Paul and Image: Reading First Corinthians in Visual Terms

(Hardback)

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In Paul and Image, Philip Erwin challenges conventional interpretations of 1 Corinthians that tend to overlook the significance of ancient Roman visual culture in framing and posing exegetical questions. He argues that in 1 Corinthians Paul engaged in a long-standing philosophical discussion of visual representation, with consequential implications for how he and his Corinthian addressees interacted with the imagery around them. By situating Pauls letter in the context of the critical discourse on visual representation from Plato to Philo to the so-called Second Sophistic, Erwin redefines Pauls critique of human wisdom, treatment of idols, and resurrection discourse in visual terms.

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Philip Erwin convincingly demonstrates that Pauls first letter to the Corinthians engages a pervasive critical-philosophical discourse on images and the visual arts. By showing how this discourse is at the same time conceptual and interactive, as confirmed by its engagement with actual works of art at Corinth, Erwin has set a new paradigm for Pauline studies. -- John R. Clarke, University of Texas at Austin

Author Bio

Philip Erwin (Ph.D, Graduate Theological Union) is a scholar of the New Testament whose research focuses on the relationship between the letters of Paul and the material and discursive elements of ancient Greco-Roman visual culture.