The Letter of James and Middle Platonism: Tracing Early Christian Engagements with Greek Philosophy

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.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• List, Nicholas

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Van Kooten, George

• Letter of James
• Platonism
• Greek Philosophy
• New Testament

Licence

• https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/f4a86055-4248-4285-b582-0e36fd83f24a/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.118329

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/384279