God as Creator in Acts 17:24: An Historical-Exegetical Study

by Jennifer Marie Creamer

Overview

The Areopagus speech of Acts provides a helpful study of how Paul both engaged and confronted the contemporary culture of his day to present the message of Christianity to his hearers in Athens. How does Paul, as a Jew, contextualize the message for his audience of Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens on the topic of God as Creator in Acts 17:24? Paul touches on a subject of contentious debate between Stoics and Epicureans when he identifies God as Creator. Stoics believed in a creating deity, something akin to Plato's demiurge of the Timaeus. Epicureans ridiculed such an idea. By using the identification of God as Creator, Paul engages a common controversy between schools of philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532615375
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	08/25/2017
Series:	Africanus Monograph Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	186
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jennifer Marie Creamer is adjunct professor of New Testament at the Boston campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She has also taught biblical studies with the University of the Nations at various international campuses.

Table of Contents

List of Tables vii

Preface ix

1 Introduction 1

2 Literary Setting and Context of Acts 17:24 6

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Literary Setting

2.2 Literary Context

2.3 Conclusion

3 Semantic Study of "The God Who Made the Heaven and Earth" in Biblical and Extra-Biblical Jewish Literature 42

3.0 Introduction

3.1 Semantic Study of Key Phrases Related to Acts 17:24

3.2 Analysis: Comparison With Acts 17:24

3.3 Conclusion

4 Greek Views of the Creation of the Universe as it Relates to the Deity or Deities in Philosophical Writings Influential in the First Century A.D. 97

4.0 Introduction

4.1 Summary of Scholarship

4.2 Methodology

4.3 Introduction to the Athenian Philosophical Setting

4.4 Origins of the Cosmos

4.5 Relationship of the Gods to the Cosmos

4.6 Summary

5 Conclusion 148

5.1 Summary of Findings

5.2 Theological Reflection

Appendix: Greek Text and Translation of Acts 17:16-34 157

Bibliography 161

Subject Index 173

Ancient Document Index 177

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“One of the most complex and contentious issues facing the church today is related to contextualization and its boundaries. This is true in theology as well as missiology. Questions like: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? We need solid exposition of biblical material that can address principles in these areas more than ever. Dr. Creamer, a New Testament Greek scholar who also worked several years in India, has written a first-rate work.”

—Steve Cochrane, Global Leadership Team, University of the Nations



“In a well-developed argument, Jennifer Creamer demonstrates how Paul (according to Luke) carefully chose vocabulary familiar to his audience, but filled it with Judeo-Christian thought. In his cross-cultural communication, Paul referred to God as Creator in his argument against idolatry. This publication makes a valuable contribution to the scholarly discussion on the contextualization of the topic of God as Creator in Paul’s Areopagus speech as recorded in Acts 17.”

—Francois P. Viljoen, North-West University, RSA



“I highly recommend God as Creator in Acts 17:24 to anyone who wants to know more about the first-century context of the Areopagus speech of Acts 17:24. How did Paul use concepts familiar to Greeks in order to introduce the unfamiliar content of the gospel? . . . This is a careful, detailed, exhaustive, and focused study of the primary sources on this timely topic: the cross-cultural communication of the gospel.”

—Aída Besançon Spencer, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Editorial Reviews

One of the most complex and contentious issues facing the church today is related to contextualization and its boundaries. This is true in theology as well as missiology. Questions like: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? We need solid exposition of biblical material that can address principles in these areas more than ever. Dr. Creamer, a New Testament Greek scholar who also worked several years in India, has written a first-rate work.”

—Steve Cochrane, Global Leadership Team, University of the Nations



“In a well-developed argument, Jennifer Creamer demonstrates how Paul (according to Luke) carefully chose vocabulary familiar to his audience, but filled it with Judeo-Christian thought. In his cross-cultural communication, Paul referred to God as Creator in his argument against idolatry. This publication makes a valuable contribution to the scholarly discussion on the contextualization of the topic of God as Creator in Paul’s Areopagus speech as recorded in Acts 17.”

—Francois P. Viljoen, North-West University, RSA



“I highly recommend God as Creator in Acts 17:24 to anyone who wants to know more about the first-century context of the Areopagus speech of Acts 17:24. How did Paul use concepts familiar to Greeks in order to introduce the unfamiliar content of the gospel? . . . This is a careful, detailed, exhaustive, and focused study of the primary sources on this timely topic: the cross-cultural communication of the gospel.”

—Aída Besançon Spencer, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

From the Publisher