We are back in the Greek-speaking Jewish diaspora, with the apostle Paul. And we are back in the world of Jewish apocalyptic traditions, which problematized the normal paganism of Gentiles. What place for non-Jews in God’s kingdom did such traditions hold? We will see how Paul’s message was shaped by the conventions of ancient ethnography, which held that different ethnic groups were as they were “by nature” (Paul’s phrasing). We will see how Paul envisaged pagans becoming ex-pagans by altering their nature (physis) through the infusion of Christ’s spirit (pneuma), in preparation for final redemption. We will see how and why such a mission to Gentiles to turn them to Israel’s god was an improvised response to the experience of the risen Christ. And we will explore the various responses that developing Christianities had to the delay of the Kingdom’s coming. A recording of Lecture Four - The End, and New Beginnings This article was published on Thursday 13 August 2026
