Description
Book SynopsisSince the 1970s and E. P. Sanders’ Paul and Palestinian Judaism, Pauline scholars have become increasingly aware of the significance of participation (formerly, Pauline mysticism) in Paul’s letters. In them, he employed a diversity of participatory expressions, e.g., speaking of believers being “in Christ,” baptized “into Christ,” being crucified “with” Christ, etc. While Paul makes frequent references to participation, he never explained what it was, thus leaving modern interpreters with an enigma and an impasse. This book seeks to redress this neglected question of Pauline participation through an examination of the Greek-speaking eastern Fathers, a suggestion of scholar Richard Hays.To this end, this book explores four select patristic texts from Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, and Cyril of Alexandria, paying close attention to how each may shed potential new light on the enigma Pauline participation.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. Reading Pauline Participation through a Patristic Lens: Methodological Considerations
Chapter 1: The Methodological Challenge of Anachronism
Chapter 2: Reading Paul Through a Patristic Lens: Recent Examples
Part II. Pauline Participation in Its First Century Setting
Chapter 3: Paul’s Language of Κοινωνία
Chapter 4: Participation “in Christ,” Galatians 4:19, and Christ Formed “in” Believers
Chapter 5: Participation, the Spirit, and 1 Cor 3:16-17
Chapter 6: The Spirit and Participation in Romans 5:5 and 8:15
Chapter 7: A Synthesis of Findings on Pauline Participation
Part III. Participation in Patristic Writings: Forays into Patristic Participation: Select Passages From Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, and Cyril of Alexandria
Chapter 8: Patristic Participation and Its Function in Divinization
Chapter 9: Irenaeus and Participation in Against the Heretics, 3.18.7
Chapter 10: Origen and Participation in Commentary on Romans 5:5
Chapter 11: Athanasius and Participation in the Letter to Serapion 1.24
Chapter 12: Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Isaiah 4.2.
Chapter 13: A Summary of Findings on Patristic Participation
IV. Conclusions
Chapter 14: Patristic Writers in Dialogue with Paul
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
