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First Theologians

Name: First Theologians
Price: 24.06 GBP
Availability: InStock
Author: Thomas W. Gillespie
ISBN: 9780802839794

A Study in Early Christian Prophecy

by Thomas W. Gillespie

Paperback
304 pages
Publisher: Eerdmans Publishing Company
15.1 x 22.7 x 2.2 cm

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For scholars and enthusiasts of early Christian studies

Clarifies the nature and function of early Christian prophecy

You will gain deeper insights into the first theologians

This book explores the role of early Christian prophets in shaping theology.

Our Mission

Equipping you for life's journey with Jesus:

Now a team of 60 – we've been serving the Church since 2004
Together we've raised over £1,000,000 for UK Christian charities
25,000 churches are using the Eden Plus account

Free delivery on orders over £10

_This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable._The First Theologians represents an important contribution to the scholarly investigation of the nature and function of early Christian prophecy. This topic, occasioned by Harnack's publication of The Didache text in 1884, is one that continues to vex New Testament scholars, who have been unable to reach widespread assent on certain pressing questions: What were the function and location of the prophets in early Christianity? What were the nature and authority of their prophesying? What were the forms and content of their prophecy? Such questions point up the issues involved in the inquiry as it has developed, but the question of just what early Christian prophets were doing when they were prophesying remains open. Thomas Gillespie refocuses the issue by looking at the apostle Paul's own description of the prophetic phenomenon in 1 Corinthians. From a careful exegesis of Paul's arguments in chapters 12 and 14 and 2:6-16, Gillespie puts forth the idea that Paul understood Christian prophecy "as Spirit-inspired interpretation of the theological and ethical implications of the apostolic kerygma." Because prophecy represents primary reflection on the implications of the gospel, its yield may be termed theology. Therefore Gillespie is able to call the early Christian prophets the first true theologians of the church.