imitation in faith: enacting paul's ambiguous pistis christou

University of Groningen

Imitation in faith Enacting Paulrsquos ambiguous pistis Christou formulations on a Greco-RomanstageAgteres Suzan

Published inInternational Journal of Philosophy and Theology

DOI1010802169232720161231076

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Citation for published version (APA)Agteres S (2016) Imitation in faith Enacting Paulrsquos ambiguous pistis Christou formulations on a Greco-Roman stage International Journal of Philosophy and Theology 77(3) 119-153httpsdoiorg1010802169232720161231076

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International Journal of Philosophy and Theology

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Imitation in faith enacting Paulrsquos ambiguous pistisChristou formulations on a Greco-Roman stage

Suzan J M Sierksma-Agteres

To cite this article Suzan J M Sierksma-Agteres (2016) Imitation in faith enacting Paulrsquosambiguous pistis Christou formulations on a Greco-Roman stage International Journal ofPhilosophy and Theology 773 119-153 DOI 1010802169232720161231076

To link to this article httpdxdoiorg1010802169232720161231076

copy 2016 The Author(s) Published by InformaUK Limited trading as Taylor amp FrancisGroup

Published online 04 Nov 2016

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Imitation in faith enacting Paulrsquos ambiguous pistis Christouformulations on a Greco-Roman stageSuzan J M Sierksma-Agteres

Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands

ABSTRACTThere is an ongoing debate in New Testament scholarship on thecorrect interpretation of Paulrsquos pistis Christou formulations are wejustified by our own faithtrust in Christ or by participating inChristrsquos faith and faithfulness towards God This article contributesto the position of purposeful or sustained ambiguity by readingPaulrsquos imitation ndash and faith(fulness) ndash language against the back-ground of Hellenistic-Roman thought on and practice of imitationIn particular the mimetic chain between teachers and studentstraining for a philosophical disposition and the philosophicaltopos of lsquobecoming like Godrsquo (homoiōsis theōi) offer material valu-able for comparison Since pistis fides and cognates are used inthese settings as both a quality to imitate and as attitude towardsa model and since conversely imitation is very much involved inPaulrsquos pistis-vocabulary it makes sense to read pistis Christou asshorthand for a mimetic movement of faith(fulness) via Christtowards God

ARTICLE HISTORYReceived 1 July 2016Accepted 29 August 2016

KEYWORDSFaith faithfulness pistispistis Christou the apostlePaul moral imitationHellenistic-Romanphilosophy homoiōsis theōi

1 Introduction

Within New Testament scholarship a very particular debate has been carried on fordecades now related to the meaning of several variations of the expression pistisChristou in the letters of the apostle Paul1 The discussion arises from the plurality ofpossible meanings due to the ambiguity of the noun pistis on the one hand and to thevarious possible relationships denoted by the genitive case on the other resulting in themost common translations of lsquofaith in Christrsquo a so-called objective genitive or lsquofaithful-ness of Christrsquo a so-called subjective genitive construction Grammatically bothoptions are valid and possible2 Contextually the Pauline epistles can back up bothpositions Theologically there is a lot at stake for different interpretations offerdifferent answers to questions like lsquohow can one be made righteousrsquo lsquois righteousnessan individual or collective affairrsquo and lsquohow human do we envision Christ to bersquo3

Judging from some recent contributions the dust is not quite settled down just yet4The interpretation of Pauline theology as a whole if such a construct exists affects theinterpretation of the formula while the same is true for the opposite direction thustrapping the interpreter in a hermeneutical circle5 So to put it in hopeful terms thequestion is how to escape this two-dimensional closed figure I argue that in the ancient

CONTACT Suzan J M Sierksma-Agteres sjmsierksma-agteresrugnl

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY 2016VOL 77 NO 3 119ndash153httpdxdoiorg1010802169232720161231076

copy 2016 The Author(s) Published by Informa UK Limited trading as Taylor amp Francis GroupThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License(httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby-nc-nd40) which permits non-commercial re-use distribution and reproduction in anymedium provided the original work is properly cited and is not altered transformed or built upon in any way

Mediterranean moral praxis of imitation and particularly in the philosophical topos ofassimilation to God we find an external model that may help us to visualize the logicbehind Paulrsquos pistis Christou formulations6

Before I enter upon these themes of imitation and assimilation it is helpful to have alook at the linguistic presuppositions involved in the pistis Christou debate What mostcontributions have in common is the wish to lsquodisambiguatersquo the formula7 Recentlyhowever there seems to be a growing awareness that it may not be a matter of eitherndashor One early exception to the disambiguation trend is Richard Hays who in the latenineties was responsible for putting the matter firmly on the scholarly agenda with hisdissertation The faith of Jesus Christ As regards the choice between faith or faithfulnesshe lsquochallengesrsquo James Dunn a spokesperson for the lsquofaith in Christrsquo interpretation lsquotoshow that it was semantically possible in Hellenistic Greek to make such a conceptualdistinction The single word πίστις carries both connotations Therefore Dunnrsquos dis-tinction is anachronistic a semantic fallacyrsquo8 In response to him however BarryMatlock refers to lexical semantics and encourages us to start lsquothinking in terms ofthe contextual selection of discrete senses of wordsrsquo9 Hays indeed appears to fall prey toyet another fallacy namely supposing that all meanings or uses of a word apply to anygiven instance James Barrrsquos famous lsquoillegitimate totality transferrsquo10 Indeed Matlockrsquosapproach to lsquode-theologizersquo the debate by calling in the help of linguistics is a fruitfulone and I fully acknowledge that language users generally understand ambiguouswords by excluding the non-applying meanings based on markers in the direct contextWhat Matlock does not address unfortunately is the possibility that the ambiguity wasin fact intended or at least not intentionally excluded by Paul

Apart from Hays this possibility has been hinted at by scholars like Daniel LynwoodSmith and Robert Jewett yet they do not further develop or substantiate it11 Anexcellent case for lsquosustained ambiguityrsquo on the basis of the evidence of ancient semanticsis made by Gerald Downing After surveying a range of ancient authors on the issue oflanguage ambiguity and using these insights as a lens to Paulrsquos faith(fulness) languagehe concludes

[I]n Paulrsquos world trust in someone was itself founded in and displayed and presupposedbelief in their trustworthiness (as well as most likely their willingness to trust you) faithin Jesus would necessarily imply (unless explicitly denied) at the least a trust in hisfaithfulness Ancient expectations of words have them carry much of their semanticbaggage with them whatever part of their range appears in context to be foregroundedthat is unless some elements of their range have been specifically discarded12

It is an important observation that trust (faith) in fact implies the trustworthiness(faithfulness) of the one in whom trust is placed Taking a fresh approach to earlyChristian texts from the perspective of the lsquoshape of trustrsquo in the Greco-Roman societyTeresa Morgan arrives at a similar understanding of pistis Christou as lsquodoublyreciprocalrsquo

It is precisely the fact that Christ is both faithful to God and worthy of Godrsquos trusttrustworthy by human beings and trusted by them that enables him to take those whopisteuein into righteousness (and human beings in turn to spread the word to others)13

To take any one of these two or even four dimensions away then would imply a majorinjustice to the core message of the apostle14

120 S J M SIERKSMA-AGTERES

If it is indeed plausible that Paul exploits this ambiguity in his pistis Christouformulations based on ancient semantic theory and actual language use of the pistis(and fides) word group in Paulrsquos days it is helpful to understand how this ambiguityplays out if we were to imagine its lsquoenactmentrsquo One of the many merits of the renewedphilosophical attention to Paul is the understanding of faith as a performative utteranceas elucidated by Giorgio Agamben it lsquoimmediately produces a real factrsquo15 Yet what isthe underlying reality or materiality the associative background or in terms of cogni-tive linguistics the lsquoframersquo of pistis Christou Hays explicitly lists as an area that requiresfurther elaboration lsquo[t]he culturalsemantic background of Paulrsquos πίστις language howwould Paulrsquos uses of this terminology have been understood by his readers within theancient Mediterranean worldrsquo16 Downing does not offer a specific cultural embedded-ness Morgan suggests that a parallel can be found in the ancient practice of mediationlike that between the emperor Tiberius and revolting legions in Germany with the helpof Germanicus his nephew (Tacitus Annales 131ndash52)17 While such mediation offersan interesting illustration of the multivalence of and reciprocity inherent to fideslanguage there is a more obvious choice when looking for a cultural lsquohabitatrsquo ofPaulrsquos pistis Christou language because of both its day-to-day occurrence in the socialcontext of Paulrsquos addressees and its frequent explicit and implicit use in the Paulineepistles I am referring to the practice of moral imitation

With sayings like lsquoimitate me as I imitate Christrsquo (1 Cor 111) or lsquoyou becameimitators of us and of the Lordrsquo (1 Thes 16) Paul explicitly describes his project interms of imitation This motive is not completely alien to the whole pistis Christoudebate either In this discourse it usually belongs to the terminology of those arguingfor a lsquofaith(fulness) of Christrsquo interpretation it is Christrsquos faith(fulness) into God thatbelievers imitate18 Adversely it is discarded by the opposite position for being tooethical too horizontal for expecting too little of Gods saving act and too much of thehuman response19 However in a recent article following up on her earlier contribu-tions Morna Hooker explicitly combines a stance on pistis Christou being purpose-fully ambiguous with the model of imitation lsquoThe lexicarsquos different definitions reflectwhat is in fact a hen-and-egg situation Our trustfaith is founded in the trustworthi-nessfaithfulness of God but those who trust in him become like him trustworthy intheir turnrsquo20 Like others Hooker is uncomfortable with connotations of the wordimitation proposing to speak of lsquoparticipationrsquo lsquoconformityrsquo or lsquosharing in whatChrist isrsquo instead21 While it is quite alright to wish to avoid unhelpful modernconnotations however this should not make us blind to the ubiquitous presence ofimitation in ancient societies It is unfortunate that even though the model ofimitation as such is sometimes mentioned in relation to Paulrsquos usage of pistisChristou the model is to my knowledge solely used as an exegetical tool withinthe Pauline corpus whilst leaving aside the extensive resource of contemporary paganmaterial Adversely there is an increasing amount of literature on the subject ofGreco-Roman imitation and its application within the Pauline letters yet here thetopic of imitation in pistis is neglected22

With this article I aim to contribute by combining precisely these themes Intaking the pagan practice of moral imitation as a starting point with special aware-ness to those cases in which pistis and cognates are involved I will set a stage onwhich the role of Paulrsquos pistis Christou language might be better understood from

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY 121

the perspective of his Greco-Roman audience23 This metaphorical lsquostagersquo consists ofan analysis of the discourses involved that of moral imitation in general moralimitation in the context of practising philosophy in particular and moral imitationof the gods as an even more particular philosophical topos24 I will thus draw from alarge range of source material mostly roughly contemporary to Paul from the firstcentury BCE to the second CE but occasionally reaching back as far as Epicurus orPlato when it is plausible that these sources were considered part of the laterdiscourse Differences between philosophical schools will sometimes be addressedto clarify the breadth of issues involved yet as I consider the different positions partof one and the same popular philosophical discourse I will not differentiate inadvance between their relative influence on Paul25

In the next section I will first survey a diversity of genres attesting to the function ofpistis as means and end of moral imitation ie pistis as an attitude enabling imitationand as a moral quality to imitate Next the specific setting of philosophical educationdemonstrates that pistis was seen as an important element in a philosophical dispositionand as such functions in a mimetic chain of masters and students Thereafter a muchmore specific ancient philosophical topos is addressed that goes by the name ofhomoiōsis theōi in which the gods are the object of imitation participation or assimila-tion From this setting I return to Paul arguing that in his message pistis is enacted inprecisely such a setting of imitation with Christ and different human models function-ing as trusting and trustworthy intermediaries between the faithful God and the faithfulbeliever

2 Pistis as virtue and attitude in ancient character formation

From the statues in the theatres to tablets with copying exercises and fromhonorary inscriptions at the forum to literary rivalry the whole social sphere ofthe early Roman empire breathed the air of imitation26 In the familial contextchildren were expected to mimic their parentsrsquo and ancestorsrsquo civic virtues27 Thisform of imitation had its limits though as Cicero indicates vices are not to beimitated and not every child is capable to imitate every parental virtue like speakingeloquently or conducting wars yet a virtue like faithfulness is among those whichare in everyonersquos reach (Cicero lists iustitiam fidem liberalitatem modestiam andtemperantiam)28 Anyone who had the benefit of receiving some form of educationwould start by closely following the forms of characters written by their teachersand proceed to the rhythms of poetry the rules of rhetoric and the literary patternslaid out by model poets orators and philosophers29 Yet also in the educationalcontext imitation included the aspect of character formation for by imitatingliterary examples students achieved likeness (homoiotēs) to both the style of theauthor and the moral characteristics of the exemplary subject matter30 The teacherrsquosrole however was the ultimate moral paradigm a lsquoliving voicersquo in front of thestudents31

Within literary genres such as rhetoric biography and historiography virtues weredemonstrated by using exempla from mythology or national history32 In these exam-pla pistis (or fides) recurs as one of the qualities worthy of imitation Quintilian isproud of Romersquos past filled with ideal examples


But it is not only the content of such studies as these which we should know andconstantly turn over in our minds even more important are the records of the notablesayings and actions of the past Nowhere is there a larger or more striking supply of thesethan in the history of our own country Could there be any better teachers of couragejustice loyalty (fidem) self-control frugality or contempt for pain and death than menlike Fabricius Curius Regulus Decius Mucius and countless others Rome is as strong inexamples as Greece is in precepts (praeceptis valent) and examples are more important33

Quintilian argues that oratory and philosophy eloquence and virtue go hand inhand and that both need precepts and even more examples34 These examples aremeant to lsquoconstantly turn over in our mindsrsquo we are to as the following sentencestates lsquodrink deep draughts of justice from this sourcersquo for without it we cannot livelsquothe good liversquo or lsquorun honourrsquos racersquo nor can we hope of becoming a good oratorOffering moral examples from the lives of famous historical men seems to have beenthe primary motivation for authors like Plutarch and Valerius Maximus to writewhole collections of biographies (the Parallel Lives) or in the latterrsquos case lsquomemor-able deeds and sayings (facta et dicta memorabilia)rsquo35 In one of Plutarchrsquos LivesAemilius Paulus III is said to have refrained from pursuing a career built uponprivate law cases or ingratiating the people Instead lsquohe sought to acquire for himselfwhat was better than both namely a reputation arising from valour justice andtrustworthiness (τὴν ἀπ᾿ ἀνδρείας καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ πίστεως δόξαν) in which heat once surpassed his contemporariesrsquo36

