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" Paul against the idols: The Areopagus speech and religious inclusivism "
Flavien Olivier Cedric Pardigon
W. Edgar
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Latin Dissertation
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English
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| Record Number
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53683
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TL23637
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| Call number
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3318692
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| Main Entry
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Flavien Olivier Cedric Pardigon
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| Title & Author
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Paul against the idols: The Areopagus speech and religious inclusivism\ Flavien Olivier Cedric Pardigon
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| College
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Westminster Theological Seminary
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| Date
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2008
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Ph.D.
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2008
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384
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| Abstract
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This dissertation is a study of Acts 17:16-34 in response to the claims made by religious inclusivists such as Clark H. Pinnock, who teach that Christian salvation is available outside of the Christian church. This Lukan passage has been interpreted as depicting a positive and inclusive view of other religions on the part of the apostle Paul, mostly on the basis of the work of Martin Dibelius, Hans Conzelmann, and Ernst Haenchen. The New Testament scholarship on Acts has grown in its appreciation of Luke as a theologian in his own right and as a skilled writer, as well as a Christian who is steeped in the Greek OT Scriptures. His primary focus in Luke-Acts is ecclesiological, though his motivation is soteriological and pastoral. His theology centers around the sovereign God of the OT Scriptures who rules history according to his plan (βoνλ[special characters omitted]) and fulfilled in an eschatological manner his work of salvation on behalf of his people, Israel, through Messiah Jesus. Though the language of the speech is clearly Hellenistic, its content and argument is profoundly and uncompromisingly biblical. Acts 17:16-34 is an important part of Luke's story for it provides a climactic point to the spread of the word to the end of the earth. The speech, together with its narrative framework, is the most important and complete presentation of Luke's anti-idol polemic. It presents the apostle Paul as the Isaianic Servant of the Lord who serves as witness for Yahweh's eschatological lawsuit against the idols. When the Areopagitica is studied in the light of its OT background, it becomes very clear that it is not supporting inclusivistic theses regarding non-Christian religions. Paul's message is one of absolute condemnation of idolatry, the only alternative to the Christian faith. Hence, Paul is a preacher of eschatological judgment opening the way of salvation to those who are slaves to idols by his call to repentance. In the end, the Areopagus speech and narrative provide the foundations for and the basic contours of a genuinely biblical theology of religions.
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Philosophy, religion and theology; Acts of the Apostles; Areopagus speech; Inclusivism; Lukan theology; NT--Acts; Paul, the Apostle, Saint; Pinnock, Clark H.; Religious pluralism; Religion; Biblical studies; Theology; 0321:Biblical studies; 0469:Theology; 0318:Religion
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W. Edgar
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Westminster Theological Seminary
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