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Thecla, Paul, Jesus, and Family

Thecla, Paul, Jesus, and Family

Date: Monday, August 24, 2020
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Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig

The Acts of Paul and Thecla is the primary early document that introduces the life of Thecla from her teen years to her death of old age. She is portrayed as an occasional colleague and follower of Paul in the role of teacher and healer. Later manuscripts of the fourth through seventh century elaborate on these roles, but some of them also portray her as a martyr. However, the earliest version of The Acts of Paul and Thecla explicitly picture her as never having submitted to a Roman death. This study will also continue with these themes, but we will also look substantially into the very experimental role she played in challenging traditional family values.  This dimension of our study will look especially into how her opposition to traditional family parallels and enhances the seven different sayings of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Thomas that oppose conventional family.