According to the historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus under the rule of Numa eventhe state could serve as a model in its lsquotrustworthy and constant disposition (ἦθοςπιστὸν καὶ βέβαιον)rsquo by erecting a temple dedicated to Pistis (Fides) influencing itscitizenry to act likewise37 This seems to be an amplification of the familiar motif of theruler as ultimate example of virtue38 Plutarch for instance advises the lsquouneducatedrulerrsquo to lsquofirst gain command of himself [hellip] regulate his own soul and establish hisown character (καταστησάμενον τὸ ἦθος) then make his subjects fit his pattern (οὕτωσυναρμόττειν τὸ ὑπήκοον)rsquo39 Elsewhere when discussing the ultimate virtue of theruler Plutarch argues that justice (δικαιοσύνη) is envied most because of its pistis andthe pistis it manages to evoke among the masses

For the fame and trustworthiness of no virtue creates more envy than that of justice(οὐδεμιᾶς γὰρ ἀρετῆς δόξα καὶ πίστις ἐπιφθόνους ποιεῖ μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς δικαιοσύνης)because both power and trust (πίστις) follow it chiefly among the common folk Thesedo not merely honour the just as they do the brave nor admire them merely as they dothe wise but they actually love the just and put confidence and trust in them (φιλοῦσιτοὺς δικαίους καὶ θαρροῦσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ πιστεύουσιν)40

So rather than simply imitating the pistis exemplified in the ideal statesman here trustis the proper response or attitude towards the trustworthiness that is inherent to thevirtue of justice I shall argue below (Sections 5ndash7) that in Pauline literature we findboth uses of pistis as dispositional quality to be imitated and as the proper attitude oraction towards an exemplar

That trust is not only a virtue to be imitated but also an attitude towards modelsis also confirmed in different sources A cynic staged by Epictetus points at exam-ples of vice to make clear that his public is looking for happiness in all the wrongplaces


It is not in possessions If you doubt that (εἰ δ᾿ ἀπιστεῖτε) look at Croesus look at the richnowadays the amount of lamentation with which their life is filled (hellip) Whom are wegoing to trust about this question (τίσιν περὶ τούτου πιστεύσομεν)41

Here people are asked to relate to negative examples in order to determine where toplace their attitude of trust in order to lead a good life The Delphic maxims alsocontain such general warnings about wrongly placed trust lsquodo not trust wealth (πλουτωαπιστει)rsquo lsquodo not trust fortune (τυχη μη πιστευε)rsquo42 Epictetus presents us with aphilosopher addressing a broad lsquopopularrsquo audience a genre in which positive andnegative mythical or historical examples were the ideal rhetorical tool43 But morespecifically with the teachings of Epictetus we have arrived at a somewhat distinctcultural context in which lsquoimitation in faithrsquo is especially evident and relevant to ourpurposes the context of philosophical education

3 Imitating the masterrsquos pistis the mimetic chain of philosophicaleducation

Apart from the general examples of living faithfully or exercising faith in the civicsphere we have discussed so far there is a particular context in which the aim ofattaining a lsquotrustworthy attitudersquo or a lsquofaithful dispositionrsquo is especially frequent thecontext or discourse of practising philosophy Unlike the present-day academic disci-pline in which lsquothinking correctlyrsquo remains of paramount interest the practice ofphilosophy in antiquity can perhaps be apprehended by the phrase lsquopractise what youpreachrsquo or lsquowalk your talkrsquo Aristotle already stated this principle in terms of pistis lsquoinmatters of emotion and of action words are less convincing than deeds (λόγοι ἧττόνεἰσι πιστοὶ τῶν ἔργων)rsquo44 According to the first century Stoic Musonius Rufus lsquovirtue isknowledge (ἐπιστήμη) that is not merely theoretical but also practical (πρακτικὲ) likethe arts of medicine or musicrsquo45 Hence since philosophy is the greater art lsquopracticaltraining must follow invariably (τὴν ἄσκησιν ἐπακολουθεῖν πάντως)rsquo even more thanin the study of medicine46

This phenomenon of philosophy as a practice has recently been brought to the foreby Pierre Hadot (Philosophy as a Way of Life)47 and is investigated and scrutinizedfurther in John Sellarsrsquo thesis The Art of Living the Stoics on the Nature and Function ofPhilosophy Sellars describes the ancient understanding of philosophy as an art (technē)encompassing both rational principles (logoi) and practical exercise (askēsis) with theaim (telos) to produce corresponding actions (erga) lsquoWith this conception philosophi-cal knowledge (ἐπιστήμη) will directly impact upon onersquos life (βίος) because suchknowledge will necessarily lead to philosophical actions (ἔργα)rsquo48 Along these linesDihle emphasizes that even though the early Socratic tradition knew a lsquoBeziehung zurphilosophischen Lebensgestaltungrsquo this focus came even more to the fore in post-classical times lsquoDie platonisch-aristotelische Konzeption (hellip) verengte sich aber aufdas Bemuumlhen om die Einsichten die unmittelbar auf den Lebensvollzug anzuwendenwarenrsquo49 In his monograph on philosophers in the Roman Empire Michael Trappstates that philosophy as such could ask sacrifices lsquoPhilosophy taken as seriously as itshowed itself to want to be taken posed an evangelical challenge to life-changingcommitment of a kind that could make awkward demands on the individual in


particular it could demand the adoption of values and targets at odds with whose ofordinary civic societyrsquo50 It is interesting that especially within this philosophical com-munity of alternative values the process of character formation includes the attainmentof a trustworthy disposition as will be demonstrated below

Within this practical philosophical context the relationship between image andimitator was ever so present In the final paragraph of one of his Moral Epistles theRoman politician and Stoic philosopher Seneca quotes ndash as often ndash a precept byEpicurus and comments

Choose a master whose life conversation and mind-expressing face (vita et oratio et ipseanimum ante se ferens vultus) have satisfied you picture him always to yourself as yourprotector or your pattern (illum tibi semper ostende vel custodem vel exemplum) For wemust indeed have someone according to whom we may regulate our characters (aliquo adquem mores nostri se ipsi exigent)51

The master Seneca refers to so it seems here needs not necessarily be someone youmeet regularly or even someone you know personally although intimate knowledge ofhis life and mind should be very much present Even more so Seneca believes that theactual real-life transmission between master and student is fundamental as we learnfrom a letter on lsquosharing knowledgersquo

Of course however the living voice and the intimacy of a common life (viva vox etconvictus) will help you more than the written word You must go to the scene of actionfirst because men put more faith in their eyes than in their ears (quia homines ampliusoculis quam auribus credunt) and second because the way is long if one follows precepts(per praecepta) but short and helpful if one follows patterns (per exempla) Cleanthescould not have been the express image of Zeno (Zenonem Cleanthes non expressisset) if hehad merely heard his lectures he shared in his life saw into his hidden purposes andwatched him to see whether he lived according to his own rules Plato Aristotle and thewhole throng of sages who were destined to go each his different way derived more benefitfrom the character than from the words (plus ex moribus quam ex verbis) of Socrates Itwas not the class-room of Epicurus but living together under the same roof that madegreat men of Metrodorus Hermarchus and Polyaenus52

