Matthew's Corporate Vision among the Greco-Roman Associations
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Beschreibung
Rodney Kilgore reveals how the Gospel of Matthew's social vision comes into sharper focus when read alongside Greco-Roman associational texts. Addressing themes of honor, status, divine presence, and morality, he explores how Matthew's earliest audiences understood the Gospel in light of associational culture(s) of the first centuries.
Since the emergence of social-scientific criticism within biblical studies and the field's increasing interest in social history, beginning largely in the 1970s, scholars have increasingly recognized the value of using Greco-Roman associations and their inscriptions to help reveal the social realities behind the texts of the New Testament. In particular, significant work has been done analyzing the Pauline epistles through the lens of associations and associational research. However, less work has been applied to studying the canonical Gospels in light of potentially salient associational data. Rodney Kilgore contributes to filling this lacuna by analyzing the Gospel of Matthew's social vision in light of those social visions presented within the diversity (and sometimes unity) of associational texts. Specifically, he uses comparison and historical analysis to address three social motifs central to both Matthew's Gospel and associational texts: 1) honor, status, and hierarchy; 2) experience and interaction with the divine; and 3) behavioral expectations. In exploring these motifs, the author brings to light points of similarity and difference, noting the various ways in which Matthew's Gospel may have challenged, comforted, repelled, attracted, unsettled, resonated with or otherwise affected those of Matthew's earliest audiences, many of whom likely came from backgrounds deeply influenced by associational life. Ultimately, the author argues that Matthew's Gospel both resonates with aspects common to the first-century associational experience (e.g., the shared desire for and strategies used to encounter the divine) and diverges from others (e.g., Matthew's distinct approach to honor and status). Likely, many persons encountering Matthew's Gospel for the first time, especially those from non-Jewish backgrounds, would have found much of the message to be unusual, even while some aspects were quite familiar.
Autor*in
Rodney Kilgore
Born 1983; 2023 PhD from Baylor University; Assistant Professor of New Testament at Anderson University (IN).
Themen in »Matthew's Corporate Vision among the Greco-Roman Associations«
associational life behavioral norms comparative analysis divine encounter early Christian communities first-century society Gospel studies Greco-Roman associations hierarchy historical context honor and status Matthew New Testament social history social motifs