Colossians

2 Episodes

Colossians is a compact New Testament letter with a highly developed cosmic christology and a rhetorical style that differs enough from the undisputed Pauline letters to keep its authorship disputed. Whether written by Paul or by a later follower writing in his name, it became a major resource for later Christians trying to explain Christ's relation to creation, the powers, and the structure of the believing community.

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Why this book matters

Colossians returns on the show as a short letter that punches above its weight in later theology. The hosts come back to it for its cosmic language about Christ, its references to thrones and powers, and the way later interpreters have mined it for claims about creation, divine sovereignty, and the unseen structure of the world. It is also a recurring entry point into the broader question of whether some New Testament letters attributed to Paul actually reflect a somewhat later stage of Christian thought and rhetoric.

That combination makes Colossians especially useful for the show’s interests. Discussions use it both to examine how disputed Pauline letters differ from the undisputed ones and to challenge doctrinal readings that pull too much from isolated phrases such as “all things” or “invisible” in Colossians 1. The letter matters on the show because it sits near the intersection of authorship debates, cosmic christology, and the later doctrinal habit of reading mature theological systems back into early Christian texts.

Where to start

Start here for the strongest listening on Colossians.

Quotes from the Data

“What the apologists who are aware of the current academic consensus but don't like it will, will go on to argue is that in the New Testament we have repeated references to God being the creator of all things. ... we go to Colossians 1:16, we got the invisible features of God's creation which are the powers, thrones, dominions, rulers and so forth. And, and these are always understood as divine forces. They're, they're just not seen, they're invisible.”

Dan McClellan Episode 70

“This is one of the reasons, because Paul uses—probably our one example of something that gets close to profanity ... Who is supposed to be the author of Ephesians and Colossians? ... Paul. Supposed to be Paul. But a lot of scholars don't think Ephesians and Colossians were written by Paul.”

Dan McClellan Episode 110

“I think it's interesting that you've got, you know. Yeah. You've got some references that say, don't, you know, watch your language. Mind your mind your P's and Q's and other times when the authors of the book itself aren't minding their P's and Q's.”

Dan Beecher Episode 110

“Creation ex nihilo ... academic consensus right now is that we don't get it until the last couple of decades of the second century CE. ... There's just no case to make that we find creation ex nihilo in the Hebrew Bible, in Second Maccabees 7:28, or in the New Testament. ... we go to Colossians 1:16 ... and these are always understood as divine forces.”

Dan McClellan Episode 70

All episodes

Every episode currently tagged with Colossians.