The Pauline and Johannine Idea of ‘to Know God’ against the Hellenistic Background
The broad title of this article can be misleading. That is the reason why I have added a sub-title pointing out that I am not going to present a study of the whole complex of ideas connected with the Pauline and Johannine concept ‘to know God’. Because of the limited space that an article offers suc...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
[1968]
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| In: |
New Testament studies
Year: 1968, Volume: 14, Issue: 2, Pages: 209-231 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | The broad title of this article can be misleading. That is the reason why I have added a sub-title pointing out that I am not going to present a study of the whole complex of ideas connected with the Pauline and Johannine concept ‘to know God’. Because of the limited space that an article offers such a study could hardly be a complete one, and, in any case, the fine analyses of the knowledge of God in Paul and John which already exist make it unnecessary. As the sub-title indicates, my intention is to discuss one point only in this field, namely the Greek philosophical principle ‘like by like’ as an essential element in John's and Paul's understanding of how one gets to know God, and thus to contribute to the discussion of how the Hellenistic way of thinking influenced them or rather how two outstanding Early Church theologians adapted their argumentation to a Hellenistic pattern. By analysing primarily the two passages I Cor. ii. 6-16 and John i. 1-18 and interpreting them in the light of the Greek principle, it will be clear that the authors of these passages were familiar with the principle. It might seem strange to choose these two passages that are very much debated as chief sources of an exposition of such a complicated idea as ‘to know God’, particularly as at first sight the idea does not appear to be the most important one in I Cor. ii and the conclusive verb γινώσκειν occurs only once in the Prologue, i. 10. Nevertheless I think that both passages give evidence of a usage of (or an adaptation of the theological reasoning for) the principle ‘like by like’. This has not been stressed sufficiently in earlier studies. |
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| ISSN: | 0028-6885 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: New Testament studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0028688500018622 |