Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-v2bm5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-12T21:42:42.876Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - Why Were People Attracted to Paul’s Good News?

from Part III - Paul’s Theological Discourse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2020

By
David G. Horrell
Edited by
Bruce W. Longenecker
Bruce W. Longenecker
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Texas
Get access

Summary

The possible reasons why people were attracted to Paul’s message have been rather neglected in Pauline studies but are important to consider. However, we need to approach the task cautiously and make careful comparisons, for various reasons, not least to avoid any presumptions of Christian superiority. Possible reasons for the appeal of Paul’s “good news” are considered, ranging from more theological or religious reasons, such as escape from divine wrath and mystical experience, to more personal and social ones, such as Paul’s charisma and zeal, and community meals and mutual support.

Keywords

JudaismIsisMithrasattractionsconversionmission,
Type
Chapter
Information
The New Cambridge Companion to St. Paul , pp. 260 - 277
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Beard, Mary, North, John, and Price, Simon. Religions of Rome: Vol 1: A History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.Google Scholar
Bird, Michael F. Crossing over Sea and Land: Jewish Missionary Activity in the Second Temple Period. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2010.Google Scholar
Bremmer, Jan. Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burkert, Walter. Ancient Mystery Cults. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Clauss, Manfred. The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and His Mysteries. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Donaldson, Terence L. Judaism and the Gentiles: Jewish Patterns of Universalism (to 135 CE). Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Duff, Paul B. Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017.Google Scholar
Hurtado, Larry W. Why on Earth Did Anyone Become a Christian in the First Three Centuries. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 2016.Google Scholar
Longenecker, Bruce W. Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty, and the Greco-Roman World. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010.Google Scholar
Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.Google Scholar
Meyer, Marvin W., ed. The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook. San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row, 1987.Google Scholar
Mitchell, Stephen, and Van Nuffelen, Peter, eds. One God: Pagan Monotheism in the Roman Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turcan, Robert. The Gods of Ancient Rome: Religion in Everyday Life from Archaic to Imperial Times. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Wendt, Heidi. At the Temple Gates: The Religion of Freelance Experts in the Roman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×