In sixteen essays, Troels Engberg-Pedersen analyses a variety of Pauline texts and themes philosophically. A substantial introduction follows the inner thread connecting all the themes in the new notion of the »Christ circle«. Also explored are Paul's fundamental »apocalypticism« and his Jewishness.
This volume collects sixteen essays published by Troels Engberg-Pedersen between 1994 and 2023 in which he analyses Pauline texts and themes philosophically, often using ancient philosophy (particularly Stoicism) as a comparison to invigorate traditional theological exegesis of Paul. Published in chronological order, the essays are preceded by a substantial introduction tracing their analytical development. This leads to a final account of Paul's message, bringing all the issues together in a single strand. Among the central themes tackled are the relationship between 'theology' and 'ethics', the logical form of Pauline 'moral exhortation', the understanding of 'flesh' and 'spirit', the logic of action, personhood and Paul's soteriology. Along the way, Paul's 'apocalypticism' and his relationship with Judaism gain in importance, with the analysis reaching its goal in an explication of the notion of the 'Christ circle'.
Table of contents:
Introduction: Speaking Within the Christ Circle
Chapter 1: Stoicism in Philippians
Chapter 2: Galatians in Romans 5-8 and Paul's Construction of the Identity of Christ Believers
Chapter 3: Paul Beyond the Judaism/Hellenism Divide
Chapter 4: The Reception of Graeco-Roman Culture in the New Testament: The Case of Romans 7.7-25
Chapter 5: Radical Altruism in Philippians 2.4
Chapter 6: The Relationship with Others: Similarities and Differences Between Paul and Stoicism
Chapter 7: Complete and Incomplete Transformation in Paul - a Philosophical Reading of Paul on Body and Spirit
Chapter 8: Gift-Giving and Friendship: Seneca and Paul in Romans 1-8 on the Logic of God's Χάρις and Its Human Response
Chapter 9: The Logic of Action in Paul: How Does He Differ from the Moral Philosophers on Spiritual and Moral Progression and Regression?
Chapter 10: A Stoic Concept of the Person in Paul? From Galatians 5.17 to Romans 7.14-25
Chapter 11: Paul and Universalism
Chapter 12: The Sinful Body: Paul on Marriage and Sex
Chapter 13: On Comparison: The Stoic Theory of Value in Paul's Theology and Ethics in Philippians
Chapter 14: Paul in Philippians and Seneca in
Epistle 93 on Life after Death and its Present Implications
Chapter 15: Pauline Epistemology: Νοῦς and πνεῦμα in Stoicism and Paul
Chapter 16: Justice, Love and the Gift: The Logic of Pauline Soteriology
