The Lord of the Entire World by Joseph D Fantin
How would the confession, 'Jesus is Lord', have been understood in the first-century Roman world? Was it more than a statement of one's devotion to Jesus? Was it also an implicit challenge to the living Caesar, the lord of the Roman empire? There were many lords in the first century and the use of the title kyrios was complex. Clearly Paul was influenced by the use of this title for Yahweh in the Greek Old Testament. But he was also part of a culture in which the title was used for many persons, including fathers, slave owners, government officials-and the emperor. However, the title kyrios was used sparingly of emperors in the early and mid-first century. On the basis of the extant evidence, scholars since Deissmann have come to differing conclusions as to whether a challenge to the emperor is contained in the phrase. Fantin proposes a more powerful method of resolving the question, drawing upon the insights of relevance theory. He examines a whole range of persons referred to with this title, and evaluates the potential influence of such contexts on Paul's usage. Only then is it possible to draw compelling conclusions on whether any challenge is likely to be implied. In The Lord of the Entire World, Fantin shows that the living Caesar was indeed acknowledged in Paul's time as the supreme lord of the Roman world. Key New Testament texts such as Romans 10.9, 1 Corinthians 8.6 and Philippians 2.11 show that in all likelihood the Christian confession was in fact a challenge to imperial authority.
The Author: Joseph D. Fantin is Associate Professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary where he earned his Ph.D. writing a dissertation on the Greek imperative mood. He also earned his M.A. in linguistics at Michigan State University and an additional Ph.D. at the University of Sheffield writing in the area of the Greco-Roman contexts of Paul. Fantin's research interests include the first-century world, Greek language and linguistics, exegetical method, and exegesis of the prison epistles. Fantin is the author of The Lord of the Entire World: Lord Jesus, A Challenge to Lord Caesar? (forthcoming).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781907534126 |
| ISBN 10 | 1907534121 |
| Title | The Lord of the Entire World |
| Author | Joseph D Fantin |
| Series | New Testament Monographs |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Sheffield Phoenix Press |
| Year published | 2011-07-31 |
| Number of pages | 354 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |