to question his honor as an apostle. Therefore in most of his letters Paul had to defend his honor. To us it looks excessive—a man constantly setting before his readers his claims and putting down his opponents. Perhaps Paul was vulnerable to these challenges since he did not measure up to the conventional requirements of an apostle, such as those laid out by Luke in Acts 1:21–22. Furthermore, this constant challenge and riposte was typical of an agonistic culture, in which those who claimed honor
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