Paul and the Greco-Roman Philosophical Tradition

Description

Paul and the Greco-Roman Philosophical Tradition provides a fresh examination of the relationship of Greco-Roman philosophy to Pauline Christianity. It offers an in-depth look at different approaches employed by scholars who draw upon philosophical settings in the ancient world to inform their understanding of Paul. The volume houses an international team of scholars from a range of diverse traditions and backgrounds, which opens up a platform for multiple voices from various corridors. Consequently, some of the chapters seek to establish new potential resonances with Paul and the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition, but others question such connections. While a number of them propose radically new relationships between Paul and GrecoRoman philosophy, a few seek to tweak or modulate current discussions. There are arguments in the volume which are more technical and exegetical, and others that remain more synthetic and theological. This diversity, however, is accentuated by a goal shared by each author – to further our understanding of Paul’s relationship to and appropriation of Greco-Roman philosophical traditions in his literary and missionary efforts. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Preface Foreword Introduction 1. Paul and the Militia Spiritualis Topos in 1 Thessalonians 2. Elements of Apocalyptic Eschatology in Seneca’s Writings and Paul’s Letters 3. Paul and Aristotle on Friendship 4. Bruce Winter and the Language of Benefaction in Romans 13.3 5. Powers, Baptism and the Ethics of the Stronger: Paul among the Ancient Political Philosophers 6. Divine Causation and Prepositional Metaphysics in Philo of Alexandria and the Apostle Paul 7. Paul and Pan(en)theism 8. The Wilderness Tradition in 1 Corinthians, Wisdom of Solomon and Hebrews 9. Natural Hair: A ‘New Rhetorical’ Assessment of 1 Cor. 11.14 –15 10. Gendered Exegesis of Creation in Philo (De Opificio Mundi) and Paul (1 Corinthians) 11. Early Conceptions of Original Sin: Reading Galatians through Philo’s De Opificio Mundi 12. Death as an Ethical Metaphor in Seneca’s Writings and in Paul’s Letter to the Romans 13. The Nature of True Worship: Reading Acts 17 with Seneca, Epistle 95 Index of Biblical and Ancient Sources Index of Modern Authors Index of Ancient Figures