We Are Being Transformed: Deification in Paul's Soteriology PDF
Preview We Are Being Transformed: Deification in Paul's Soteriology
M.David Litwa We Are Being Transformed Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:36 AM Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche Herausgegeben von James D. G. Dunn · Carl R.Holladay Hermann Lichtenberger · Jens Schröter Gregory E. Sterling · Michael Wolter Band 187 De Gruyter Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:36 AM M. David Litwa We Are Being Transformed Deification in Paul’s Soteriology De Gruyter Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:36 AM ISBN 978-3-11-028331-0 e-ISBN 978-3-11-028341-9 ISSN 0171-6441 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData ACIPcatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenappliedforattheLibraryofCongress. BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailedbibliographicdataareavailableintheInternetathttp://dnb.d-nb.de. (cid:2)2012WalterdeGruyterGmbH&Co.KG,Berlin/Boston Printing:Hubert&Co.GmbH&Co.KG,Göttingen (cid:2)Printedonacid-freepaper PrintedinGermany www.degruyter.com Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:36 AM For my mother Oct 25, 1950–Aug 4, 2011 You left so soon Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:36 AM “The purpose and goal of the Greeks is to deify man, not to humanize deity. This is not anthropomorphism but theomorphism.” —Goethe, Myrons Kuh (1812) Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:36 AM Preface Thismonographistheproductofseveralyearsofreflectiononthetopic of deification in the Greco-Roman world and in early Christianity. My intent is to be historical throughout, although the nature of the project involves me in some theological judgments. Nevertheless, my honest desire is not to do (modern) theology, but to understand ancient theol- ogy and soteriology in its first-century Greco-Roman context. My as- piration has been to hear the larger symphony of deification playing in the Greco-Roman world as I listen to the individual melody of deifica- tion in its Jewish and Christian subcultures. Today, biblical scholarship on deification is more or less dominated bytheologicaldiscourseandpresuppositions.Inthisclimate,itistempt- ingtosimplyfocusonChristianformsofdeificationwhentreatingPaul. I am convinced, however, that scholars will never understand Paul and deification until they open themselves up to honest historical inquiry aboutother,largerdiscoursesofdeificationintheGreco-Romanworld. Thisopeningupisimportantbecausemostbiblicalscholarsandthe- ologians tend tosee non-Christian forms of deification through the lens of polemical Jewish and Christian sources (e.g., Wisdom, Philo, later Greek and Latin patristic writers). Such Jewish and Christian sources tend to use hackneyed forms of Euhemerism and later theological dis- tinctions to neutralize and eliminate forms of deification they perceive as “pagan” and “idolatrous.” Unfortunately, some biblical scholars and theologianshaveadoptedtheviewpointof theseauthorswhenspeaking of non-Christian forms of deification (such as in Greek philosophy and therulercult). Leavinglargelyunexplored thevastamount ofepigraph- ical and literary evidence witnessing to non-Christian forms of deifica- tion, Christians scholars continue to quickly (and sometimes smugly) dismiss these “pagan” forms of deification as in no way related to puri- fied and Christianized versions. If we are going to achieve a truly historical understanding of deifi- cation in the Greco-Roman world (including Christian deification), it seems to me that scholars need to be more sympathetic to ancient forms of thought. In modern theology, the very way we think about humansandGod(s)tendstoprecludedeification.Thisisnot,Icontend, Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:37 AM VIII Preface how ancient people (including ancient Jews and Christians) thought. We need new eyes for this topic, and supple minds to understand an- cient conceptions. In this study I try—as best I can—to peer behind centuries of Christian theological discourse about deification. But the road is hard. Some of the texts are scattered and unfamiliar. My argu- ment requires deep and sympathetic listening to Greco-Roman sources and the careful reconstruction of ancient modes of thought. I fear that the one who reads only one or two chapters that focus merely on Paul will fail to grasp my argument as a whole. The best reader of this study is the one who will bracket later theological distinctions (e.g., the essence/energies distinction, synergy vs. sola gratia, “natural” vs. adoptive sonship) in an effort to look at the evidence afresh and with an open mind. Every author desires such readers, but the contro- versial nature of this study requires that I must ask for them. The specific theological objections to deification are well known to me (exclusivist monotheism and creatio ex nihilo). I wait to address these topics in the final chapters (8–9). I would ask that the reader carefully read my approach (in the introduction) and my arguments (chs. 1–7) before tackling these later essays. Inthisstudy,mypracticeistocitetheOldTestamentusingtheSep- tuagint (LXX) version. Even though our modern critical reconstruc- tions of the LXX cannot be equated with the text of Paul’s Bible, theLXXisstillclosertoitswordingandsensethanmodernEnglishver- sions that try to represent the Masoretic Text. Even though I believe that Paul could read Hebrew, it seems that the Bible he used and most often cited in his letters was a form of the LXX. Therefore, as part of the discipline of reading Paul in his larger context, I quote from this version. Accordingly, verse numbers are given according to the LXX. Where the versification differs, the English versification is given alongside in parentheses or brackets. The translations of the LXX are my own. I owe many debts of gratitude to those who throughout the years have aided or challenged me on this project. The intellectual environ- ment at the University of Virginia is very free and rich thanks to open- minded professors like Harry Gamble, Judith Kovacs, and Martien Hal- vorson-Taylor. I have deep appreciation for Michael Gorman who has been open-minded toward my project (though it differs in approach from his own). His comments on an earlier draft of this book were thoughtful and decisive on several issues. Stephan Finlan took time out of his busy schedule to raise a couple red flags. I especially thank Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:37 AM Preface IX my friends Andrew Guffey and Blaire French for reading and thought- fully commenting on select chapters of this work. Professor Engberg- Pedersen provided time at the 2011 SBL to meet with me and discuss ideas related to the book. Ben Blackwell was kind enough to send me the manuscript of his monograph before it was published. Although I cannot agree with Blackwell on many points, for me this only deepens and adds color to our continued intellectual friendship. As I have told him, I think that in the end our approaches are complimentary. My deepest thanks go to my wife who through our nearly six years of mar- riage has kindly supported my studies. She is the breath in my nostrils, and the peace in my heart. Thisbookisdedicatedtomymother,whoseearlypassingprevented her from seeing it through topublication. Mayyou restin peace, mom. Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:37 AM Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/23/14 11:37 AM
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