The Old Testament in Colossians: A Response to Paul Foster 1

Abstract

This article is a response to Paul Foster’s recent critiques of the attempts made by Christopher Beetham, Gordon D. Fee and myself (= BFB) to discern allusions and echoes in Colossians (Foster’s first critique was published in this journal). Due to the differences he finds in our results, Foster argues that there is no conscious use of the OT within the book. He believes that the methodology used by us and our conclusions are unfalsifiable, since we have a subjective reader-response approach. After explaining the question of OT references in Colossians, this article lays some brief groundwork on the nature of allusions and echoes, especially as Beetham and I view them. The majority of the essay then provides a response to Foster, who, it is argued, appears to misrepresent the data of how allusions and echoes are recognized by different scholars. Furthermore, there are certain fundamental interpretive misconceptions in the manner he unfolds his argument for the lack of OT allusions and echoes in Colossians.