Divination and Philosophy in the Letters of Paul (Edinburgh Studies in Religion in Antiquity) - Softcover

Matthew Sharp

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1399503588 ISBN 13: 9781399503587

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2024

Synopsis

This book analyses the apostle Paul's claims to receive and interpret knowledge from divine sources within the context of divination in the Graeco-Roman world. Each chapter studies a particular aspect of divination in Paul's letters in comparison with similar phenomena in the Graeco-Roman world, dealing in turn with the underlying logic of divination (in the context of ancient philosophical conversations), visionary experience, prophecy and divine speech, the divinatory use of texts and the interpretation of signs. As such, the book forms an in-depth study of divine communication in Paul's letters, integrating this theme with the broader topics of cosmology, anthropology, eschatology and theology.While New Testament texts and early Christian figures have traditionally been studied from the vantage point of theological categories (such as 'revelation') that isolate early Christianity from its historical context in the Graeco-Roman world, this book re-reads Paul's thought and practice concerning divine communication within, not against, the Graeco-Roman thought and practice of divination. In doing so it illuminates the coherence and connections both between Paul and his historical context and between diverse topics of Paul's letters that have usually been studied in isolation from each other.

About this title

About the Author

Matthew T. Sharp completed his PhD, which this book is based on, at the University of Edinburgh's School of Divinity in 2020. He has a chapter, titled 'Courting Daimons in Corinth: Daimonic Partnerships, Cosmic Hierarchies and Divine Jealousy in Paul' forthcoming in an edited volume on demonology edited by Hector Patmore and Josef L�ssl for Brill's Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity series. He has also published a review of Gordon D. Fee, Jesus the Lord According to Paul the Apostle in the Expository Times, and has also published book reviews in the Expository Times, Review of Biblical Literature, and Journal for the Study of the New Testament. His current academic position is as a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews.

From the Back Cover

Studies the topic of divine communication in Paul's letters in the context of Graeco-Roman divination This book analyses the apostle Paul's claims to receive and interpret knowledge from divine sources within the context of divination in the Graeco-Roman world. Each chapter studies a particular aspect of divination in Paul's letters in comparison with similar phenomena in the Graeco-Roman world, dealing in turn with the underlying logic of divination (in the context of ancient philosophical conversations), visionary experience, prophecy and divine speech, the divinatory use of texts and the interpretation of signs. As such, the book forms an in-depth study of divine communication in Paul's letters, integrating this theme with the broader topics of cosmology, anthropology, eschatology and theology. While New Testament texts and early Christian figures have traditionally been studied from the vantage point of theological categories (such as 'revelation') that isolate early Christianity from its historical context in the Graeco-Roman world, this book re-reads Paul's thought and practice concerning divine communication within, not against, the Graeco-Roman thought and practice of divination. In doing so it illuminates the coherence and connections both between Paul and his historical context and between diverse topics of Paul's letters that have usually been studied in isolation from each other. Matthew T. Sharp is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews.

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1399503588
• ISBN 13: 9781399503587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248