Digital Logos Edition
The apostle Paul is one of Christianity’s most important figures. From the famous story of his conversion, to the stories of his missionary journeys, to his house arrest in Rome, the life of Paul, the letters he wrote, and the theology he articulated profoundly influenced the early history of Christianity and the trajectory of Christian theology through the centuries. As the author of a large portion of the New Testament and perhaps the most outspoken proponent of Christian theology in the early Church, Paul continues to exert a powerful influence in the lives of Christians today.
Theologically, Paul helped bridge the Old Covenant and the New, writing extensively on grace and the law. He articulated a defense of Christianity amid a Jewish worldview. Historically, Paul operated from within a Hellenistic cultural context. Culturally, Paul defended Christianity against its secular critics in Athens and Rome, and against its Jewish critics scattered throughout the Empire. He helped construct a framework in which the church could understand its core beliefs and relate to its cultural context.
The literature on Paul is vast. Generations of scholars have aimed to reconstruct Paul’s history, wrestled over the hermeneutical and interpretive challenges in his letters, and tried to reconcile his seemingly disparate theological positions. This massive collection assembles dozens of key works on Paul. It includes classic commentaries and historical studies by F. W. Farrar, James Stalker, William John Conybeare, Frederick Brooke Westcott, and others. It also includes contemporary monographs written at the cutting edge of Pauline scholarship, with contributions by Ralph P. Martin, Stanley Porter, Craig Evans, F. F. Bruce, and many others. At 35 volumes and over 11,000 pages, this is a massive compilation of some of the most important literature on Paul’s life, history, writings, and influence.
Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit is F. F. Bruce’s classic meditation on the life and theology of Paul. Here, Bruce expounds on Paul’s teaching not systematically but rather by treating its main themes in their historical context, as Paul himself had occasion to develop them in his lectures.
For eighteen years as Rylands Professor of New Testament Exegesis in the University of Manchester, F. F. Bruce delivered lectures on “The Missionary Career of Paul in its Historical Setting.” This book is the fruit of those lectures. Paul’s missionary activity is portrayed against the background of historical, social and political developments in the Roman Empire of the first century, and Paul’s letters are studied within the context of his life and travels. Within this framework chapters dealing with aspects of Paul’s theology are interspersed at relevant points.
F. F. Bruce was born in Elgin, Scotland, and received his education at the universities of Aberdeen, Cambridge and Vienna. He was lecturer in Greek at the Universities of Edinburgh and Leeds, and then moved on to Sheffield, where he served as Professor of Biblical History and Literature. He was appointed Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester in 1959. He is the author of The Canon of Scripture, the volume on 1 & 2 Thessalonians in the Word Biblical Commentary, and the volume on Galatians in The New International Greek Testament Commentary. He died in 1990.
The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters is a one-of-a-kind reference work. It is designed to bring students, teachers, ministers and laypeople abreast the established conclusions and significant recent developments in Pauline scholarship.
No other single reference work presents as much information focused exclusively on Pauline theology, literature, background and scholarship. In a field that recently has undergone significant shifts in perspective, the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters offers a summa of Paul and Pauline studies. In-depth articles focus on individual theological themes (such as law, resurrection and Son of God), broad theological topics (such as Christology, eschatology and the death of Christ), methods of interpretation (such as rhetorical criticism and social-scientific approaches), background topics (such as apocalypticism, Hellenism and Qumran) and various other subjects specifically related to the scholarly study of Pauline theology and literature (such as early catholicism, the center of Paul's theology, and Paul and his interpreters since F. C. Baur). Separate articles are also devoted to each of the Pauline letters to hermeneutics and to preaching Paul today.
The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters presents the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century—committed to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialogue with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.
Gerald F. Hawthorne is professor emeritus of Greek at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He also formerly served as chairperson of the Institute for Biblical Research.
Ralph P. Martin is retired from his position as distinguished scholar in residence at Fuller Theological Seminary and previously at the Graduate School of Theology of Azusa Pacific University. He was formerly professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary and associate professor in biblical studies at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of numerous studies and commentaries on the New Testament, including Worship in the Early Church, the volume on Philippians in Tyndale Commentaries and James in the Word Biblical Commentary, for which he also serves as New Testament editor.
