The structure of the Pauline Churches: charisma and office

Abstract

The Study is divided into four main parts. The first one provides a review of some substantial contributions from a mainly theological perspective. Beside others contributions by A. Harnack and R. Sohm, E. Kasemann, E. Schweizer and J.D.G. Dunn, H. Ridderbos and B.H. Streeter, R. Schnackenburg and H. Kung are reviewed. The second part intends to introduce some of the sociological positions which have later on influenced the studies on this topic. Relevant contributions of the sociologists, and a few of them at the same time theologians, M. Weber, E. Troeltsch, H.R. Niebuhr, P.L. Berger, and Th. Luckmann are summarized and discussed. Part three turns back to the theological context. First of all some contributions are summarized which make use of socio- historical categories such as "family" and "household". Contibutions by E. Judge, C. Hill, and G. TheiBen are taken up in this section. In the second section of part three the positions of J.H. Schutz and B. Holmberg are reviewed. They make use of sociological categories like "authority", "power", and "institutionalization". Part four provides a discussion concerning the relationship of 'charisma' and ‘office’ looking at prophecy. This study comes to the following results: 1. The organization of the early Pauline churches is determined by the 'charismata'. 2. One cannot talk of anything like ‘office’ in our modern sense.3. However, a primary institutionalization can already be seen. Certain people contribute more or less regularly to the life of the congregation concerning certain 'charismata'. This applies for example to prophecy. In correspondence to their ‘charisma’, these people were named prophets.4. Within the community authority lay with the apostles and with all occasional or regular ministries of the local church.