Sacrifice, Brotherhood, and the Body

Patrick McMurray

doi:10.5771/9781978712799

Summary

Sacrifice, Brotherhood, and the Body: Abraham and the Nations in Romans radically reassesses Paul’s use of sacrificial language in light of new developments in our understanding of sacrifice, particularly with regard to its construction of kinship groups. Patrick McMurray argues that Jesus’ death is not presented in sacrificial terms within Romans—rather, Paul’s key invocation of sacrifice comes in 12:1 as applied to the living sacrifice of the gentiles. Here Paul’s pairing of sacrifice with brotherhood builds on his earlier discussion of the Abrahamic lineage and brotherhood with Christ, with this familial membership being ratified and delivered by the living sacrifice of the gentiles themselves. As such, the ethnic and familial function of sacrifice is harnessed by Paul to bring God’s promise to Abraham to fruition, with the gentiles entering the Abrahamic lineage alongside their new brothers the Israelites. Notably, the promise explicitly requires plurality and therefore ethnic variegation within Abraham’s lineage. This new familial membership is profoundly transformative— the consequent influx of the spirit empowering the gentiles to live new lives of love that will fulfill the law (13:8 –10). In Romans, therefore, Christ frees the gentiles and then becomes their brother, facilitating their entry into Abraham’s lineage, thereby bringing the promise to fruition and fulfilling the law.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2021
ISBN-Print: 978-1-9787-1278-2
ISBN-Online: 978-1-9787-1279-9
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 270
Product type: Book Titles

1. Dedication No access
2. Contents No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
1. Rationale No access
2. Our Argument No access
3. Methodology No access
4. To Whom Was Paul Addressing His Message? No access
5. Our Contribution to the Existing Literature No access
6. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Definitions No access
3. Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss No access
4. Walter Burkert No access
5. Nancy Jay No access
6. Caroline Johnson Hodge No access
7. Stanley Stowers No access
8. Catherine Bell No access
9. Daniel Ullucci No access
10. Purity and Sacrifice (Various Authors) No access
11. Conclusion No access
12. Notes No access
1. Introduction: What is the Fundamental Problem that Paul Identifies in Roman 1? No access
2. Paul’s Vital Causation and Logic in Romans 1 No access
3. Conclusion No access
4. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Part One: ἱλαστήριον No access
3. Part Two: Περὶ ἁμαρτίας No access
4. General Conclusion No access
5. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Secondary Literature No access
3. Galatians 3:28–29 No access
4. Romans 1 No access
5. Romans 2 No access
6. Romans 3 No access
7. Romans 4 No access
8. Romans 8 No access
9. Romans 9 No access
10. Romans 10 No access
11. Romans 11 No access
12. Romans 15 No access
13. Romans 16 No access
14. Conclusion: Paul’s Use of Ethnic Categories and Kinship No access
15. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Preliminary Points No access
3. Romans 1 No access
4. Romans 3–5 No access
5. Romans 6 No access
6. Romans 7 No access
7. Romans 8 No access
8. Romans 13 No access
9. Romans 16 No access
10. Conclusion No access
11. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Our Argument No access
3. Romans 12:1 No access
4. Sacrifice and Transformation: Romans 12:2 No access
5. Romans 12 No access
6. Romans 13 No access
7. Sacrifice, Baptism, Death and Resurrection No access
8. Conclusion No access
9. Notes No access
1. Our General Analysis No access
2. Proceeding through Romans 15 No access
3. Conclusion No access
4. Notes No access
1. Notes No access
Bibliography No access Pages 245 - 262
Index No access Pages 263 - 268
About the Author No access Pages 269 - 270