Daniel G. Reid is senior editor for reference and academic books at InterVarsity Press, where he has worked since 1986. He was the developmental editor for IVP's award-winning New Testament dictionaries, and has also written his own academic studies, including God Is a Warrior, co-written with Tremper Longman III. Reid also teaches at the Seattle, Washington extension campus of Fuller Theological Seminary.
The Earlier Epistles of St. Paul fills in the background details surrounding Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans. Lake engages the "literary and critical questions introductory to these letters, concerning their integrity, destination, and history." He also explores the "intricate question of the world of religious thought to which the earliest Gentile Christians belonged—the world of the Hellenistic Mystery Religions."
Kirsopp Lake was a well-known New Testament scholar in his day, teaching at both University of Leyden and Harvard. Today, Lake's work is frequently cited in Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias, and theological journal articles dealing with Pauline studies.
Kirsopp Lake was a prominent scholar of early Christianity. He is also edited the Apostolic Fathers in Greek and English.
In this mammoth 2-volume work, Farrar aims to "give a definite, accurate, and intelligible impression of St. Paul’s teaching; of the controversies in which he was engaged; of the circumstances which educed his statements of doctrine and practice; of the inmost heart of his theology in each of its phases; of his Epistles as a whole, and of each Epistle in particular as complete and perfect in itself."
Frederic William Farrar was an important biblical scholar, a minister at London's famous Westminster Abbey, and the Dean of Canterbury. He wrote prolifically on the life of Jesus and the life of Paul.
First published in 1884, Stalker's Life of St. Paul became one of the most widely-read and respected biographies of the Apostle to the Gentiles. As an insightful compendium on the life of Paul, this work is of particular interest to pastors and teachers who desire to add realism and vividness to their account of one of the greatest Christians who ever lived.
Stalker's work includes a section at the back entitled "Hints for Teachers and Questions for Pupils." This supplement contains notes and further reading suggestions for those teaching on the life of St. Paul, along with a number of questions over each chapter for students to discuss.
James Stalker was a prominent biblical scholar, and wrote extensively on the life of Jesus and the life of Paul.
When it was published, Conybeare and Howson's study on the life and epistles of Paul was one of the most significant contributions to Pauline scholarship to date. Published over 150 years ago, this work still impacts the way New Testament scholars view the first century Christian world. Containing a wealth of historical and context-specific knowledge, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul is a necessary addition to the library of any New Testament student.
William John Conybeare English divine, son of Dean W. D. Conybeare, was educated at Westminster and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was elected fellow in 1837. From 1842 to 1848 he was principal of the Liverpool Collegiate Institution, which he left for the vicarage of Axminster. He published Essays, Ecclesiastical and Social, in 1856, and a novel, Perversion, or the Causes and Consequences of Infidelity, but is best known as the joint author (with J.S. Howson) of The Life and Epistles of St. Paul (1851). He died at Weybridge in 1857.
John Saul Howson English divine, was born at Giggleswick-on-Craven, Yorkshire. After receiving his early education at Giggleswick School, of which his father was head-master, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, and there became tutor successively to the marquess of Sligo and the marquess of Lorne. In 1845, Howson, having taken orders, accepted the post of senior classical master at the Liverpool College under his friend W.J. Conybeare, whom he succeeded as principal in 1849.
Howson's sympathies were with the evangelical party, and he stoutly opposed the "Eastward position," but he was by no means narrow. He did much to reintroduce the ministry of women as deaconesses. The building of the King's School for boys, and the Queen's School for girls (both in Chester), was due in a great measure to the active interest which he took in educational matters. He died at Bournemouth on the December 15, 1885.
