Yale University Press eBooks· 2017· Book chapter
Paul
- 170citations
- 2017year
Short summary
Paul's letters reveal his conviction that he lived in history's final hours, shaped by both Jewish apocalyptic hopes and the pagan world's belief in divine and demonic forces.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Paul believed he was living in the final hours of history.
- His worldview was influenced by Jewish apocalyptic hopes for Israel's redemption.
- He also operated within a pagan world populated by divine and demonic forces.
- Understanding Paul necessitates examining his mission within this dualistic social and religious context.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Often seen as the author of timeless Christian theology, Paul himself heatedly maintained that he lived and worked in history's closing hours. His letters propel his readers into two ancient worlds, one Jewish, one pagan. The first was incandescent with apocalyptic hopes, expecting God through his messiah Jesus Christ to fulfill his ancient promises of redemption to Israel. The second teemed with ancient actors, not only human but also divine: angry superhuman forces, jealous demons, and hostile cosmic gods. Both worlds are Paul's, and his convictions about the first shaped his actions in the second. Only by situating Paul within this charged social context of gods and humans, pagans and Jews, cities, synagogues, and competing Christ-following assemblies can we begin to understand his mission and message. The book offers a dramatically new perspective on one of history's seminal figures.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Yale University Press eBooks, 2017 · DOI ↗
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Field: Religious studies
Religious studiesArts and Humanities