Paul and Sacred Space

This chapter analyses the terms with which Paul of Tarsus designates various sacred spaces—hieron, naos, eidoleion, ekklesia—in conversation with the archaeology of sacred spaces, research on the Pauline house churches, and with the help of theories of space, new materialism, and the sacred. The chapter starts with an introduction of the analytical frameworks and ends with ideas about ‘monumentalization’: that the social-structural relations between people in a sacred space tended to materialize over time into purpose-built buildings—hence the double meanings of synagogue, ekklesia, and hieron as designations both of assemblies and later of the buildings accommodating the respective assemblies. A central argument is that Paul’s letters constitute a special case in the development of the early Christian ekklesia and the parallel development of the synagogue, because in Paul’s time the temple in Jerusalem was still standing and was a self-evident part of his religious universe.

Paul and Contemporary Philosophy

Modern philosophy is inextricably intertwined in the history of cultural and hermeneutical engagement with Paul the apostle. More recent philosophical and historical reflection on this fact of entwinement has renewed key struggles about cosmopolitanism, internationalism, anti-Judaism, cultural and political revolution, technology or cultures of calculation, and—perhaps above all—how we cope with our relentless drives to improve, energize, transcend, escape, or destroy the given worlds we inhabit. The goal of this chapter is to articulate several usefully orienting issues about the intertwining of Paul and contemporary philosophy and to signal some useful ways forward for further interdisciplinary research which addresses these broader cultural concerns.

Paul and Sexuality

This chapter considers the topic, only raised in relatively recent intellectual history, of the apostle Paul and sexuality. First, it considers a number of common claims about Paul and sexuality for which there is in fact no historical evidence: that Paul held a ‘healthy’ modern view of sex, that Paul had a psycho-sexual dysfunction, that Paul had an early sexual trauma, that Paul was gay, and more. From there, the chapter builds a constructive case for what we can say about Paul and sexuality, beginning by identifying the relevant historical sources, then considering Paul’s identity as an apocalyptic Jew in the diaspora, then looking at key evidence from 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, and Romans, in turn, then considering the crucial question of the meaning of Greek porneia, and finally touching on developments in the Pauline tradition after the death of the apostle. It is argued that early Christian interpreters managed to find both a pro-household and an anti-household Paul in their readings of Paul’s letters.

Paul and Economic Resources

This essay surveys some prominent economic features of the Roman world (e.g., benefaction, patronage, status-capture, and elite allegiance to Rome) and situates the realities of structural poverty within that context. It then underscores some of the economic commitments and strategies that Paul envisioned for Jesus-groups he had founded, noting how the responsible use of economic resources was deeply rooted in his theological programme.

Paul the Letter Writer

This essay focuses on the social functions of Paul’s letter writing activities, with the purpose of helping to situate such activities within the landscape of ancient Mediterranean epistolography and religion. After briefly identifying major areas of interest in recent research on Paul’s letter writing activities, the author examines the ways in which Paul’s epistolary practices advanced his goals in social positioning, community building, and virtue cultivation among Christ recruits. Letters were understood within classical antiquity to facilitate conversations among friends, reveal a writer’s character, and provide clear and concise instruction on a given subject. Letter writing also often contributed to the social capital of a letter’s author, insofar as letter writing displayed skills in literacy and textual production. Each of these epistolary functions would have advanced Paul’s goals regarding social positioning, community building, and moral development, thus making letters the ideal written medium for Paul to use in his apostolic activities.

Justification by Faith

Not only but especially since the Protestant Reformation, interpreters of Paul have been keenly interested in what the apostle means by saying that a person is justified from faith and not from works of the law. This essay parses the debates over this controversial phrase, focusing especially on recent discussion and briefly proposing a constructive account. The essay first discusses the language of justification in Paul’s letters, then considers and rejects some common but false antitheses in this discussion (individual versus corporate, forensic verses apocalyptic), then explores Paul’s particular insistence that justification is not from works of the law, and finally considers Paul’s chosen counterpart to works of the law, namely faith or trust. It is here proposed that justification is for Paul part of a cluster of central topics alongside reconciliation, participation, deliverance, and other key themes—bracketed on one side by the atoning death and resurrection of Christ and on the other by the glory of God.

Paul the Apostle

The question of church order—specifically, of the relationship between Paul the apostle and the churches he founded, and of the patterns of authority and leadership that emerge from his letters—is an essential component in our understanding of Paul: unexamined assumptions about leadership and authority colour our reading of his letters in profound ways. This chapter argues that the letters presuppose a distinctive leadership structure that is built on (a) dispersed authority: leadership is found both locally (elders) and translocally (apostles); and (b) displaced authority: both local and apostolic leadership are directly authorized by and accountable to God. This creates a strong relational network which the letters themselves reinforce and sustain.

Cosmology and Eschatology

The study of cosmology and eschatology in Paul is tied up with other, equally considerable, theological categories. But cosmology and eschatology are two particular threads of thought that tightly knit together. Eschatology is defined as the cosmology of the age to come and all traces of that age in the current age, the age in which ‘the End’ has begun to come to its end. Paul’s cosmology—his understanding of the current world, the world to come, and their relation—is determined by his eschatology. After discussing some of the interpretive issues involved with treating Paul’s cosmology and eschatology in a modern context, this chapter then explores various cartographies of the cosmos in ancient thought; that is, the ways in which the world was mapped by various Graeco-Roman, biblical, and other Jewish thinkers. Paul’s understanding of the world’s structure is then considered in light of his context. The chapter next investigates demographies of the cosmos in ancient thought; that is, Graeco-Roman, biblical, and other Jewish ways of conceiving the celestial population and the variety of its species. The Pauline data is again read in relation to this context. The chapter ends with Paul’s eschatology, or his thoughts about ‘the End’, including the events that precede it, the ‘Day’ itself, and the cosmos to come after Christ’s return. The conclusion thus further reflects on the interplay of cosmology and eschatology in Pauline thinking.

Paul and the Construction of Early Christian Identity

E. P. Sanders’ reconstruction of ancient Judaism resulted in an increasing interest in Paul’s relation to Judaism. While scholars before Sanders commonly assumed that Paul converted to Christianity and thus developed a religious identity separate from Judaism, Sanders’ view of Judaism as a religion of grace forced scholars to problematize Paul’s relation to his religious identity. Three major scholarly trends can be distinguished. Some scholars maintain, in spite of Sanders, that Paul rejected Judaism and developed a ‘Christian’ identity of sorts. Others take an intermediate position, arguing that Paul only repudiated those parts of Jewish tradition that separated Jews from non-Jews while otherwise being basically faithful to his religious heritage. Finally and most recently, still other scholars argue that Paul remained fully Jewish after becoming a follower of Jesus and that, consequently, he never developed a religious identity separated from Judaism.

Paul and Pistis Christou

An enduring discussion in Pauline studies is the so-called pistis Christou debate. This involves the half-dozen cases in the undisputed Pauline letters where this genitive phrase appears and it is unclear whether the phrase should be read ‘faith in Christ’ or ‘the faithfulness of Christ’. Over the past several decades, numerous books, articles, and essays have engaged vigorously on this issue; more than Greek syntax and proper translation appears to be at stake. This debate involves important questions related to Paul’s understanding of the means and manner of justification with God. How important is human faith and agency in Paul’s theology? To what degree does Paul present Christ not only as saving agent of God’s righteousness but also a model of faithfulness? What exactly does Paul mean when he refers to pistis?