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Paul among the Philosophers: The Case of Sin in Romans 6—8

Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., Portland, OR, 97202, USA, wasserme{at}reed.edu

Against the prevailing view that Paul is (at most) marginally influenced by Greek intellectual traditions, this article argues that Romans 6...8 manifests certain Platonic traditions about the soul. Following a consideration of scholarship on Pauline anthropology and a critical definition of discourse, Paul's appropriation of Greek philosophy is recast as the adaptation of a Platonic discourse about extreme immorality or the death of the soul. This discourse explains the language about sin, death, flesh, passions and the body; the metaphors of enslavement, imprisonment and rule that predominate in these chapters; and the inciting role of law in Rom. 7.7-13.

Key Words: Anthropology (Pauline) • middle Platonism • moral psychology • Pauline theology of sin • Philo of Alexandria • Romans 6-8

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