We Are Being Transformed: Deification in Paul's Soteriology (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift F R die Neutestamentliche Wissensch)

Description

Can Pauline soteriology be categorized as a form of deification? This book attempts to answer this question by keen attention to the Greco-Roman world. It provides the first full-scale history of research on the topic. It is also the first work to fully treat the basic historical questions relating to deification. Namely, what is deity in the Greco-Roman world? What are the types of deification in the Greco-Roman world? Are there Jewish antecedents to deification? Does Paul consider Christ to be a divine being? If so, according to what logic? How is Pauline deification possible in light of ancient Jewish "monotheism"? How is deification possible with a strong notion of creation? Although a rigorously historical study, no attempt is made to avoid theological issues in their historical context. Deification, it is argued, provides a new historical category of perception with which to deepen our knowledge of the Apostle's religious thought in its own time. This book is intended for an academic audience. The range of topics discussed here should interest  a wide-array of scholars in the fields of Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Classics, and Patristics. Abbreviations Introduction: The Logic and History of Deification in Pauline Research Transcendence and Deification in Hellenistic Religion The “Otherness” of Deification Paul and Deification History of Research Recent Research on Paul and Deification Results The Method of this Study Conclusion: A Working Definition of Deification, and Issues of Clarification Part I: The Context of Deification in Paul Chapter 1: What is a God? Defining Divinity in the Greco-Roman World Introduction Formulating the Right Question Divinity in the Greco-Roman World Immortality Power Power, Divinity, and Kings Ancient Jewish Conceptions of Divinity The Pauline Understanding of Divinity Conclusion Chapter 2: Survey of Deification: Assimilation to Specific Deities Introduction The Greek Vocabulary of Deification Evaluation Deification in Homer Deification in Hesiod, Pindar, and the Homeric Poets Historical Precursors to Ruler Cult Deification in the Ruler Cult Philip II Demetrius Poliorcetes Ruler Cult in Ptolemaic Egypt Ptolemaic Assimilation to Dionysus Background on Dionysus-Osiris The Beginnings of Roman Ruler Cult: Marc Antony’s Assimilation to Dionysus Conclusion Chapter 3 : The Jewish Roots of Deification Introduction: Jews and Greeks on the Boundaries Between the Human and the Divine The Biblical Roots of Deification The Meaning of Iconic Similarity The Glorified Moses in Philo Sharing God’s Divine Sovereignty: The Divinity of Israelite Kings Conclusion Part II Sharing the Divine Identity Chapter 4: Divine Corporeality and the Pneumatic Body Introduction The Bodies of the Gods From the Glory Body to the Pneumatic Body The Problem at Corinth The Nature of Paul’s Pneumatic Body Comparison of the Pauline Pneumatic Body with the Stoic Soul Celestial Immortality Celestial Immortality in Jewish Sources Paul and Celestial Immortality Chapter 5: Divine Corporeality and Deification Introduction Celestial Immortality as Deification The Divinity of the Heavens The Human Pneuma as a Divine Reality Deification in Paul Connaturality Conclusion Chapter 6: Deification and the Cosmic Rule of the Saints Introduction The Battle of the Gods: Cultural Antecedents Paul’s Myth of Battling Gods The Rule of the Saints in Pre-Christian Judaism Paul and the Promise of Eschatological Lordship Results: The Question of Deification Conclusion Chapter 7: Paul and Moral Assimilation to God Introduction Platonic Assimilation to God Virtue and Deification The Mode of Deification through Moral Virtue Paul, Virtue, Self-Transcendence, and the Question of Deification Deepening the Comparison Paul and Assimilation to God 2 Corinthians 3:18 as Moral Assimilation to God Conclusion Part III: Addressing the Challenges: Monotheism and Divine Transcendence Chapter 8: Monotheism and Divine Multiplicity Problematizing Exclusivist Monotheism Towards a Theory of Ancient Jewish Monotheism The Status of Other Numina Paul and Summodeism The Meaning of God’s Oneness in Ancient Judaism Conclusion Chapter 9: Creation and the Objection of Absolute Transcendence Introduction Shareable and Unshareable Divinity Mediate Divinity and Participation Non-creating and Created Gods God the Creator The Question of Idolatry Conclusion Excursus: Worship and Divinity Conclusion Limitations and Clarifications Results Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Subject Index