles. Stefan Krauter, Faculty of Theology and the Study of Religion, University of Zurich, Switzerland
13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch
14:00 – 17:30 – Session Eight
(chair Valéria Terézia Dančiaková)- 14:00 – 15:00
(19) Paul’s Pharisaic Affiliation and its Reception in the First Two Centuries. Ruben Bühner, University of Munich, Germany (online via MS Teams)
- 15:00 – 16:00
(20) The Reception of Paul’s Mystical Experience. Sidonia Horňanová, Evangelical Lutheran Theological Faculty, Comenius University, Slovakia
- 16:00 – 16:30
Coffee Break
- 16:30 – 17:30
(21) Didache 6.2–3 and Paul the Apostle: Getting the Crux in Perspective of the Apostolic Authority. František Ábel, Evangelical Lutheran Theological Faculty, Comenius University, Slovakia
17:30 – 18:00 – Closing Evaluation of the Conference
JUNE 7, FRIDAY
09:00 – 15:00 – Road Trip to Modra
ACOMMODATION TIPS
We Recommend
The Grand Hotel River Park is situated beside the Danube River, opposite to the Chatam Sofer Memorial and only 3 minutes away by a tram from the Science Park. Hotel Ibis, Falkensteiner and Tatra are located in the city center and are only 6 minutes away by a tram from the Science Park.
Hotel Ibis***
€
How to get to the "Kapucínska" stop from Hotel Ibis? Hotel is located 210m (3 minutes) from the "Kapucínska" stop. Tram No. 9 departs from here.
Hotel Tatra****
€€
How to get to the "Kapucínska" tram stop from Hotel Tatra?
Hotel is located 700m (10 minutes) from the "Kapucínska" stop. Tram No. 9 departs from here.
Hotel Falkensteiner****
€€
How to get to the "Kapucínska" stop from Hotel Falkensteiner? Hotel is located 180m (3 minutes) from the "Kapucínska" stop. Tram No. 9 departs from here.
Grand Hotel River Park*****
€€€
The Grand Hotel River Park is situated beside the Danube River, opposite the Chatam Sofer Memorial. Tram No. 9 departs from the stop “Chatam Sófer" in front of the hotel.
Our Partners
The conference is part of the research project VEGA, which is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Ask Us Anything
How far are the hotels from where the conference will take place?
The Grand Hotel River Park is situated beside the Danube River, opposite to the Chatam Sofer Memorial and only 3 minutes away by a tram from the Science Park. Hotel Ibis and Hotel Falkensteiner are located directly below the castle in the historical part of Bratislava. Distance by tram to the Science Park is 6 minutes. Hotel Tatra is located right next to the Presidential Palace in the center of Bratislava. Distance by tram to the Science Park is 6 minutes.
How to buy a ticket for a tram or other public transport?
Ticket purchase is done in the public transport vehicle by attaching a regular bank card (Mastercard, Maestro, VISA) to the ticket marker marked with the contactless payment symbol. The purchase of the ticket is confirmed by an announcement on the display of the marker. The ticket can only be purchased for the cardholder; it is not possible to purchase a ticket for a fellow passenger!
Each time you board the vehicle, you have to tap your bank card to the ticket marker (i.e. also for free transfer). If the passenger does not tap the card to the ticket marker at the time of boarding, he will be considered as a passenger without a valid ticket.
How do I get from Schwechat airport to Bratislava?
From the Austrian airport Schwechat near Vienna, you can travel to Bratislava with several travel companies (Flixbus, Slovak Lines, RegioJet), which operate regularly every hour. You can also use their apps to buy a ticket and show the QR code in the app when you get on the bus. The ticket costs approx. 8 €, in 50 minutes you are directly from Schwechat airport at one of the two stops in Bratislava (“Most SNP” – historical center or “Nivy center” – main bus station).
