Ancient Letter Writing & New Testament Epistles

We often take for granted the ease, convenience, and speed at which we can talk to one another. and Something that I found particularly interesting about Paul’s letter writing style was his confrontational nature. In this day and age, I am aware that myself and others are often afraid of direct confrontation as they don’t generally like conflict, even if it would lead to a constructive resolution. However, even this method of confrontation by Paul to me humorously seems like an ancient example of being a keyboard warrior. Like, he won’t say these things to their face but he writes it in letters. However, we know from previous examples that we’ve read that Paul is not afraid of confrontation in general, it’s just a funny comparison. Also, another thing I found challenging was that all of Paul’s letters are too specific people at specific times for specific situations. This does not come as a huge shock to me obviously, but it does make it feel less applicable in general.  However, Cosby gives some tips for analyzing Paul’s letters, that means they can still be applicable if the context is considered. That seems to be the theme of this whole book, if you understand the context of biblical passages more, this helps you gain a more solidified interpretation. What I found interesting is how Paul is quick to get angry with those who disagree, which is probably a rhetorical weakness in his arguments. But, something he does well is that he appeals to what people already know and believe in order to construct arguments about what is presupposed. Paul is an excellent debater which is why it’s a very great thing that we get to study him.