In recent years, scholars from both Christian and Jewish backgrounds have tried to rethink the relationship between earliest Christianity and its Jewish milieu. Paul has emerged as a central figure in this debate. The present book contributes to this scholarly discussion by seeing Paul and his Jewish contemporaries as, above all, readers of Scripture. However different the conclusions they draw, they all endeavor to make sense of the same normative scriptural texts—in the belief that, as they interpret the scriptural texts, the texts will themselves interpret and illuminate the world of contemporary experience. In that sense, Paul and his contemporaries are standing on common ground. Far from relativizing their differences, however, it is this common ground that makes such differences possible.
This book seeks to show how three distinct bodies of literature in fact constitute a single intertextual field. It is therefore necessary to dismantle artificial scholarly boundaries between the Pauline letters, other extant Jewish writings of the period, and the scriptural texts themselves. The method adopted is to set a Pauline and a non-Pauline reading of a scriptural text alongside one another, to compare the ways in which the different readings seek to realize the semantic potential of the scriptural text, and to construct communal identity on that basis. Contrary to the view that these early readers merely impose their own pre-existing viewpoints on the scriptural texts, it becomes clear that they are profoundly engaged in fundamental hermeneutical issues.
Francis Watson is Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen and was formerly Reader in Biblical Theology, King's College London. Previous publications include Paul, Judaism and the Gentiles, Text, Church and World, Text and Truth and Agape, Eros, Gender.
According to the author, “Until now Paul’s theology has been treated in exegetical literature almost exclusively as a systematic whole. Here, by contrast, the attempt is made to show how Paul’s theology can be adequately understood only when it is seen in relation to its development. There is a decisive process of theological development between Galatians and Romans which in turn must be related to Paul’s biography.”
Law in Paul’s Thought examines the relation between Paul’s teaching in Galatians and Romans, arguing that there is a major shift in emphasis between the two. An intriguing and concisely argued monograph, it points to a striking discord within Paul’s view of the Law and asks whether these differences should not be explained in terms of development in Paul’s theology. The skillful way in which he traces the arguments and interconnections between arguments in the different passages is fascinating and illuminating.
Hans Hübner is Professor of Biblical Theology at Georg-August University, Göttingen.
A classic ecumenical commentary on Ephesians. In addition to detailed exegesis, Schnackenburg pays special attention to the history of interpretation of Ephesians, taking account of comparative material in the history of religion and, at the end of each exegetical section, shows how findings are relevant for today. The theological focus is the concept of the church, giving rise to ecumenical discussion about ministry and office in the church.
Throughout this accessible study Schnackenburg emphasizes the practical purposes of the text which has been handed down to us: a text written to lead Christians who were in danger of conforming to their heathen surroundings, to a more decisively Christian attitude and way of life.
Rudolf Schnackenburg is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at the University of Würzburg.
A valuable collection of C. K. Barrett's writings on Paul, the summation of a lifetime's work by the pre-eminent New Testament scholar. This book contains a number of essays, some hitherto unpublished, on historical aspects of Paul's work. Sometimes Professor Barrett takes a broad view; often he looks sharply at important topics. Many of the themes are familiar, but Barrett always illuminates them from new angles, formulating fresh questions and approaches. An extensive introductory essay examines the relation of Paul to Christian leaders in Jerusalem.
C. K. Barrett is Emeritus Professor of Divinity, University of Durham.
Drawing on recent discussions of quotations in the fields of rhetoric, linguistics, and literary studies, Stanley argues that Paul’s explicit appeals to Jewish Scriptures must be analyzed as rhetorical devices that seek to influence the thoughts, feelings, and actions of a first-century audience, an approach that requires a different set of questions and methods than scholars have typically used in their studies of Paul’s quotations.
Key questions include why Paul quoted words of Scripture to support some of his arguments and not others; how quotations help to advance the developing arguments of Paul’s letters; and how a mostly illiterate first-century audience from a variety of backgrounds might have viewed these sudden intrusions of material from a Jewish religious text. Answering these questions requires paying careful attention to the affective and poetic dimensions as well as the intellectual aspects of the original audience’s encounter with the Holy Scriptures of Israel.
Christopher Stanley is Professor of Theology at St. Bonaventure University. He is the author of Paul the Language of Scripture as well as numerous articles on the social, literary, and rhetorical context of Paul's letters.
Paul's conversion and its impact on his theology have been studied extensively. Yet little has been done to relate this to Paul's attitude towards the conversion of others, or to perspectives on conversion held by converts in the churches Paul founded. Soteriology is often considered in isolation from the practical issues of how conversion was expected to take place and the nature of its expected consequences.
This book addresses these issues, taking account of recent developments in conversion studies in the social sciences and other disciplines. Stephen Chester first reviews these developments and assesses the potential value of sociologist Anthony Gidden's general social theory of structuration. He then utilizes this to explore Paul's perspectives on conversion in relation to both Gentile and Jewish converts. He also explores the Corinthians' perspectives on conversion in the context of Graeco-Roman religious and social life. Here emerges a fascinating account of perspectives on conversion in the crucial formative years of early Christianity.
Stephen J. Chester is Lecturer in New Testament Studies at International Christian College, Glasgow.
Paul’s letter to the Romans is generally considered his most important. But why did he write it? Professor Wedderburn systematically surveys the range of recent scholarly opinion on this hotly contested question and clarifies the main issues. This remarkable, comprehensive and up-to-date volume will aid students and specialists alike.
Alexander J. M. Wedderburn is Professor of New Testament in the Evangelisch-Theologische Facultat, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.
The relationship between the messages of Jesus and Paul, once dubbed by one scholar “the second founder of Christianity,” must count as one of the most central issues in the study of the New Testament. The essays collected in this volume first survey the history of the study of this problem, and look at some of the main evidence for supposing that the connection between Jesus and Paul was slight, notably the paucity of Paul's references to Jesus' teachings and his seeming disinterest in the earthly Jesus. Other essays take up the question of the continuity between the teaching and the manner of life of the two men, and raise the question how this continuity may have been mediated from one to the other. A final essay raises the question how far Paul's statements about Christ were related to the earthly life of Jesus.
This volume brings together a number of substantial contributions to this question, by Professor V.P. Furnish of Dallas, by two scholars from the German Democratic Republic, Professor N. Walter and Dr C. Wolff, and by the editor. Some are published for the first time, some are here made available in English for the first time.
Alexander J. M. Wedderburn is Professor of New Testament in the Evangelisch-Theologische Facultat, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.
In That We May Be Mutually Encouraged, Kathy Ehrensperger offers a compelling new look at Paul by placing the "New Perspective" approach to Pauline studies in dialogue with feminism theology. This study shows that the interaction and positive relation of different strands of research on Paul—feminist interpretation, Pauline studies, and theologies dealing with the Shoah—factually lead to a fresh view of Paul and his letters. The consequences of such interaction between different strands of research on Paul open the door for significant new avenues of research.
There has been a revolutionary shift of thinking in Pauline Studies, fundamentally changing the image of Paul. Postmodern literary criticism of Paul’s epistles and socio-rhetorical criticism of his letters has created a New Perspective approach to Pauline studies. At the same time, feminist criticism of the Pauline corpus has been growing. Unfortunately there has been hardly any interaction and exchange of research results between these different strands of scholarship. The result of this is that in Pauline studies scholars are hardly aware of feminist perspectives.
Similarly, feminist interpretations of Paul, not fully conversant with the most recent strands of Pauline research, are often based on traditional images of Paul. Ehrensperger’s analysis of feminist commentaries on Paul thus contains a rather negative depiction of theological thinking. However, both strands of research, feminist and those of the New Perspective, provide fresh and illuminating insights that emphasize similar aspects from different perspectives.
Ehrensperger advocates a closer interaction between these two schools of Pauline studies. She analyzes Romans 14–15, exploring the results of recent research in both Pauline schools. Pauline studies from the New Perspective emphasize the Jewish context and texture of Paul’s thinking. She sets these in dialogue with feminist theology, which focuses on issues of identity, diversity, and relationality. Her study results in a perspective on Paul which views him as a significant dialogue partner in the search for a theology beyond anti-Semitism and misogyny, beyond force and domination.
Kathy Ehrensperger studied theology at the Universities of Basel and Berne, and was a pastor for sixteen years in Switzerland. She is currently a Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter.
