"Max J. Lee examines the philosophies of Platonism and Stoicism during the Greco-Roman era and their rivals including Diaspora Judaism and Pauline Christianity on how to transform a person's character from vice to virtue. He describes each philosophical school's respective teachings on diverse moral topoi such as emotional control, ethical action and habit, character formation, training, mentorship, and deity." --provided by publisher

The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters is a one-of-a-kind reference work. No other resource presents as much information focused exclusively on Pauline theology, literature, background, and scholarship. This second edition is a thoroughly revised and updated version of the acclaimed 1993 publication. Since that groundbreaking volume was published, developments in Pauline studies have continued at a rapid pace, with diverse new scholars entering the conversation, new ideas and methods gaining attention, and fresh expressions of old topics shaping the present discussion. Those who enjoyed and benefited from the wealth in the first edition will find this new edition an equally indispensable and freshly up-to-date companion to study and research. Classic topics such as Christology, justification, hermeneutics, and book studies of individual epistles receive careful treatment by specialists in the field. Topics new to this edition—including Paul and politics, patronage, and interpretations from various historical and cultural perspectives—expand the volume's breadth and usefulness. Over 95% of the articles have been written specifically for this edition. This work bridges the gap between scholars and pastors, teachers and students, and all interested readers who want a thorough treatment of key topics in a summary format. In curating and compiling these articles, the editors have sought to make them comprehensive, accessible, and useful for those pursuing further research on particular subjects. Each article's bibliography, in addition, will serve a new generation of readers for years to come. The updated Dictionary of Paul and His Letters takes its place alongside the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 2nd ed., and the other volumes in the IVP Bible Dictionary Series as a unique presentation of the fruit of biblical studies—committed to Scripture, using the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialogue with both contemporary scholarship and the challenges facing the church. The reference volumes in the series provide in-depth treatment of biblical and theological topics in an accessible encyclopedia format, including cross-sectional themes, methods of interpretation, significant historical or cultural background, and each Old and New Testament book as a whole.

This study argues that the language of “death” as a present human plight in Romans 5–8 is best understood against the background of Hellenistic moral-psychological discourse, in which “death” refers to a state of moral bondage in which a person’s rational will is dominated by passions associated with the body. It is death of this sort, rather than human mortality or a cosmic power called “Death,” that entered the world through the transgression of Adam and Eve in Eden. Moral death was imposed on humanity as a judgment against this initial transgression, in order to increase sinful behavior, which ultimately serves to increase the magnitude of the glorious revelation of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Likewise, creation’s subjection to “corruption” and “futility” in Romans 8 involves the detrimental effects of human moral corruption, not the physical corruption of death and decay. Ultimately, the plight on which Paul focuses much of his attention throughout Rom 5–8 is a matter of morality, not mortality.

Practicing Intertextuality attempts something bold and ambitious: to map both the interactions and intertextual techniques used by New Testament authors as they engaged the Old Testament and the discourses of their fellow Jewish and Greco-Roman contemporaries. This collection of essays functions collectively as a handbook describing the relationship between ancient authors, their texts, and audience capacity to detect allusions and echoes. Aimed for biblical studies majors, graduate and seminary students, and academics, the book catalogues how New Testament authors used the very process of interacting with their Scriptures (that is, the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, and their variants) and the texts of their immediate environment (including popular literary works, treatises, rhetorical handbooks, papyri, inscriptions, artifacts, and graffiti) for the very production of their message. Each chapter demonstrates a type of interaction (that is, doctrinal reformulations, common ancient ethical and religious usage, refutation, irenic appropriation, and competitive appropriation), describes the intertextual technique(s) employed by the ancient author, and explains how these were practiced in Jewish, Greco-Roman, or early Christian circles. Seventeen scholars, each an expert in their respective fields, have contributed studies which illuminate the biblical interpretation of the Gospels, the Pauline letters, and General Epistles through the process of intertextuality.

Discover good news for the Christian life Understand how Christ has defeated sin's power Identify the "wretch" in Romans 7 Is the Christian battle against sin a long defeat? In Conquerors, Not Captives, Joseph R. Dodson and Mattie Mae Motl challenge the popular view that Romans 7:14–25 describes the typical Christian battle against sin. The "wretched man" of Romans 7 seems unable to do what God's law demands and, for many Christians, his inner conflict and turmoil seem all too relatable. But are we impotent before sin and powerless to do good? When we reexamine Romans 7 in light of Paul's writings elsewhere and his interpreters throughout church history, we encounter better news. emConquerors, Not Captives is an accessible and thoughtful study that rebukes our gloomy expectations and invites us to take seriously the Bible's assurances that the Holy Spirit frees us from sin's power.

A bold new reading of 1 Corinthians in light of Greco-Roman philosophy The First Letter to the Corinthians begins with an admonishment of the church over their internal division and reliance on human wisdom. What exactly occasioned Paul’s advice has perennially troubled New Testament scholars. Many scholars have asserted that Paul disapproved of the Corinthians’ infatuation with rhetoric. Yet careful exegesis of the epistle problematizes this consensus. Timothy A. Brookins unsettles common assumptions about the Corinthian conflict in this innovative monograph. His close reading of 1 Corinthians 1–4 presents evidence that the Corinthian problem had roots in Stoicism. The wisdom Paul alludes to is not sophistry, but a Stoic-inspired understanding of natural hierarchy, in which the wise put themselves above believers they considered spiritually underdeveloped. Moreover, Paul’s followers saw themselves as a philosophical school in rivalry with other Christians, engendering divisions in the church. Combining scriptural exegesis and investigation of Greco-Roman philosophical culture, Brookins reconstructs the social sphere of Corinth that Paul addresses in his letter. His masterful analysis provides much needed clarity on the context of a major epistle and on Pauline theology more broadly.

Moral Conversion in Scripture, Self, and Society offers a broad – historical, theological, and philosophical – reflection on the phenomenon of moral conversion. Examining life-changing transformations within trajectories of spiritual and moral growth, the contributors to this volume show how individuals move, or should move, in one way or another, away from the pursuit of solipsistic satisfactions, through the practice of self-awareness and the performance of social attentiveness, toward the prioritization of shared values. Together, they address the difficulty of realizing in selves and societies some sort of definitive moral conversion – of final turn toward the truly good. Contributors are: David Couturier, Matthew Dugandzic, Erik Eynikel, Aaron Gies, Patrick Jones, Angela Knobel, Daniel Lightsey, Peter Lovas, Giulia Lovison, Krijn Pansters, Hanna Roose, Anton ten Klooster, Willem Marie Speelman, Mark Therrien, Luke Togni, Brian Treanor, Louke van Wensveen, Archibald van Wieringen, and Jamie Washam.