With this rich list of examples Seneca confirms that transformation of character is theaim of philosophy Just as Quintilian to this aim he favours examples above precepts53He furthermore shows that the philosophical quest does not merely involve imaginaryrelationships of imitation but real-life Nachfolgung of school leaders54 Moreover theseliving embodiments of good character are better equipped to create the attitude of trustor belief (credere) for they can be seen rather than merely heard By contrast Epictetuspoints at the difficulty of the immense task of a teacher lsquoto make of you a perfect worksecure against restraint compulsion and hindrance free prosperous happy looking toGod in everything both small and great and you are here with the purpose of learningand practising all thisrsquo55 Even though according to his own Stoic doctrine this oughtto be an attainable aim for it is not outside of our control he wonders why his studentdoes not succeed and deems this as can be expected in a relationship of imitation boththe studentrsquos and the teacherrsquos fault56

It is within this real-life philosophical education that the vocabulary of faith and trustfinds a lsquonatural habitatrsquo sometimes as attitude towards an exemplar yet mostly as oneof the qualities to imitate In one of the allegedly pseudonymous letters ascribed to


Plato Aristodorus is praised for showing lsquothe most philosophic disposition of all whopursue philosophy (τὸ σοφώτατον ἦθος τῶν εἰς φιλοσοφίαν παρεχόμενον)rsquo Thisphilosophical ēthos is explicated as consisting in lsquothe steadfast and trustworthy andsound (τὸ γὰρ βέβαιον καὶ πιστὸν καὶ ὑγιές)rsquo57 Whether or not this short letter wasactually written by Plato58 the document is valuable for the relevance of its contentsfor it is its readership in Hellenistic-imperial times that interests us here59 Theremarkable exclusion of intellectual capabilities or love of learning from the shortdefinition of true philosophy constitutes one of the reasons why its authenticity isdisputed60 Yet the abundant use of ethical adjectives (bebaios pistos hugies) is tellingfor precisely this reason knowledge needs to be embedded in an ethical disposition(ēthos) that is certain trustworthy and sound in order to qualify as such

This emphasis on firmness and trustworthiness of character is also evident in theotherwise divergent tradition of Epicureanism Epicurus assures his student Pythoclesthat knowledge of natural phenomena lsquodoes not serve any other purpose than imper-turbability (ἀταραξία) and a firm conviction (πίστις βέβαιος)rsquo61 Thus knowledge isenvisaged as subservient to character transformation driven by ataraxia and a certainpistis A remarkably similar position is taken up across school boundaries Cicero deemsit the task of philosophy to offer assistance in the journey towards a good and happylife62 He defines this assistance echoing Epicurus as the attainment of knowledge thatshould lead to confidence (fidentia) banishing fear and other disturbances from themind63 The Stoics even thought that the ultimate philosopher the sage does not everlack this trust or confidence for lsquomistrust means the assumption of a falsehood (τὴνγὰρ ἀπιστίαν εἶναι ψεύδους ὑπόληψιν)rsquo The opposite of this apistia pistis is definedhere in very specific epistemological vocabulary lsquotrust is civilised since it is a strongapprehension confirming what is assumed (τὴν δὲ πίστιν ἀστεῖον ὑπάρχειν εἶναι γὰρὑπόληψιν ἰσχυράν βεβαιοῦσαν τὸ ὑπολαμβανόμενον)rsquo Musonius Rufus also empha-sizes that philosophy alone can teach how to attain a pistis ischura a strong convictionabout which things are evil and which things do not deserve our fear because they areethically indifferent according to the Stoic theory of value

Now since fearlessness and intrepidity and boldness are the product of courage how elsewould a man acquire them than by having a firm conviction that death and hardships arenot evils (ἢ εἴ τις περὶ θανάτου καὶ πόνου λάβοι πίστιν ἰσχυρὰν ὡς οὐ κακοῖν ὄντοιναὐτοῖν) For these are the things death and hardships I repeat which unbalance andfrighten men when they believe that they are evils (ὅταν ὡς περὶ κακῶν πεπεισμένοι ὦσιναὐτῶν) that they are not evils philosophy is the only teacher64

Pistis here seems to be a quality that represents sound ethical judgment leading tosound action This judgment can and must be practised in real life Epictetus makes useof the example of a grammarian if a grammarian is in a habit (ἐθίσῃ) of writingungrammatically his art (τέχνη) will perish Thus according to Epictetus faithfulactions (τα πιστά) strengthen the faithful man (ὁ πιστός) whereas faithless actionsstrengthens the faithless man (ὁ ἄπιστος) in his bad behaviour lsquothat is why thephilosophers admonish us not to be satisfied with merely learning but to add theretopractice (μελέτη) also and then training (ἄσκησις)rsquo65

Given the fact that this cultivation of the right disposition is so important it is notsurprising that the merits of a specific philosophical school can be measured by the lives


of its teachers sages and founders66 Their ēthos proofs their trustworthiness Whilecomparing the behavioural merits of Epicureans Peripatetics and Stoics Epictetuschallenges his public lsquoshow me a man fashioned according to the dogmarsquos which heuttersrsquo67 Similarly in an ironical portrait of an orator who thinks he is doing wellbecause of the flattery of his disciples he points out what an earnest searcher would belooking for someone lsquowho will teach him how he ought to live (πῶς δεῖ βιοῦν)rsquo who islsquorespectful (αἰδήμων) faithful (πιστός) and unperturbed (ἀτάραχος)rsquo68 Other schoolsare criticized for the lack of congruity between words and deeds Especially the mannerof onersquos death was deemed informative Cicero is all too happy to cite Epicurusrsquo lastwords lsquoto prove to you the discrepancy between his practice and his principles (utintellegas facta eius cum dictis discrepare)rsquo69 Hence the consistency of life and learningculminating in a trustworthy disposition is the quality par excellence upon whichphilosophers ought to be judged70

The process of imitating a master whom you know personally is continued when thestudent in turn becomes the exemplar This is aptly phrased in the letter of comfortsent by the Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry to his wife Marcella a source that is ofconsiderable later date than our main period of interest (1st century BCEndash2nd CE) yetwhose language indicates how pistis became more and more embedded in the con-ceptual field of philosophical imitation Porphyry reminds her of the words spoken ather initiation into lsquotrue philosophyrsquo and counsels to act upon these words For so hewrites lsquoit is a manrsquos actions that naturally afford demonstrations of his opinions andwhoever holds a belief (ὅστις ἐπίστευσεν) must live in accordance with it in order thathe may himself be a faithful witness (πιστός μάρτυς) to his disciples of his wordsrsquo71Having trust or put more cognitively a belief in something should change a masterrsquosbehaviour which in turn shows trustworthiness towards students Thus a lsquochain ofimitationsrsquo emerges with pistis functioning as both quality of the lsquolinksrsquo and relation-ship between different lsquolinksrsquo The trustworthiness or credibility of the model (itsdisposition) should generate trust or credence in the imitators (an attitude) whoought to become trustworthy (qua disposition) themselves According to a variety ofphilosophical traditions at the origin of such a chain a place was reserved for the gods

