Galatians, the Torah, and the Stoicheia — I. Introduction: You, They, We In Galatians 3–4, Paul makes an argument about the Torah in the context of pagans wanting to take up Torah observance and, in particular, get circumcised (see, e.g., 5:2–3; 6:12–13). Throughout, he uses different pronouns, starting with the second person plural, obviously referring to his pagan audience, the “bewitched” “Galatians”…

From Participation to Participation — Throughout his writings, but especially in Romans 5–8, [1] Paul recounts a story of cosmic proportions [2], a battle between evil and good: Sin and its allies on the one hand, and God, his Messiah and Spirit on the other hand. However, this is not a dualistic worldview, as if…

Universalism in Paul, Pt 3 — For the first article in this series, see “Romans 3 and the Faith of Christ.”, and for the second, see “Romans 5 and the Superiority of Christ”. C. Romans 11 25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel…

Universalism in Paul, Pt 2 — For an introduction to this series and a discussion of the first text, see part 1, “Romans 3 and the Faith of Christ.” B. Romans 5 12 Therefore, just as Sin came into the world through one man, and Death came through Sin, and so Death spread to all because all sinned —…

Universalism in Paul, Part 1 — Christian universalism is the belief that, in the ultimate end, all human beings (or all creatures more broadly) will be saved through Christ. Since this conviction carries with it certain presuppositions and implications, universalism could also be called a theological system. Recent years have seen an uptick in universalists due…

Paul’s Account of Evil Cosmic Forces — In this article, I want to summarize Paul’s account of the cosmos — his cosmology — as it is ruled by malevolent powers in Romans 5–8. In particular, I will focus on the power of hamartia, ‘Sin’ (with a capital S) which dominates Paul’s cosmic scene. This should be distinguished…

Amy Peeler’s recent book (Eerdmans 2022) is one of the best books in recent years on, well, women and the gender of God. It is very well-researched and well-documented (in extensive endnotes); it displays expertise in the fields of both New Testament studies and gender studies; it is sensitive to…

An Unconditional Reading of Romans 5:12–21, Part 1 — Romans 5:12–21 is a very fundamental passage in Paul. It contains his most extended contrast between Christ and Adam (in that order), focussing on ‘the gift’ (charis) versus ‘the trespass’ (parabasis/paraptōma), leading respectively to ‘justification of life’ (dikaiōsis zōēs) and ‘judgment unto condemnation’ (krima eis katakrima). …

Veel theologische systemen in het Westen zijn in de kern contractueel en voorwaardelijk. Dat wil zeggen, de relatie tussen God en de mens wordt gereguleerd door een ‘contract’ dat bepaalde eisen stelt voor beide partijen; als de mens voldoet aan zijn voorwaarden, dan moet God hem belonen; als hij dat…