Son of God in the Roman World
Divine Sonship in its Social and Political Context
Son of God in the Roman World
Divine Sonship in its Social and Political Context
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Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199933655
Published: 18/10/2012
Michael Peppard examines the social and political meaning of divine sonship in the Roman Empire. He begins by analyzing the conceptual framework within which the term "son of God" has traditionally been considered in biblical scholarship. Then, through engagement with recent scholarship in Roman history - including studies of family relationships, imperial ideology, and emperor worship - he offers new ways of interpreting the Christian theological metaphors of "begotten"and "adoptive" sonship. Peppard focuses on social practices and political ideology, revealing that scholarship on divine sonship has been especially hampered by mistaken assumptions about adopted sons. He invites fresh readings of several early Christian texts, from the first Gospel to writings of the fourth century. By re-interpreting several ancient phenomena - particularly divine status, adoption, and baptism - he offers an imaginative refiguring of the Son of God in the Roman world.
"Michael Peppard excavates the pre-Nicene meaning of Jesus as 'son of God, ' showing that Mark's baptism can only be understood through a rethinking of divinity in ancient terms and an appreciation of the imperial title divi filius and adoption as central to the political repertoire of the Roman emperors. This is an engaging and carefully detailed work, indispensable to studying the gospels and the origins of christology."--Mary R. D'Angelo, Associate Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, University of Notre Dame
"How did the earliest believers in Jesus hear and understand his designation as 'son of God?' Peppard's is a 'must-read' book for all interested in this question. Exposing the weakness of scholarly treatments of this first- and second-century idea of divine sonship that resort, anachronistically, to philosophical concepts and terminology from much later church debates and creeds, Peppard retrieves the Roman context in which Christianity originated-especially the father-son theology and ideology of emperor worship. An incisive, compelling argument!"---Robert C. Gregg, Teresa Hihn Moore Professor, Emeritus, Religious Studies, Stanford University
"A solid scholarly contribution to the subject. Peppard situates the concept of 'the son of God' in its original Roman context and steers clear of anachronisms and facile agendas. His study will be a valuable and informed guide for both classical and biblical scholars."
--Karl Galinsky, author of Augustan Culture
"This volume by Peppard demands the attention of scholars of Christian origins, theologians, and classicists."--CHOICE
"This book is a great study. If you want to understand how Jesus is portrayed as the son of God in the Gospel of Mark and earliest Christianity, then forget the christological orthodoxy of Chalcedon, the philosophical foundations of Nicaea, the logos Christologies of John and Justin, and the virgin birth narratives of Matthew and Luke.