4 Homoiōsis sophōi and homoiōsis theōi Platonists Stoics and Epicureanson assimilation to the divine

Before we return to Paul and his Pistis Christou language there is one even morespecific philosophical topos that increases the relevance of this philosophical contextwe just discussed For according to the majority of philosophical schools in the daysof Paul it was not only in the imitation of school leaders that this trustworthydisposition could be attained ultimately the goal of ethics was to become like orassimilate to the divine nature This ideal of assimilating to the divine (ὁμοίωσιςΘεῷ) is a motive that occurs throughout the Platonic oeuvre in contexts of physicsepistemology and ethics72 In his emphasis on moral instead of martial divinequalities Platorsquos ideal of assimilation to God can be considered lsquoa way to philosophi-cally redescribe ndash or if you will demythologize ndash the old heroic ideal of deifyingvirtuersquo73 After Plato it was embraced by a large scope of philosophical traditionsincluding Stoics and Epicureans with some different emphases as the sources I will


discuss below confirm Still it was not until relatively recent that this pattern oflsquobecoming like the godsrsquo gained a considerable amount of scholarly attention74

The early Stoics already internalized and lsquocognitivizedrsquo the relationship with the godsby redefining the condition of being the godsrsquo enemy or friend as one of asymphonia ordichonoia and symphonia or homonoia harmony or oneness of mind respectively75According to Epictetus Zeno had formulated the lsquochief doctrine of the philosophersrsquo inthis manner lsquoTo follow the gods is manrsquos end (τέλος ἐστὶ τὸ ἕπεσθαι θεοῖς) and theessence of good is the proper use of external impressionsrsquo76 Epicurus writes that thegods lsquoare always favourable to their own good qualities (ταῖς γὰρ ἰδίαις οἰκειούμενοι διὰπαντὸς ἀρεταῖς) and take pleasure in men like unto themselves (τοὺς ὁμοίουςἀποδέχονται) but reject as alien whatever is not of their kindrsquo77 Yet the expressionthat homoiōsis theōi is the telos of ethics seems to occur for the first time in the earlyimperialistic period in a text by the Stoic Arius Didymus in which he appears to rely onthe Platonist Eudorus78 According to Didymus Plato and Socrates followed Pythagorasin this teaching79 but Plato added the disclaimer that we can only resemble God lsquoso faras possiblersquo80 It is taken over as such by later authors like Alcinous and DiogenesLaertius which suggests that was widely known in the imperial period

In the literature on the topos of homoiōsis theōi two claims on differences betweenschools stand out which are helpful to eventually situate Paulrsquos conceptions in thisplayfield The main apples of discord seem to be related to the amount of dissimilaritybetween divinity and humanity and somewhat related to the usefulness of followinghuman examples In the Platonist outlook the process of assimilating to God may beunderstood in terms of a transcendent movement beyond earthly standards In theLaws homoiōsis theōi is explicitly set against the Protagorean adage that man is themeasure of all things

In our eyes God will be lsquothe measure of all thingsrsquo in the highest degree (θεὸς ἡμῖν πάντωνχρημάτων μέτρον ἂν εἴη μάλιστα) ndash a degree much higher than is any lsquomanrsquo they talk ofHe then that is to become dear to such an one must needs become so far as he possiblycan of a like character (εἰς δύναμιν ὅτι μάλιστα καὶ αὐτὸν τοιοῦτον ἀναγκαῖονγίγνεσθαι)81

The highest aim for humans so this passage suggests lies in becoming as far as possiblelike this divine measure Here some important philosophical successors and competi-tors of Plato seem to diverge In the words of Julia Annas lsquothe alternative ancienttradition that of Aristotle (in the main) and the Stoics and Epicureans who see ourfinal end as lying in the fulfilling of human nature rather than in an attempt to becomesome other kind of thingrsquo82 Similarly Reneacute Brouwer states lsquoFor Plato the good lifeconsists in becoming like god so far as is possible for a human being (hellip) for the Stoicsthe ideal is to become god in the sense of becoming part of the divine power thatstructures the worldrsquo83

The question is if this difference is not overstated does Platorsquos language ofassimilation to God imply some mystical flight from this world to become more-than-human84 Do Stoics and Epicureans leave no distance between the divine andthe humane by completely lsquoimmanentizingrsquo the former in the latter According toPlato such assimilation is simply the consequence of enjoying fellowship (homilein)with God85 The lsquomeasure of Godrsquo is not set against any proto-Stoic account but


against Platorsquos sophistic contemporaries who were moral relativists in Paulinewords lsquomeasuring themselves by themselvesrsquo86 In fact especially in the Laws butalso in the Republic the ideal of godlikeness is not reserved for guardians orphilosophers yet put to full worldly use in educating all citizens87 On the otherside of the spectrum the possibility of indeed lsquofulfilling human naturersquo was onlyrealized lsquoso far as is possiblersquo as well The bold Stoic notion of simply lsquobecomingGodrsquo was somewhat relativized by the scarcity of such divine men88 Epictetus dearshis public to show him lsquoa man who has set his heart upon changing from a man intoa godrsquo yet concludes lsquoShow him to me But you cannotrsquo89 And Platonists could inthe end be just as bold Maximus of Tyre emphasizes the likeness between humanityand divinity The soul of man is lsquosomething very close to God and like him in itsnature (ἐγγύτατον θεῷ καὶ ἐμφερέστατον)rsquo90 Furthermore according to the secondcentury rhetorician it is untrue that they differ in trustworthiness human intellectbeing apistos while the divine is pistos lsquoDivine prophetic powers and humanintellect ndash this is a daring thing to say but I will say it none the less ndash are kindredfaculties if anything at all resembles anything else then there is nothing moresimilar to divine intellect than human excellencersquo91 Accordingly Alcinous viewshomoiōsis pros to theion as a nothing other than the state of the human soul calledwisdom (φρόνησις)92 Still this lsquoMiddle Platonistrsquo does separate the worldly from theultimate reality by distinguishing between the lsquoGod above the heavens who does notpossess virtuersquo and the lsquoGod in the heavensrsquo who apparently does rendering him theproper object of assimilation93 This perspective on homoiōsis is very much like thatof the Jewish Platonist Philo of Alexandria who also claims that lsquonothing earth-bornis more like God than manrsquo yet limits assimilation to the Logos or second God94This Logos performs an intermediaryrsquos function to lsquoseparate the creature from theCreatorrsquo while being a surety to both sides95

to the parent pledging (πρὸς πίστιν) the creature that it should never altogether rebelagainst the rein and choose disorder rather than order to the child warranting his hopes(πρὸς εὐελπιστίαν) that the merciful God will never forget His own work96

Platonic homoiōsis thus both upholds and bridges the distance to the transcendent Godand the reified usage of pistis here as lsquoguaranteersquo is the means by which the distance isbridged

There is some mysticism involved however in Stoic accounts on homoiōsis as wellyet not so much in the form of a movement from earth to heaven as in one fromheaven to earth The closeness of God and humanity is not merely an abstract convic-tion it is of actual assistance in the process of cultivating the divine character Thewords of Seneca sound reminiscent of metaphors and parables from the NewTestament when he explains the working of this process as something effected byGod in us