This classic commentary on the book of Acts was written by a scholar who set out to disprove Luke's authorship and became one of the greatest advocates for the authenticity and accuracy of Luke's account.
Sir William Mitchell Ramsay was a prominent nineteenth century New Testament scholar. He wrote more than a dozen books on the Gospels and Paul.
This study of Paul's theology of salvation argues that appreciating the believer's union with Christ is central for understanding Paul's theology of salvation.
How, according to the teachings of Paul, does the individual receive salvation? That is the focal question behind By Faith, Not By Sight. Against some recent scholars, Gaffin argues that it is both a meaningful and an appropriate question to ask. So what does the application of salvation to sinners involve for Paul? Does he distinguish between salvation accomplished (historia salutis) and salvation applied (ordo salutis) and, if so, how, and how important is the latter for him? And what exactly is the place of justification in his theology?
Gaffin argues that, “[t]he central soteriological reality is union with the exalted Christ by Spirit-created faith. That is the nub, the essence, of the way or order of salvation for Paul. The center of Paul’s soteriology . . . is neither justification by faith nor sanctification, neither the imputation of Christ’s righteousness nor the renewing work of the Spirit. To draw that conclusion, however, is not to ‘de-center’ justification (or sanctification), as if justification is somehow less important for Paul than the Reformation claims. Justification is supremely important, it is absolutely crucial in Paul’s ‘gospel of salvation’ (cf. Eph. 1:13). Deny or distort his teaching on justification and that gospel ceases to be gospel; there is no longer saving ‘good news’ for sinners. But no matter how close justification is to the heart of Paul’s gospel, in our salvation, as he sees it, there is an antecedent consideration, a reality, that is deeper, more fundamental, more decisive, more crucial: Christ and our union with him, the crucified and resurrected, the exalted, Christ, Union with Christ by faith—that is the essence of Paul’s ordo salutis.”
Richard B. Gaffin is Charles Krahe Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary where he has taught since 1965. An ordained teaching elder of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he is also the author of several books.
Except for Christ himself, no figure has been more influential in the history of Christianity than the apostle Paul. And yet his remarkable life remains shrouded in mystery. Paul & His Letters scrapes away the myths about this great man and uncovers the truth of his life and thought.
Dr. Polhill’s well-written introduction to Paul and his letters reflects his conservative, evangelical perspective and his many years of scholarship. One of the strengths of this book is his detail in defining terms, people and places relating to Paul in Acts and his epistles.
Polhill also uses reliable traditions from non-canonical sources, weaving together the remarkable story of Paul's transformation from persecutor to persecuted, following Paul from his early years in Tarsus and Jerusalem to his imprisonment and eventual martyrdom. This detailed, comprehensive portrait of Paul will serve as an indispensable resource for students, teachers, pastors and all Christians who seek to know this enigmatic man of God.
John B. Polhill is the author of the widely acclaimed volume on Acts in the New American Commentary series. He has also contributed to numerous journals, reference works, and denominational publications. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion. He is a frequent speaker at Bible conferences in the United States and abroad. A devoted churchman, he has served as pastor of congregations in Virginia, Kentucky, and Massachusetts.
Designed as a handbook for students, ministers, Sunday school teachers, and all laypersons. This book is a particularly valuable addition for anyone desiring a detailed study of the life of Paul. In this book we have a volume which does for the life of Paul what a harmony of the Gospels does for the life of Christ.
Goodwin endeavors to blend Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles with selections from the Pauline Epistles. Thus, Paul’s letters are treated as parallel or supplementary to Luke’s account. In harmonizing these writings, the intent is to treat only the biography of Paul; the dogmatic and ethical portions of his writings are generally omitted. Scriptural passages are accompanied by brief but copious notes and comments. An appendix is included containing comments relating to Paul’s speeches, the occasion of writing each Epistle, his trials, imprisonments and other matters which give clear insight into his personal life and character.
Frank J. Goodwin was a graduate of Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn, in 1879 and later of Amherst College, in 1884. He received a B.D. from Union Theological Seminary before being called to the pastorate of the Congregational Church, Bloomfield, N.J.. There he served as their first pastor from 1888-1898. He was President of the Rhode Island Congregational Club from 1906-1908.
How do we establish right relationship with God? And, having received God’s favor, how to we maintain right relationship with God? The Israelites in the Old Testament achieved relationship with God through God’s covenant and by keeping the law. But the New Testament Christians were faced with a far more difficult question: How do I become right with God in Jesus Christ? The doctrine of justification outlined in the books of Romans and Galatians articulates Paul’s answer to this theological dilemma, and has prompted reflection by nearly every theologian ever since.
In St. Paul and Justification, Frederick Brooke Westcott offers an exposition of Romans 1–11 and the entire book of Galatians—the key Pauline texts on the doctrine of justification. Westcott explains the seemingly-contradictory depictions of justification in Romans and Galatians, but shows how, together, these two epistles present a unified and coherent whole. He also writes at length about the influence of the Old Testament law on Paul’s doctrine of justification. Along the way, Westcott offers grammatical and literary analysis, as well as possible solutions to interpretive difficulties with regard to Greek, Latin, and English words for justice.
St. Paul and Justification is ideal for New Testament scholars, for anyone interested in the interpretive history of the Greek words for justice and righteousness, and for anyone seeking to understand one of the central doctrines of both Paul’s writings and the Christian faith.
Frederick Brooke Westcott (1857–1918) was headmaster of Sherborne School Canon of Norwich, and a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
A collection of essays from leading academics in the field of Pauline studies culled from the Journal for the Study of the New Testament. This volume is broken down into four sections: “Paul the Apostle, Pauline Interpretation of Sacred Tradition,” “Pauline Theology,” and “Pauline Letter-Form and Rhetoric.” Contributors include D. Lüthermann (“Paul and the Pharisaic Tradition”), J. W. Aageson (“Typology, Correspondence, and the Application of Scripture in Romans 9-11”), K. Snodgrass (“Spheres of Influence: A Possible Solution to the Problem of Paul and the Law”) amongst many others.
Craig A. Evans received his Ph.D. from Claremont. He is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Stanley E. Porter is Principal, Dean and Professor of New Testament, McMaster Divinity College, Canada.
Many scholars have noticed the significance of Abraham traditions in Early Christianity. However, none have analyzed early Jewish or Pauline texts from the perspective of the most prevalent tradition about Abraham: his rejection of idolatry for monotheistic faith.
Here, Nancy Calvert-Koyzis examines early Jewish documents in which the tradition of Abraham and monotheism plays a significant part. These include works from both Philo and Josephus, as well as the Biblical Antiquities, Jubilees, and the Apocalypse of Abraham. Each document is analyzed with the historical context in mind in order to ascertain how this monotheistic tradition, and in some cases the tradition of Abraham's obedience of the law, functioned to define who were members of the people of God.
Next, the author analyzes Paul's epistles to the Galatians and Romans from the standpoint of the tradition of Abraham's rejection of idolatry from monotheism. She finds that Paul most probably had traditions of Abraham's monotheistic faith in mind as he redefines the people of God in Christ. Abraham's monotheistic faith in the Pauline texts is now fulfilled in Christ. This is in contrast to the use of monotheistic traditions about Abraham to define the people of God in early Jewish literature. Ironically, those who maintain that obedience to the law is necessary for members of the people of God are shown to be idolaters. This in contrast to those who embrace fulfilled monotheistic faith like their forefather, Abraham.
Nancy Calvert-Koyzis is a part-time member of the faculty at McMaster University and at Redeemer University College.
In this fundamental and at times provocative study, Walker demonstrates that Paul's letters contain later, non-Pauline additions or interpolations and that such interpolations can sometimes be identified with relative confidence.
He begins by establishing that interpolations are to be assumed simply on a priori grounds, and that direct text-critical evidence is not essential for their recognition. He also suggests that the burden of proof in their identification is lighter than most have assumed, and that specific evidence for interpolation is often available.
