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The Offering of the Gentiles: Paul's Collection for Jerusalem in Its Chronological, Cultural, and Cultic Contexts

by David J. Downs

  • Paperback
  • 219 pages
  • Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
  • 15.6 x 24.7 x 1.1 cm

£79.34

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For theology students and New Testament researchers

Explains the cultural context of Paul’s Jerusalem fund

Gain a new perspective on how your giving honours God

Discover how the apostle Paul transformed the economic act of fundraising into a profound expression of worship to God.

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Money mattered to the apostle Paul. One economic endeavor of signal importance for Paul was the monetary fund that he organized among the largely Gentile congregations of his mission for the Jewish-Christian community in Jerusalem.David J. Downs investigates this offering from a variety of angles. He begins with an attempt to piece together a relative chronological account, based primarily on information from Paul's epistles, of the apostle's fundraising efforts on behalf of the Jerusalem church. After reconstructing this complex story, Downs examines the socio-cultural context of the collection, focusing on analogous forms of giving among ancient pagan and Jewish voluntary associations, including practices of benefaction, common funds, care for the poor, and translocal economic links among these associations. With this chronological and socio-cultural context in mind, the author then explores Paul's use of several cultic metaphors to frame the contribution as a religious offering consecrated to God. Drawing on recent work in the field of metaphor theory, Downs contends that Paul metaphorically frames his readers' responsive participation in the collection as an act of cultic worship, thus underscoring the point that the fulfillment of mutual obligations within the community of believers results in praise, not human benefactors, but to God, the one from whom all benefactions come. This rhetorical strategy suggests that even the very human action of raising money for those in material need originates in the grace ( charis ) of God and will eventuate in thanksgiving ( charis ) to God (2 Cor 9:14-15).
The Offering of the Gentiles: Paul's Collection for Jerusalem in Its Chronological, Cultural, and Cultic Contexts and Introducing the New Testament, 2nd Ed.: Its Literature and Theology
Introducing the New Testament, 2nd Ed.: Its Literature and TheologyThe Offering of the Gentiles: Paul's Collection for Jerusalem in Its Chronological, Cultural, and Cultic Contexts

  • Title

    The Offering of the Gentiles: Paul's Collection for Jerusalem in Its Chronological, Cultural, and Cultic Contexts

  • Author

    David J. Downs

  • Book Format

    Paperback

  • Publisher

    Mohr Siebeck

  • Published

    December 2008

  • Weight

    346g

  • Page Count

    219

  • Dimensions

    15.6 x 24.7 x 1.1 cm

  • ISBN

    9783161496073

  • ISBN-10

    3161496078

  • Eden Code

    4930502

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