Do you marvel that man goes to the gods God comes to men nay he comes nearer ndash hecomes into men (in homines venit) No mind that has not God is good (nulla sine deomens bona est) Divine seeds are scattered throughout our mortal bodies (semina incorporibus humanis divina dispersa sunt) if a good cultivator (bonus cultor)97 receivesthem they spring up in the likeness of their source and of a parity with those from whichthey came (similia origini prodeunt et paria iis ex quibus orta sunt surgunt) If however


the cultivator be bad like a barren or marshy soil he kills the seeds and causes tares togrow up instead of wheat98

Though the language of lsquobecoming like Godrsquo may sound suspicious to Lutherantheologians we learn here that homoiōsis theōi is not necessarily conceived of as aconstruct based on human effort or merit Seneca explicitly opposes the effort of culticworship to an indwelling of God or his spirit and concludes that lsquono man can be goodwithout the help of Godrsquo99 At the same time our being good is what pleases the godslsquowhoever imitates them is worshipping them sufficiently (satis illos coluit quisquisimitatus est)rsquo100 So the aim of equality to God does not preclude viewing God andman as separate entities either helping or worshipping the other in imitation All in allto come back to our initial question the differences between Platonism and Stoicism aresubtle not well caught in sweeping statements of essentially different orientations

The second issue responsible for some variation in positions among schools is therelationship between imitating God and imitating human examples of virtue In hisarticle lsquoEpicurus as Deus Mortalis Homoiosis Theoi and Epicurean Self-CultivationrsquoMichael Erler explaines how in this tradition lsquo[h]omoiosis theoi becomes ὁμοίοσιςσοφῷrsquo101 and places this in a wider polemical context

To present a perfected moral self as an example to be imitated was obviously to take astance on an issue that was controversial between the schools Plato and his pupils did notaccept that homoiosis of a mortal σοφός can be as useful as homoiosis theoi for achievingmoral excellence As Plato says in the Laws lsquoNot man but god is the measure of all thingsrsquoLater Platonists followed him in this102

This thesis seems to be in need of some refinement Erler refers to the anonymousCommentary to the Theaetetus and to Plotinus for this later Platonist debate andsuggests that it lsquodocuments a discussion that went on in the first century BCrsquo103Whether or not these references are enough to substantiate his claim the Lawsrsquo passagedoes not so much imply that imitation of humans per se is undesirable as voice anti-sophistic concerns104 Moreover both the Laws and the Republic show Platorsquos vision fora whole society aimed at attaining divine virtue by means of virtuous leadership105Later Platonists were at the very least not univocal in their scepticism towards humanexamples In a tract that prefigures the later lsquomirror for princesrsquo tradition Plutarchpresents the ruler as lsquoimage of God (εἰκὼν θεοῦ)rsquo who lsquoby his virtue forms himself in thelikeness of God (αὐτὸς αὑτὸν εἰς ὁμοιότητα θεῷ δι᾿ ἀρετῆς)rsquo he lsquomust regulate his ownsoul and establish his own character (τὸ ἦθος) then make his subjects fit his pattern(οὕτω συναρμόττειν τὸ ὑπήκοον)rsquo106

To understand the differences involved it is useful to have a look at one particularPlatonic treatise that is perhaps less well known in this context but harbours anabundance of homoiōsis vocabulary the Phaedrus This dialogue offers rich imageryto show that appropriation of this virtue is effected by following in a chain of mimeticlove In a parable on the immortality of the soul Zeus is pictured as leading a giantprocession of gods and spirits (246endash247a) in the shape of chariots towards the heavensto behold justice temperance and knowledge as they are In this they are followed byother souls who barely see these realities from below since they struggle to restraintheir horses yet lsquothat which best follows after God and is most like himrsquo (248a) mightsee some glimpses and when this soul ends up being born as a human it is most likely


that of a philosopher or lover of beauty (248d) These more excellent human soulsreceive from the particular god they follow lsquocharacter and habits so far as it is possiblefor a man to have part in God (τὰ ἔθη καὶ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα καθ᾿ ὅσον δυνατὸν θεοῦἀνθρώπῳ μετασχεῖν) and in their turn choose a beloved soul to lsquomake him so far aspossible like their godrsquo (253a)

[B]y imitating the god themselves (μιμούμενοι αὐτοί) and by persuasion and educationthey lead the beloved to the conduct and nature of the god (τὰ παιδικὰ πείθοντες καὶῥυθμίζοντες εἰς τὸ ἐκείνου ἐπιτήδευμα καὶ ἰδέαν ἄγουσιν)rsquo so far as each of them can do so(ὅση ἑκάστῳ δύναμις) so that they exhibit no jealousy or meanness toward the loved onebut endeavour by every means in their power to lead him to the likeness of the god (εἰςὁμοιότητα αὑτοῖς τῷ θεῷ) whom they honour107

The usefulness of several layers of mediators lower divinities and philosophersbetween Zeus and the lsquobeloved disciplersquo is evident from this account So whether inthe setting of a city-state or in the setting of philosophical education the Platonictradition offers ample material to allow for interhuman imitation as a first step inapproaching the excellence of the gods Platorsquos perspective here however shows that heenvisions homoiōsis to be part of the immortal soulrsquos progress whereas the Epicureanmaterialistic stance on the cosmos including the gods did not allow for such immater-ial suppositions rendering their idea of assimilation to the divine of the mortal humanbeing highly optimistic or even hubristic in Platonic eyes Furthermore the love thesouls in the Phaedrus feel for the god they follow immediately translates in the desire toactively teach others to become likewise By contrast as Erler himself argues Epicurusrsquocare for others was only secondary in nature by merely providing them with anexample of human perfection108 All in all the main difference between theEpicurean and Platonic homoiōsis traditions so it seems does not lie in the endorse-ment of human intermediaries but rather in the optimism about reaching the divinelevel from a mortal body and in the motivation of sages to help others reach their levelof assimilation

One matter has thus far been left unexplored can we connect this tradition ofhomoiōsis theōi to the vocabulary of pistis fides and cognates We have discussedvarious examples of these word stems in connection to the practise of philosophicalimitation in the previous paragraph what about the discourse of likeness to God or thedivine in general In passing we already saw Maximus of Tyre liken human trust-worthiness to divine trustworthiness ndash or lack thereof ndash especially in the context oforacles Yet there are more poignant examples across the philosophical spectre109

Even though pistis is not a frequently praised virtue in Platorsquos oeuvre as an attitudeor action it is used in the direct context of a homoiōsis theōi passage in book VI of theRepublic The subject of the discussion is whether the majority will be able to set asidetheir prejudice (διαβολή) as regards philosophers as guardians so that the state canindeed be modelled after the divine A philosopher is described as someone who lsquoallieshimself with the divine and orderly becomes divine and orderly as far as is possible fora human beingrsquo and thereupon feels urged lsquoto put into practice what he sees in thedivine realm in the private and public lives of men and to mold not just his owncharacter (ἤθη καὶ ἰδίᾳ καὶ δημοσίᾳ τιθέναι καὶ μὴ μόνον ἑαυτὸν πλάττειν)rsquo but becomea lsquocreator of righteousness temperance and any other kind of virtue (δημιουργὸν (hellip)


σωφροσύνης τε καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ συμπάσης τῆς δημοτικῆς ἀρετῆς)rsquo110 Then thequestion posed is

But if the majority (οἱ πολλοὶ) see that we are telling the truth about him [ie thephilosopher] will they get irritated with philosophers and refuse to believe us(ἀπιστήσουσιν ἡμῖν) when we say that a state would never otherwise be successful unlessartists portray it using some divine model (τῷ θείῳ παραδείγματι χρώμενοι)111