Successive chapters then argue that 1 Cor. 11:3–16, 1 Cor. 2:6–16, 1 Cor. 12:31b–14.1a, and Rom. 1:18–2:29 are in fact non-Pauline interpolations. Walker goes on to summarize arguments for the same conclusion regarding five additional passages. A brief epilogue addresses the question of interpolations and the canonical authority of scripture.
William O. Walker, Jr. is the Jennie Farris Railey King Professor of Religion, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas.
The quality of contributions in this volume reflects the eminence of Sandy Wedderburn, who taught at St. Andrews before moving to Durham and finally to Munich to succeed Ferdinard Hahn. The topics addressed reflect Wedderburn's interests and include: a comparison of the Lord's Supper with cultic meals in Qumran and in Hellenistic cults, glossolalia in Acts, the Lukan prologue, 'new creation' in Paul, and Adam and Christ in Romans.
Contributors include David Aune, Richard Bauckham, Richard Bell, James Dunn, Ferdinand Hahn, Christina Hoegen-Rohls, Robert Jewett, Hans Klein, H.-W. Kuhn, David Moessner, Stanley Porter, Heikki Raisanen, Margaret Thrall, Oda Wischmeyer and Chrisitian Wolff.
Alf Christophersen is Lecturer in Systematic Theology, Protestant Theological Faculty, University of Munich.
The "conversations" in this collection open by challenging ideas that have become standard and subject them to critical re-examination. The central thread of all these essays is a reflection on the processes of reading and theologizing.
Among the contributors to this volume are David E. Aune, Jouette Bassler, Daniel Boyarin, Neil Elliott, Victor Paul Furnish, Lloyd Gaston, Steven J. Kraftchick, Robert C. Morgan, J. Andrew Overman, Mark Reasoner, Peter Richardson, and Robin Scroggs. Juanita Garciagodoy and David H. Hopper offer appreciations of Calvin Roetzel as a teacher and colleague.
Janice Capel Anderson teaches in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Idaho.
Philip Sellew teaches in the Department of Classical & Near Eastern Studies, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Claudia Setzer is Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY.
Political Paul presents Paul as a political thinker. Many studies claiming Paul for Greek Hellenism discuss the influence upon him of various aspects of Hellenistic culture, but strangely neglect Hellenistic political philosophy with its roots in Classical antiquity. Political Paul explores this dimension of Paul's thought within the general context of Hellenistic political reflection to focus on the intriguing body of literature known as the Pythagorean pseudepigrapha.
These researches support the highly original argument that Christianity has foundations in Hellenistic kingship theories. Paul constructs a political theory for Christianity. He conceives it as a polis-basileia system, politics proper and divine rule, each with its own dikaiosyne; this the study re-evaluates as a political concept.
Bruno Blumenfeld is an independent scholar living in New York City.
Douglas Campbell gives a clear account of why much current description of Paul's theology, and of his gospel and of his theory of salvation, is so confused. After outlining the difficulties underlying much of the current debate he lays out some basic options that will greatly clarify the debate. He then engages with these options and shows how one offers far more promise than the others, sketching out some of its initial applications.
Campbell then shows in more detail how another option—the main alternative, and the main culprit in terms of many of our difficulties—can be circumvented textually, in a responsible fashion. That is, we see how we could remove this option from Paul's text exegetically, and so reach greater clarity.
Finally, he concludes with a 'road-map' of where future, more detailed, research into Paul needs to go if the foregoing strategy is to be carried out thoroughly. Campbell believes that by utilizing this strategy Paul's gospel will be shown to be both cogent and constructive.
Douglas A. Campbell is currently Assistant Professor of New Testament in the Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles on aspects of the Apostle Paul's life and thought.
“Scale” is well known and understood in creative arts such as architecture, sculpture, and music, but New Testament scholars have given no significant consideration to scale changes in the Biblical texts. A robust methodology allows scale changes in literature to be examined scientifically and reveals “scale-related” patterns in the epistles.
To determine the significance of these patterns, George Barr has conducted a wide survey covering many texts in Greek, Latin and English. It reveals that the patterns found in the New Testament are very rare indeed, if not unique, and gives grounds for the belief that such patterns are associated with authorship. The patterns found in the Pauline epistles clarify some theories regarding the origins of the epistles and, in some cases, shed new light on their compilation.
