Gods and the One God (1986 Grant), book
Gods and the One God: Christian Theology in the Graeco-Roman World (1986) is a book by Robert M. Grant.
Abstract
By breaking down the barriers between the diverse, yet interrelated, academic disciplines of Roman history, New Testament, Second Temple Period Judaism, early Christianity, and Patristics, Grant's innovative approach seeks to understand the rise of Christian monotheistic and ultimately trinitarian beliefs within the context of the pagan polytheism of the Greco-Roman world. Starting with the idealized picture found in the Acts of the Apostles, where the speeches of Paul seek to convert Pagan polytheists to belief in the 'One God of Israel,' Grant systematically illumines how the ambiguities in Pagan religion were much more complex than the Pauline sermons in Act suggest. Through a survey of Greco-Roman religions, deities, and cultic worship practices, Grant shows that the lines between the gods and humans were often blurred, both with daimones of various ranks and with great human figures, such as Augustus, from time to time becoming deified. Ultimately, he argues that there were many more converges between a particular type of Greco-Roman thought, Middle-Platonism, and Christianity than had previously been acknowledge. To demonstrate this point, Grant unpacks the similarities between Plato's thought, especially in Timeus, as well as Philo, Plutarch, and others who articulated a similar worldview where their was a clear distinction between the supreme ineffable god and a demiurge, or second god, who was instrumental in creation. Playing off of this, as well as wisdom language found in Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon, and Sirach, Grant demonstrates how similar these Middleplatonic belief systems were to the way that both the New Testament, especially Paul and John, as well as several of the early Church Fathers describe Jesus. After unpacking the way that several of the early Church fathers described Jesus, Grant asserts, that "before Nicea, Christian theology was virtually subordinationist" showing their dependance upon Greek philosophical thought. For Grant, it was only at Nicea itself, and in the process of the Arian controversy, that Jesus, as God, was defined on an equal level with the Father. ~Deborah Forger
Editions and translations
Published in London [England]: SPCK; and Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1986.
Table of contents
- Preface
- Part One: Early Christians and Pagan Gods
- 1. Gods in the Book of Acts
- 2. Mediterranean Religions Westward
- Part Two: Praise and Denunciation of the Gods
- 3. Christian Missionaries Against Idolatry
- 4. Functions of Gods and Goddesses
- 5. The Deeds of Individual Gods and Heroes
- Part Three: Basic Doctrines
- 6. The Philosophical Doctrine of God
- 7. Christian Doctrines of God
- 8. Christ: Deeds and Names
- 9. The Comic Christ
- 10. Divergent Christologies at Antioch
- 11. Also the Holy Spirit
- 12. Three Gods in One
- 13. Creeds and Cult