Biblical cartography has elaborated a master narrative of Paul’s missionary activity. This master narrative, which clearly distinguishes between three different journeys, is omnipresent and can easily be found in Bibles and atlases. Nevertheless, Paul’s letters and the book of Acts do not support such a clear distinction. The present study contends that the distinction between three missionary journeys is a modern construct and that this way of representing Paul’s missionary activity has a significant impact on how we understand it. By representing Paul’s missionary activity as an orderly sequence of three travels, the maps not only minimise the novelty of his independent mission but also minimise Paul’s confrontation with the Jerusalem church. In this representation, he is no longer the marginal leader of a minority movement within the nascent church, but ‘the’ missionary. The portrayal of the missionary activity of Paul in biblical maps is an example of the uncritical transfer of exegetical traditions, and of the role of these traditions in the creation of a master narrative of Christian origins.
Biblical cartography and the (mis)representation of Paul’s missionary travels, HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies [Online], 75.3 (2019)
- Autor de la entrada:Santiago Guijarro Oporto
- Publicación de la entrada:29 de agosto de 2019
- Categoría de la entrada:Artículos socios
Santiago Guijarro Oporto
Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca
Nacido en Illescas (Toledo) en 1957. Es sacerdote y pertenece a la Hermandad de Sacerdotes Operarios Diocesanos.
Licenciado en Sagrada Escritura por el Pontificio Instituto Bíblico de Roma. Doctor en Teología por la Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca.
Durante quince años fue director de la Casa de la Biblia de Madrid, institución desde la que coordinó una nueva traducción de la Biblia. Ha sido vicerrector de investigación y calidad de la UPSA. Actualmente es Catedrático de Nuevo Testamento en la Facultadde Teología y Director de la Asociación Bíblica Española.
Publicaciones más recientes: Jesús y sus primeros discípulos, Estella 2007; Los cuatro evangelios, Salamanca 2010; Servidores de Dios y esclavos vuestros, Salamanca 2011;Los evangelios: memoria, biografía, escritura, Salamanca 2012; La primera evangelización, Salamanca 2013.