Faith in the philosophers instead of prejudice is a requirement in this reasoning forinitiating the process of reforming a state according to the divine paradigm Pistissophōi trust in the homoiōsis theōi of the wise precedes a similar homoiōsis for thecommon people (hoi polloi) So even though pistis does not function as a virtue toimitate it is the proper attitude towards the philosophers who act as intermediaries inassimilation to God

In the Roman context where Fides was worshipped as a prominent goddess112 itwas also possible to speak of a transference of the divine quality of faith into humanminds This is what we encounter in the crucial episode of Silius Italicusrsquo epic Punica atthe point when Saguntum is sieged by the Carthaginians Mercury pleads with Fides tointercede on behalf of the city and addresses Fides as lsquoGoddess more ancient thanJupiter glory of gods and men without whom neither sea nor land finds peace sister ofJustice silent divinity in the heart (in pectore) of manrsquo113 She allows herself to beconvinced to end her self-chosen exile from earth in order to give a final boost of faithto the struggling inhabitants of Saguntum

Taking possession of their minds and pervading their breasts her familiar habitation(invadit mentes et pectora nota pererrat) she instilled her divine power into their hearts(immittitque animis numen) Then piercing even to their marrow she filled them with aburning passion for herself (atque sui flagrantem inspirat amorem)114

What is especially noteworthy is the repeated connection between Fides and thehuman mind breast and heart Notwithstanding her long absence as a virtue and theflourishing impiety she laments (494ndash506) she represents an affinity between thedivine and the humane The effect of her dramatic descent is an instilment of thesame virtue she represents opening up the possibility of the citizens to enact faithagain

Even more explicitly Epictetus names being pistos as the first divine quality thatcomes to mind as suitable for human imitation When describing what is the propriumof philosophy as opposed to something like carpentry he argues one first ought tolearn something (μαθών τινα) before putting it to work and in the case of philosophythis has to do with the existence and nature of the gods

Now the philosophers say that the first thing we must learn (μαθεῖν) is this That there is aGod (ὅτι ἔστι θεὸς) and that He provides for the universe and that it is impossible for aman to conceal from Him not merely his actions but even his purposes and his thoughts(διανοούμενον) Next we must learn what the gods are like (ποῖοί τινες εἰσίν) for whatevertheir character is discovered to be the man who is going to please and obey them mustendeavour as best he can to resemble them (ἀνάγκη πειρᾶσθαι κατὰ δύναμιν ἐξομοιοῦσθαιἐκείνοις) If the deity is faithful he also must be faithful (εἰ πιστόν ἐστι τὸ θεῖον καὶτοῦτον εἶναι πιστόν) if free he also must be free if beneficent he also must be beneficentif high-minded he also must be high-minded and so forth therefore in everything he says


and does he must act as an imitator of God (ὡς θεοῦ τοίνυν ζηλωτὴν τὰ ἑξῆς πάντα καὶποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν)115

In this brief capitulation of the importance of imitation of the divine for the philoso-phical enterprise Epictetus considers the cultivation of faithfulness essential to gainingthe right disposition (hexis) As we saw above being pistos is an important quality toEpictetus a quality that is divine precisely because it is not dependent on externalcircumstances practising pistis one is able to die like a God bear disease like a God(ἀποθνῄσκοντα θείως νοσοῦντα θείως)116 At the same time though he considers it adivine command

Your faithfulness is your own (τὸ πιστὸν σόν) your self-respect is your own who thencan take these things from you (hellip) Since you have such promptings and directions(ὑποθήκας καὶ ἐντολὰς) from Zeus what kind do you still want from me Am I greaterthan he or more trustworthy (ἀξιοπιστότερος) But if you keep these commands of his doyou need any others besides

The flexibility in Epictetusrsquo usage of pistis language is perfectly illustrated in thispassage as it is used first as a quality and thereafter as an attitude towards eitherhim or Zeus whom would you rather trust who is literally more worthy of your pistisEvidently the sage or teacher loses out to the god According to Epictetus however thevirtue of faithfulness does not consist in this attitude towards Zeus but in putting Godsrsquodirections into practice

These examples show that when Christians in the early empire would speak of theimportance of the virtue of faithfulness or about the trust they put in their leaders inChrist in God and of the trustworthiness of these lsquoobjects of trustrsquo worthy of theirimitation it was unproblematically understood by their pagan contemporaries Still forthe prominence of the virtue of pistis as a quality of men and attitude towards God atthe same time we must turn to a Jewish-Hellenistic version of the Platonic and Stoicphilosophical traditions In Philorsquos works pistis is most commonly used in a reifiedsense denoting lsquoproofrsquo lsquopledgersquo or lsquoevidencersquo117 Additionally it is also frequently usedas a virtue in its own right usually in connection with Septuagint passages that concernAbraham or Moses118 It represents the virtue of stability certainty trustworthinessand as a virtue it consists precisely in an action or attitude of trust for it must beplaced in the right trustworthy object

To purge away each of these to distrust created being which in itself is wholly unworthyof trust (ἀπιστῆσαι γενέσει τῇ πάντα ἐξ ἑαυτῆς ἀπίστῳ) to trust in God and in Him aloneeven as He alone is truly worthy of trust (μόνῳ δὲ πιστεῦσαι θεῷ καὶ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν μόνῳπιστῷ) ndash this is a task for a great and celestial understanding (hellip)119

While he adapts the Platonic epistemological division to allow for pistis to refer to theintelligible as well he is perfectly in line with Platonism in juxtaposing the sensible andthe eternal realm with the Delphic maxims in distrusting worldly goods and withStoicism in regarding pistis an important quality of the sage who is not distracted byindifferent externals The novelty in Philorsquos use of pistis lies in juxtaposing Abrahamrsquosattitude faith in the eternal God to faith in sensibles thus identifying the action orattitude of trusting with the virtue of trust and trustworthiness The virtue of pistis


consists in trusting in accordance with the trustworthiness of the object and so we willsee even in becoming trustworthy by association

For even as in Philo homoiosis theōi as a topic per se is never discussed in terms ofpistis he come close to suggesting that we ought to imitate Godrsquos pistis Moses was alsquowise man (sophos)rsquo because he had the privilege to lsquostandrsquo with God (Deut 531)understood as a means to lsquoput off doubt and hesitation the qualities of the unstablemind (ἵνα ἐνδοιασμὸν καὶ ἐπαμφοτερισμόν ἀβεβαίου ψυχῆς διαθέσεις ἀποδυσάμενος)and put on that surest and most stable quality faith (καὶ βεβαιοτάτην διάθεσιν πίστινἐνδύσηται)rsquo120 So in Godrsquos presence Moses is able to cloth himself with the divinestability whose corollary at least on the human side is pistis121 As we will see belowthis vocabulary of clothing will also be used by Paul to explicate imitation of the divineYet even more strikingly Philo also calls pistis a quality that belongs to God and that isprecisely why the human variant is essentially different it imitates divine pistis yet willalways remain an image of the divine archetype122

