{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/384279"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/384279","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Letter of James and Middle Platonism: Tracing Early Christian Engagements with Greek Philosophy","abstract":"This thesis situates the letter of James within the philosophical context of Greco-Roman antiquity, and argues that what are typically seen as Jewish “Wisdom themes” in the letter should instead be understood in terms of Greek philosophical discourse. Through comparative analysis, it shows that the central concerns in the letter of James, including issues of theodicy, economics, and speech ethics, are developed using the ideas, language and logic of Greek philosophy. This matters because it provides new evidence for the widespread popularity of the Platonic tradition among Christians in the first/second century, while also resolving numerous issues in the history of interpretation for the letter of James. This approach further expands our horizon of expectations for the letter, offering a historical contextualisation that is attentive to the place of Judaism and Christianity within the Greco-Roman world.","abstract_html":"This thesis situates the letter of James within the philosophical context of Greco-Roman antiquity, and argues that what are typically seen as Jewish “Wisdom themes” in the letter should instead be understood in terms of Greek philosophical discourse. Through comparative analysis, it shows that the central concerns in the letter of James, including issues of theodicy, economics, and speech ethics, are developed using the ideas, language and logic of Greek philosophy. This matters because it provides new evidence for the widespread popularity of the Platonic tradition among Christians in the first/second century, while also resolving numerous issues in the history of interpretation for the letter of James. This approach further expands our horizon of expectations for the letter, offering a historical contextualisation that is attentive to the place of Judaism and Christianity within the Greco-Roman world.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["List, Nicholas"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Van Kooten, George"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-12-15","date_published":"2024-12-15","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:23Z","subjects":["Letter of James","Platonism","Greek Philosophy","New Testament"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/f4a86055-4248-4285-b582-0e36fd83f24a/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.118329","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Van Kooten, George"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["University of Cambridge Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["List, Nicholas"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-12-15"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/384279"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Letter of James","Platonism","Greek Philosophy","New Testament"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/f4a86055-4248-4285-b582-0e36fd83f24a/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargodate","label":"Dc Rights Embargodate","values":["2026-05-20"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargotype","label":"Dc Rights Embargotype","values":["embargo"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.118329"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/00788204-1d22-4ec9-9ebc-f1918e548558/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis situates the letter of James within the philosophical context of Greco-Roman antiquity, and argues that what are typically seen as Jewish “Wisdom themes” in the letter should instead be understood in terms of Greek philosophical discourse. 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