Communal Participation in the Spirit: The Corinthian Correspondence in Light of Early Jewish Mysticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Mohr Siebeck, 2022).
What's the primary argument of your book?
When one reads texts with comparable theological themes and similar Jewish background side by side, mutual illumination occurs. I do this in the book by identifying Jewish mystical elements in the Dead Sea Scrolls in Part I and then comparing them to similar features in the Corinthian Correspondence in Part II. Through this examination of similarities and differences, I argue that Paul advocates a mystical and communal participation in the Spirit for the Corinthian community.
Along the way, I examine how the Qumran community, in texts like Hodayota, Rule of the Community, and Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, understood itself to be liturgically participating with the angelic priesthood in the heavenly temple. The community instructor even describes himself as undergoing an angelic-like transformation through a heavenly ascent. Likewise, the community conceptualized itself as a temple of God’s Spirit whereby members received the gift of God’s Spirit. This Spirit facilitates union with the angels by providing cleansing and divine revelation. Aspects of these mystical elements are compared with notions of communal participation in the Spirit in First and Second Corinthians, where the Holy Spirit cleanses, gives revelation, and facilitates communion. I reexamine the temple metaphor of Paul in light of Qumran’s conception, noting key differences in light of Christ and the new covenant. The study continues with the mystical idea of communal beholding and transformation in 2 Corinthians 3:18 and a final chapter comparing Paul’s heavenly ascent to that of ascent motifs in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
What led you to study this subject?
Initially, I wanted to study some aspect of the spiritual experience of early Christian communities. I narrowed this down in my Master’s study at Nazarene Theological College (Manchester) to focus on Paul and the Corinthian correspondence. The challenge was to come up with an original contribution to the area. While in residence in Manchester, I attended the Ehrhardt seminar and learned about the surprisingly mystical spirituality of the Qumran community. Several fruitful conversations followed with Professor Philip Alexander and Dr. Kent Brower. As a result, I built upon Alexander’s study of early Jewish Mysticism in the Dead Scrolls and began comparing those findings to similar aspects in the Corinthian Correspondence. In the process, Paul’s corporate tenor of participation in the Spirit came to the surface.
How does your book contribute to the field?
My work makes several key contributions to the field. First, it demonstrates the fruitful use of heuristic comparison and, thus, makes a methodological contribution. This avoids the previous pitfalls of “parallelomania.” Second, this work expands the study of early Jewish mysticism and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Third, this study contributes to Pauline studies in a variety of ways. It offers an alternative approach to Pauline mysticism/participation through early Jewish mysticism. This study corrects an under-emphasis on the communal nature of participation in Paul. Through many exegetical insights, it demonstrates how Paul appropriates some Jewish mystical aspects and reinterprets them in light of Christ and the ongoing experience of the Spirit in his communities. Paul democratizes the mystical encounter with the Spirit of God for the whole “in Christ” gathering. The resulting spirit-enabled transformation of this corporate beholding of the glory of God is christomorphic, cruciform, and communal.
What does it mean to you to be a scholar in the Wesleyan tradition?
As a scholar in the Wesleyan tradition, I often emphasize to my students the need for ongoing transformation by the Spirit. This derives from the concept of relational holiness and is part of my research. We are holy in relationship to the holy one. Paul consistently has to reconvert the imagination of his hearers so that they can become who they already are in Christ. This participation in God’s holiness is cross-shaped and Spirit-enabled. We participate in Christ’s death and his resurrection, and consequently, through the power of the Spirit, we will live differently as God’s holy people. Love keeps this holiness relational and helps avoid legalism. The Wesleyan tradition brings an important emphasis upon holiness and sanctification to the body of Christ.
How do you see your scholarly work as part of your ministry?
My ministry is to equip and train future ministers and scholars with exegetical tools to discover biblical truth. In my biblical classes, I often draw upon the Jewish background I have acquired to help students understand the cultural background and context of the New Testament. I get to share exegetical insights that hopefully inspire students to read Scripture more carefully. Paul’s communal emphasis also provides a corrective to an overly individualistic Western worldview. I hope this will foster a more biblical approach that seeks communal transformation through the experience of God’s Spirit in the community.
What are some of the differences between writing a doctoral thesis and writing a scholarly monograph?
This is an excellent question. My doctoral thesis eventually became a scholarly monograph. I had to remove some aspects from my thesis and sharpen the focus by rewriting the introduction. This helped my vector into the study so that readers would more readily see the value of the study at the outset. Monographs often slim down the literature review and narrow the focus to the key issue at hand; they also make a noteworthy contribution to the field of study that other scholars will want to read.
Did you find new evidence or learn new information while rewriting?
Since I waited several years before moving toward publication, I had to update and revise my thesis. I did further research in several areas to see what had been written on Jewish mysticism and the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as comparative work on Paul and Qumran. Thankfully, this only added greater support to my study rather than requiring a complete shift or re-engagement with the whole subject. I found several pieces of research that were published around the same time as my work on the Spirit in Paul and Qumran that corroborated my findings.
What made NTC and Manchester ideal places to undertake your doctoral studies?
While undertaking my doctoral studies, I had the privilege of living in Manchester for five years with my wife, Sarah. We had two children there. The Nazarene Theological College community provided exceptional friendship, support, and care not only from my supervisors, Dr Kent Brower and Dr Dwight Swanson, but also from other faculty, staff, and students. We built life-long relationships with many post-graduates who are now teaching all over the world. As a post-graduate I took full advantage of the academic resources of both NTC and the University of Manchester. I attended classes as needed to shore up areas of study, made use of the libraries, and even taught at NTC. I participated in conferences and seminars and received valuable feedback from colleagues. Outside of the research community, we joined a local church which helped us walk through the challenges of living abroad while completing a PhD. I look back fondly on my formative time there and would highly recommend it to anyone with the opportunity.
What are some other projects in progress or ones you're looking forward to post-publication?
I have several articles on related areas of study, like a communal perspective of Romans 12:1-2 and the Spirit in Ezekiel and Jewish mysticism, that I am working on preparing for publication.
What advice do you have for recent doctoral graduates who want to publish their theses?
If you want to publish your thesis, you have several things to consider. Where do you want to publish and why? How does this build or contribute to your career? Who can afford to purchase it? I choose Mohr Siebeck for several reasons. First, my subject matter fit well with the WUNT series, and I engaged extensively with several of its publications. Second, as a top-tier publisher in the field, this helps establish my contribution to the field of study and builds my CV. The book was written primarily to scholars; consequently, I was not as concerned about who can afford it. Major libraries subscribe to the series. I also had valuable feedback from the editors, which helped improve the work. Alternatively, some doctoral graduates choose a lower-tier publisher to make the published thesis more affordable. Again, it may depend upon your intended audience. I recommend that you do not wait too long; otherwise, you will have to update the thesis, which takes extensive time.