The Spirit World In The Letters Of Paul The Apostle

This book provides a comprehensive and critical examination of the role of spiritual beings in the authentic Pauline epistles, the first work to give an exhaustive and systematic account in recent years. Contrary to the views of many scholars, that spirits are trivial or irrelevant within Paul's writings, this monograph argues that they are inherent features of the letters. Read within their historical and cultural context, the epistles can be seen to participate in widely held assumptions about the role and influence of spiritual powers. This argument allows for a fresh perspective on a neglected theme, allowing for a re-evaluation of aspects of Paul's letters. Part One sets out the problems of interpreting the spirit world, with reference to the agendas of modern scholars and ancient readers. Part Two then examines angelology and demonology, progressing through the main inhabitants of the Pauline spirit world: angels, Satan, demons, powers, etc. Finally, Part Three sets out the key thrust of the argument: the spirit world may be regarded as inherent in the letters because it is integrated into major Pauline themes. This thesis is put forward by analysing the role played by spirits in helping to shape three areas of concern for Paul: his Christology, soteriology, and sense of community. Such an integrated approach yields a new way of perceiving the place and importance of spirits, not as a major or minor doctrine but as an axiomatic and cultural idiom in the Pauline texts.

Guy Williams beleuchtet die Rolle der Geistwesen in den echten paulinischen Briefen. Entgegen der weit verbreiteten Ansicht, Geister und spirituelle Wesen seien für Paulus unbedeutend und trivial gewesen, vertritt Williams die These, dass diese inhärente Merkmale der Briefe darstellten. Die Berücksichtigung ihres historischen und kulturellen Hintergrundes zeigt, dass die Vorstellung von den »Einwohnern der paulinischen Geistwelt«, den Engeln, Dämonen, Kräften und Satan, denen des allgemeinen Gedankenguts entspricht.Schließlich bezieht Williams die Ergebnisse seiner Untersuchung auf drei Bereiche: Paulus Christologie, seine Soteriologie und seine Vorstellung von Gemeinschaft. Sein Ansatz erlaubt einen frischen Blick auf Ort und Bedeutung von spirituellen Wesen bei Paulus, nicht im Sinne einer neuen Doktrin, aber als allgemeines und kulturelles Idiom der paulinischen Texte.

Die Rolle der Geistwesen in den echten paulinischen Briefen.

Publication of "The Letters of Paul" with revisions & commentary by the original author is an historic event. He who was known as Paul in Christ's time & has throughout the ages been called Hilarion among his colleagues, has long been dismayed by the distortions & deliberate alterations in the letters he wrote. These have had serious effects limiting the teachings of the Christ & the work of his Apostles. Here at last we can begin to glimpse the wider & more inclusive intention of the mission of the Christ. He sought to revise the understanding of the relation of humankind to God & to creation, & to bring all people, not only those later called Christians, into the awareness of love & of the spiritual Self or the Christ within. We learn that Paul ordained a woman as bishop, that he holds no brief for a celibate priesthood, that the laws of cause & effect, & of rebirth were taught by the Christ & his Disciples. Fascinating too are the unknown details of Paul's life - the dangers, the escapes, the experiences in the palace of the Roman Emperor, & ultimately, the execution. Edited by Rev. Lewis E. Durham & Sylvia Moss Schechter.

Michael Lakey explores the theological significance of the rituals of Baptism and the Lord's Supper in Pauline theology, with the argument culminating in an analysis of the significance of ritual dining in 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 and the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. By contrast with 'social world' forms of comparison between rituals in the Pauline communities and other communities in antiquity, this study focuses primarily upon the theologically integrating function these rituals perform in relation to Paul's theology and ethics. Lakey builds upon Clifford Geertz's systemic understanding of religion by showing how, for Paul, Baptism and the Lord's Supper facilitate specific connections between his metaphysics on the one hand, and the form or pattern of life he enjoins upon his churches on the other. This volume considers precisely what - given his theological and ethical premises - Paul's underlying beliefs regarding these ritual events may have been, allowing for a preliminary discussion of specific lines of post-interpretation in the early patristic period.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

In this study, Teresa Morgan offers a radically new interpretation of 'in Christ'and related expressions in the undisputed letters of Paul. Starting from a reassessment of Deissmann's Die neutestamentliche Formel "in Christo Jesu", she argues that Deissmann's philology is flawed, the Schweitzerian concept of 'participation in Christ' which is indebted to it is problematic, and many contemporary accounts of participation are better understood in other terms. Through close readings of each letter, Teresa Morgan shows how Paul uses en Christo language instrumentally, to speak of what God has done 'through' Christ, by Christ's death, and 'encheiristically', to speak of the life the faithful now live 'in Christ's hands': in Christ's power, under his authority, under his protection, and in his care. This creative use of en Christo language forms part of and connects Paul's soteriology, eschatology, and Christology, shaping his narrative of God's intervention in the world, the relationship between God, Christ, and the faithful, the lordship and work of Christ between the resurrection and the parousia, and God's ultimate triumph. This narrative is closely connected with Paul's ecclesiology and ethics, where life 'in Christ's hands' is envisaged as the this-worldly dimension of the new creation: an aspect ofeternal life already active in the present time. In Christ's hands the faithful, not least Paul himself, live a new life in communities with a distinctive structure and dynamic. In Christ's hands, they hope to remain in right-standing with God and serve God until Christ's return.

Building on his own translation from the Greek, Hultgren walks readers through Romans verse by verse, illuminating the text with helpful comments, probing into major puzzles, and highlighting the letter's most inspiring features. He also demonstrates the forward-looking, missional character of Paul's epistle -- written, as Hultgren suggests, to introduce Roman Christians to the major themes of Paul's theology and to inspire in them both confidence in the soundness of his teaching and support for his planned missionary efforts in Spain.