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Paul the Letter Writer

This essay focuses on the social functions of Paul’s letter writing activities, with the purpose of helping to situate such activities within the landscape of ancient Mediterranean epistolography and religion. After briefly identifying major areas of interest in recent research on Paul’s letter writing activities, the author examines the ways in which Paul’s epistolary practices advanced his goals in social positioning, community building, and virtue cultivation among Christ recruits. Letters were understood within classical antiquity to facilitate conversations among friends, reveal a writer’s character, and provide clear and concise instruction on a given subject. Letter writing also often contributed to the social capital of a letter’s author, insofar as letter writing displayed skills in literacy and textual production. Each of these epistolary functions would have advanced Paul’s goals regarding social positioning, community building, and moral development, thus making letters the ideal written medium for Paul to use in his apostolic activities.