02629cam a22002657a 45000010009000000050017000090080041000260100017000670200030000840350024001140400044001380420014001820500022001960820016002181000029002342450100002632600063003633000035004265040066004615201693005276000031022206000040022516300056022916500016023471629647420250312111139.0150206s2010    orua     b    001 0 eng d  a  2010294068  a9781608993253 (paperback)  a(OCoLC)ocn636959416  aYDXCPbengcYDXCPdEXNdOCLCQdCBCdDLC  alccopycat00aBS2506b.C48 201000a225.9/22221 aChurchill, Timothy W. R.10aDivine initiative and the Christology of the Damascus road encounter /cTimothy W.R. Churchill.  aEugene, Or. :bPickwick/Wipf and Stock Publishers,cc2010.  axxiv, 312 p. :bill. ;c23 cm.  aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 261-281) and indexes.  aThe Damascus road encounter between Jesus and Paul is foundational to understanding the early development of Christology, and, indeed, Christianity, since it is the first appearance of the post-ascension Jesus contained in the earliest Christian literature. This study examines the encounter as it is described in Paul's epistles and the book of Acts. Since Paul interprets his experience within the Jewish tradition, this study begins with a survey of epiphany texts in the Old Testament and other ancient Jewish literature. This reveals two new categories for appearances of God, angels, and other heavenly beings: Divine initiative and Divine Response. This survey also finds two distinct patterns of characterization for God and other heavenly beings. These findings are then applied to Paul's accounts of his Damascus road encounter. Paul depicts the encounter as a Divine initiative epiphany. This conclusion is significant, since it argues against the current view that the encounter was a merkabah vision. Paul's Christology in the Damascus road encounter is also significant, since Jesus is characterized as divine. Such divine characterization is not typical for heavenly beings in first century CE epiphany texts. Thus, a high Pauline Christology appears to be present at a very early point. The three accounts of the Damascus road encounter in Acts also fit the pattern of Divine Initiative - not merkabah - and exhibit the high Christology of Paul's accounts. In fact, the three accounts in Acts are shown to form an intentionally increasing sequence culminating in the revelation that Paul was called to be an apostle by Jesus himself on the Damascus road. - Publisher info.00aPaul,cthe Apostle, Saint.00aJesus ChristxHistory of doctrines.00aBible.pN.T.pActsxCriticism, interpretation, etc. 0aEpiphanies.