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Old 06-16-2019, 05:15 PM
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Esaias Esaias is offline
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Re: 1st century Jewish sects and Christianity

Cross posting this from the Eschatology Debate section:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Esaias View Post
It was long assumed by commentators that stoicheion referred to several things, as demonstrated by the research of Bandstra in his The Law and the Elements of the World:

1. Basic elements (air, earth, water, fire) out of which all matter is composed (somewhat in contrast to the atomic theory floating around at the same time).

2. Elemental spirits or beings which governed destiny connected with astrological/astronomical functions.

3. Principles of religious or philosophical teachings.

Bandstra notes that #2 is the most common understanding among 20th century commentators, but he opts for #3 and applies it to "the law and the flesh". He correctly points out that #2 (the "personalised cosmological" interpretation of elemental spirit beings) is not attested to in 1st century writings and even among the patristic authors it was first used to refer to a "heavenly body" without reference to any idea of any kind of "astral spirit".

Others likewise have recognised the incorrectness of #2 as being anachronistic (see for example Binzler, Schweizer, etc).

The discussion devolves to whether the stoicheion in question are principles of religious teachings (3) or cosmological elements (1).

Against the idea of stoicheion being religious principles is the fact that everytime stoicheion occurs with kosmos in extant literature the term stoicheion always refers to the physical elements. The context of Colossians, with its emphasis on philosophy, indicates the term there means physical elements. 2 Peter seems likewise focused on the cosmological rather than the "principles of religion" aspect, especially in light of its contrast and comparison with the Deluge.

Only in Galatians does the principles of religion interpretation hold any ground because of the contextual emphasis on law, worship, circumcision, religious calendars, etc. But even in Galatians, the cosmological aspect is there, thus there is diversity of opinion on the meaning of stoicheion in Galatians. but in Colossians and 2 Peter, it seems there is overwhelming evidence the term is referring to the corporeal elements of the cosmos.
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