Description:
The notion of faith experienced a remarkable surge in popularity among early Christians, with Paul as its pioneer. Yet what was the wider cultural significance of the pistis word group? This comprehensive work contextualizes Paul's faith language within Graeco-Roman cultural discourses, highlighting its semantic multifariousness and philosophical potential. Based on an innovative combination of cognitive linguistics and discourse analysis, it explores 'faith' within social, political, religious, ethical, and cognitive contexts. While challenging modern individualist and irrational conceptualizations, this book shows how Paul uses pistis to creatively configure philosophical narratives of his age and propose Christ as its ultimate embodiment.
Brief description: Suzan Sierksma-Agteres, Ph.D. (2023, University of Groningen) is Assistant Professor of New Testament at the Protestant Theological University in the Netherlands. Combining expertise in classics and theology, she focuses on the interactions between early Christian thought and ancient philosophical traditions.
Review Quotes: "In sum, we have not just been given a map of Graeco-Roman pistis discourses - including, vitally, the apostle Paul's - but something closer to an atlas. We can thank and congratulate Dr. Sierksma-Agteres for the detailed and faithful work she has poured into the project."
- Alex W. Muir, in Biblica 106/2 (2025), pp. 310-313.