5: Rethinking God
5.1 Introduction. Jewish beliefs had three main component. There is one God, one chosen people, and one future for God’s world. Paul continues that line of thought redefining around the the Messiah and the Spirit.
5.2 Monotheist: The Jewish Roots. Not all monotheistic theologies are the same. Jewish monotheism is creational and covenantal. Jewish monotheism contrasted with pantheism and epicureanism and how they treat evil. For jews, evil was about idolatry and the resulting failure of human to reflect the true God.
5.3. Monotheism and Christology. Paul’s identification of Jesus as a part of God.
5.4 Monotheism and the Spirit. Paul weaves together Jesus and the Spirit as a part of God. If there was no doctrine of the trinity, after Paul it needed inventing.
5.5 Scriptural Roots, Pagan Targets, Practical Work. The three things about Paul’s monotheism that Wright discusses.
5.6. Conclusion.