Jesus and Philosophy
New Essays

This book considers Jesus' contribution and significance to philosophy in historical and intellectual contexts.

Paul K. Moser (Edited by)

9780521873369, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 October 2008

248 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.54 kg

"...all the essays are valuable reading for philosophers, theologians, and biblical scholars. Recommended." --Choice

What, if anything, does Jesus of Nazareth have to do with philosophy? This question motivates this collection of essays from leading theologians, philosophers, and biblical scholars. Part I portrays Jesus in his first-century intellectual and historical context, attending to intellectual influences and contributions and contemporaneous similar patterns of thought. Part II examines how Jesus influenced two of the most prominent medieval philosophers. It considers the seeming conceptual shift from Hebraic categories of thought to distinctively Greco-Roman ones in later Christian philosophers. Part III considers the significance of Jesus for some prominent contemporary philosophical topics, including epistemology and the meaning of life. The focus is not so much on how 'Christianity' figures in such topics as on how Jesus makes distinctive contributions to them.

Introduction: Jesus and philosophy Paul K. Moser
Part I. Jesus in His First-Century Context: 1. Jesus: sources and self-understanding Craig A. Evans
2. Sipping from the cup of wisdom James L. Crenshaw
3. The Jesus of the Gospels and philosophy Luke T. Johnson
4. Paul, the mind of Christ, and philosophy Paul W. Gooch
Part II. Jesus in Medieval Philosophy: 5. Jesus and Augustine Gareth B. Matthews
6. Jesus and Aquinas Brian Leftow
Part III. Jesus in Contemporary Philosophy: 7. The epistemology of Jesus: an initial investigation William J. Abraham
8. Paul Ricoeur: a biblical philosopher on Jesus David F. Ford
9. Jesus and forgiveness Nicholas Wolterstorff
10. Jesus Christ and the meaning of life Charles Taliaferro.

Subject Areas: Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], Philosophy [HP]