An essay on a set text from Colossians in which the passage is analysed within historical and literary context using the methods employed in class. The paper must also address: How this text fits...

Running Head: HISTORICAL AND LITERARY ANALYSIS OF COLOSSIANS    1
HISTORICAL AND LITERARY ANALYSIS OF COLOSSIANS     11
HISTORICAL AND LITERARY ANALYSIS OF COLOSSIANS
Introduction
    Colossians was the letter the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Laodicea when he was a prisoner along with other apostles like Aristarchus, Mark, and Epaphras. The letter speaks of the values and the Christian message that paul intends to convey to the people of Laodicea. The message that Paul was trying to communicate to the Laodiceans was reassuring them of the faith and persuasion to hold on to their beliefs in Christ Jesus. The early Christians faced a different political and social environment before taking over the Romans. There were persecutions and conflicts of various philosophical ideas that Paul appealed to the Christian community to be cautious of. The entire letter has various practices of the Christian religion and how the past transgressions have been washed by the blood of Jesus. The historicity and the literary contexts of the account are analyzed here with the aim to draw insight into what Paul’s message was intended for the Christians of Laodicea. The letter that Paul wrote is significant because it is still fundamental to the Christian faith. The teachings of Paul are widely read and debated by Christian scholars, apologists, and the Christian community even today. This factor intrigues and appeals to every reader that is interested in the earlier sources of the New Testament. The book was compiled around the first century A.D, and Colossians is one of the chapters in the New Testament and also one of many Paul’s letters to the early Christians who were persecuted for their faith by the Jews and the Romans. Today's Christians use this message as a foundation to stay strong and avoid sound philosophical debates that challenge their faith. However, with more scientific discoveries the Christian community has only evolved in the literal interpretations of the text to a metaphorical approach and contextual approach to believe there is a much deeper meaning than what the early Christians believed. The main objective of the author did reach the intended audience back then and is now serving as a moral basis for the Christian religion.
Historical Context
    According to (Houlden, 1970), the letters written by Paul were Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians which is estimated to be written around 62 A.D. However, many authors doubt the authenticity of the letters and the gospels as the only manuscripts available to the scholars at the present moment is the copies of the original text of the scriptures. Paul wrote the letter, Colossians in his time at Rome when he was imprisoned by the Romans. Colosse, the city to which Paul’s letter was addressed is a city in Turkey today surrounded by the Lycus river and an area where trade and business flourished earlier also including the Euphrates river (Society, 2010). What is more intriguing is the city of Colosse, the city was the main point of trade years before Paul was present there. The book Colossians mentions other converted Christians who were vital to convey the message in Paul’s letter to the Christians of Colosse.     Epaphras is one of the converts here who served Paul in communicating the message of their faith to the church in Colosse. The historical context of Paul’s letters is apparent here as the message used is more to reassure them of their faith and also confirm their beliefs according to what Christ had intended. The early church of Colosse had a young population and few elders and their religious practices and beliefs clashed with the other Christians and they were labeled heretics by them. This is one of the primary reasons for the letter written by Paul addressing the Christians in Colosse, with the use of language to confirm and strengthen their belief, and faith in the fundamental message that Christianity carries with the cult of the sacrifice of Jesus. Heretic was the label given to the people of Colosse and this is the name mostly given to people who follow or practice other than the traditional practice of Christians. The label given to the people in Colosse culminated in the genesis of Paul’s letters. Paul makes subtle ambiguous references in his letter regarding the practices that weren’t in accordance with the Christian belief. The main issue was due to the evolving ideas and stories of Christianity being spread, the early Christians had a tendency to conflate the practices of Jewish beliefs which was Judaism and Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a notion held by the early Christians and Greeks. This confusion was the main reason Paul wrote his letters to the Colossians.
Literary Context
    The context of the letter was mainly literary in Pauls’s ambiguous reference to the practices of the people of Colosse. According to the (Solideogloria, 2014), Paul has used literal texts raising Jesus as God and holding him to a supernatural standard and exalted him above all beings. Verse 15 of chapter 1 entails the supremacy of Christ and how he is the living image of the invisible God. There were four epistles of Paul and Colossians is one of them as it carries a specific message for a group of people and the letter is divided based on two significant messages that the letter conveys. The grammar and the literary style used in Colossians is attributed to Paul, however, the Philemon’s works are more similar to the...