George Barr has a Ph.D. in the subject of "Scale in Literature" and is the author of many journal articles on the subject. He is a minister in an area of social deprivation.
There are references to clothing throughout Paul’s letters, and the metaphor constitutes a significant aspect of his theology. The imagery appears several times in his letters: clothing with Christ (Gal 3:27; Rom 13:14), clothing with the new man (Col 3:9–10; Eph 4:22–24), and clothing with the resurrection body (1 Cor 15:49, 50–54; 2 Cor 5:1–4).
In order to understand the background to this use of the clothing metaphor, Jung Hoon Kim examines similar imagery in the Old Testament, 1 and 2 Enoch, the Apocalypse of Moses, Philo, rabbinic literature, Joseph and Aseneth, the Hymn of the Pearl, and Apuleius’s Metamorphoses. He also discusses the Roman custom of clothing and the baptismal praxis of the ancient church.
Kim concludes that Paul’s metaphor suggests the life and glory of the image of God, which were lost by Adam, have been restored by baptism in Christ, and will go on to be consummated at the parousia.
Jung Hoon Kim received his Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow and is currently working in the University of Cheonan, Korea.
In The Social Ethos, David Horrell offers an exemplary study of how sociological perspectives can be used in New Testament studies. The focus of these studies is the Corinthian letters written by Paul and Clement’s letter written from Rome to Corinth near the end of the first century. These letters provide a rich example of the social ethos of early Christian teaching and its development. It lifts the roof off the Corinthian church, allowing an assessment of how Pauline Christianity shaped relationships within the Christian community and how those relationships changed over time, as expressed in Clement’s letter.
David Horrell is Lecturer in New Testament Studies in the Department of Theology, University of Exeter. He is the author of Solidarity and Difference: A Contemporary Reading of Paul’s Ethics.
Dr. Adams focuses, in this ground-breaking study, on Paul’s understanding and use of the cosmological concepts ‘world’ and ‘creation.’ He confronts this study by using current disciplines, such as critical linguistics, to understand the differing perspectives on the world found in 1 Corinthians and Romans by examining Paul’s historical and social context.
Edward Adams is Lecturer in New Testament, King’s College, University of London. He has taught widely in the field of New Testament and early Christianity and currently teaches undergraduate courses on Paul in Context, New Testament eschatology and Colossians in Greek. At MA level, he co-ordinates and is the principal teacher for the foundational course of the MA in Biblical Studies. He is the author of Christianity at Corinth and The Stars will Fall from the Heaven.
Meggitt examines the economic and social life of Pauline churches. His work presents to us the lives and minds of the earliest Christians and contributes to our understanding of the origins of Christianity. He further explores the nature of the Roman economy and the lives of those living in the first-century Mediterranean world. Some of the aspects he focuses on are: employment, nutrition, clothing and housing. In disclosing the Pauline church’s strategies for survival, Meggitt is able to draw on many background sources for the first time in this kind of study.
Justin Meggitt has been a British Academy Research Fellow in the Faculty of Divinity, and Fellow Commoner of Jesus College, University of Cambridge. He joined the Institute of Continuing Education at Cambridge in 2004. He is most interested in early Christianity in its social context. He is the author of the chapter Sources: Use, Abuse and Neglect in Christianity at Corinth: The Scholarly Quest for the Corinthian Church.
Paul’s opening remarks in his second letter to the Corinthian church make reference to certain troubles or problems he faced (problems which could possibly lead to imminent death from either an illness or persecution). Harvey uses these references as a springboard to understanding the profound but difficult language found in this epistle. He begins by exploring the social, economic and religious consequences of illness or disability in antiquity. Paul uses his malady as an opportunity to present a new understanding of suffering for the first-century Christian. The remainder of Harvey’s book acts as a running commentary on this biographical approach to understanding 2 Corinthians.
A.E. Harvey was a Lecturer in Theology at the University of Oxford and a former Canon of Westminster. He is the author of Companion to the New Testament.