Such a person asserts that the faith which man possesses should be so strong as to differnot at all from the faith which belongs to the Existent (τὴν γὰρ πίστιν ἧς ἔλαχενἄνθρωπος οὕτω βέβαιόν φησι δεῖν εἶναι ὡς μηδὲν διαφέρειν τῆς περὶ τὸ ὄν) a faithsound and complete in every way (hellip) Enough for man is the power to possess the imagesof these (εἰκόνας αὐτῶν) images in the scale of number and magnitude far below thearchetypes (τῶν ἀρχετύπων ἐλαττουμένας)123

Philo thus grounds the relationship of human and divine pistis in the ontological oreven cosmological relationship of copy to original image to example Such a relation-ship is not a static one according to Middle Platonist thought the original grounds theexistence of the image and shows what it can potentially become it even acts as a causeefficiens leading the image in this direction124 As a copy of divine pistis Abrahamrsquospistis is essentially weaker but it strives towards becoming like the perfect original Soto sum up by presenting Abraham and Moses as the ultimate examples of both thecognitive quality of unwavering faith and the attitude of trust placed in the ultimatetrustworthy object ie God Philo makes the utmost use of the multivalence of pistislanguage Moreover even though Philo does not connect homoiōsis theōi to pistisexplicitly by connecting Mosesrsquo stable faith to Godrsquos stability and by comparinghuman to divine pistis we see the basic contours of the idea of assimilation to Godin the quality of pistis

5 Interhuman imitation in faith(fulness) in the Pauline communities

Before returning to the subject we started off with Paulrsquos ambiguous pistis Christouformulations we ought to account for the relevance of our lsquostagersquo of imitation in faithfor understanding the Pauline letters Whereas it needs no reaffirmation that Paulpartakes in a discourse of imitation125 and while the importance of pistis-vocabularyto the Pauline gospel may be evident can we also find uses of pistis either as quality tobe imitated or as attitude facilitating such imitation In what follows I will briefly referto a number of passages to support my thesis that we indeed can without aiming tooffer a comprehensive exegesis


An explicit admonition to imitate the faithfulness of another person or of Christhimself a nice phrase like lsquoimitate my pistis in Christ as I imitate his pistis in Godrsquo orsomething similar is lacking in the extant Pauline letters In the early Christian tradi-tion it was not uncommon however to speak of imitation of anotherrsquos pistis TheLetter to the Hebrews echoes precisely this focus we saw in Greco-Roman sources on theimportance of lived examples including the lived faith of their leaders lsquoRemember(Μνημονεύετε) your leaders those who spoke the word of God to you consider theoutcome of their way of life (ὧν ἀναθεωροῦντες τὴν ἔκβασιν τῆς ἀναστροφῆς) andimitate their faith (μιμεῖσθε τὴν πίστιν)rsquo126 But also in the Pauline letters pistis plays apart in several interhuman relationships of imitation as well as in the Christndashfollowerrsquosrelationship to Christ as will be made clear in the next section As for the imitation ofhuman examples it is noteworthy that here pistis-vocabulary pertains to imitation offaith or faithfulness as a dispositional quality and not to a faith as the attitude enablinga relationship of imitation Like Philo Paul obviously employs Abraham as a prototypeas the father of all the faithful circumcized and uncircumcized lsquofollow in the footstepsrsquoof this narrative and historical exemplum of pistis that is specified as lsquowith and withoutforeskinrsquo (Rom 411ndash12) The presentation of Abraham as father fits the general Romanpattern of mimicking the civic virtue of the great ancestors

Yet apart from this more abstract usage of imitation it is also possible to speak of amimetic chain in the Pauline network of communities in analogy to the masterndashstudentrelationships we discussed in Hellenistic philosophy Given the many admonitions andthanksgivings referring to it the strength or firmness of the pistis of his addressees is ofcontinuous concern to Paul It is the one thing he appears to be most interested aboutwhen informing after the well-being of the communities he founded and visited (Phil127 1 Thes 35) They are continuously reminded to stand firm or praised for standingfirm in or by their pistis (1 Cor 1613 2 Cor 124 Rom 1120) which seems to stand in aparadigmatic relation to standing in the Lord (1 Thes 38 cf Col 25) The vocabularyinvolved suggests that pistis is something in respect of which a community can not onlystand but also be strengthened or encouraged (1 Thes 32 τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμᾶς καὶπαρακαλέσαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν) and even something capable of increasing orgrowing (Phil 125 προκοπὴν (hellip) τῆς πίστεως127 2 Cor 1015 αὐξανομένης τῆςπίστεως ὑμῶν) or even more specific of being perfected when lacking (1 Thes 310καταρτίσαι τὰ ὑστερήματα τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν) The reverse is also possible sincefirmness of faith(fullness) is threatened by testing (peiraacutezō 1 Thes 35) or tribulation(thlipsis 1 Thes 33) and may be weakened by distrust (apistia Rom 420 Rom 1120)All this shows that pistis comes in degrees and that Paul and his companions likeTimothy are given the position of a teacher or even lsquofatherbrotherrsquo sponsoring thisfaith(fullness) To fulfil this position adequately however a teacher must of course betrustworthy (pistos) himself so that he is worthy of imitation128

Indeed in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel I appeal to you thenbe imitators of me (μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε) For this reason I sent you Timothy who ismy beloved and faithful child in the Lord (τέκνον ἀγαπητὸν καὶ πιστὸν ἐν κυρίῳ) toremind you of my ways in Christ Jesus (ὃς ὑμᾶς ἀναμνήσει τὰς ὁδούς μου τὰς ἐνΧριστῷ Ἰησοῦ) as I teach them everywhere in every church (καθὼς πανταχοῦ ἐν πάσῃἐκκλησίᾳ διδάσκω)129


If we analyse this according to our lsquomimetic chain-modelrsquo no less than four lsquoshacklesrsquocan be distinguished Christ Paul Timothy and the addressed community In callinghis teachings literally lsquowaysrsquo that can be refreshed by anotherrsquos presence both thepractical nature of these teachings and the transferral by means of stepwise imitationare made apparent

In the beginning of 1 Thessalonians it becomes clear that imitation not onlyfunctions in top-down structures headed by Paul but that the collective faith(fulness)of his addressees is an example to other Christ-communities In the thanksgivingsection Paul starts by praising the Thessaloniansrsquo lsquowork of faith(fulness)rsquo fully acknowl-edging the exercise it involves similar to acquiring a philosophical disposition tocontinue with describing various mimetic relationships

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord (ὑμεῖς μιμηταὶ ἡμῶν ἐγενήθητε καὶ τοῦκυρίου) for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the HolySpirit so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia(ὥστε γενέσθαι ὑμᾶς τύπον πᾶσιν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀχαΐᾳ) Forthe word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia butin every place where your faith in God has become known (ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡπρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐξελήλυθεν) so that we have no need to speak about it130

Here Paul speaks of Christ himself and the addressees as being successive models forimitation In this mimetic chain the Thessalonians in their turn became an example(tupos) to lsquothe believersrsquo131 a participle that might simply be a common unmarkeddesignation yet considering the early date of this letter could also be argued to carrythe lsquothickerrsquo meaning of lsquothose who have placed their trust in God in Christ andor inhis followersrsquo Anyhow as the final quoted sentence confirms it is their trust in Godthat is exemplary so that it speaks louder than words

6 Imitation of Christ by and in faith(fulness) in the Pauline letters

When Paul speaks of his and his addresseesrsquo faith in relation to Christ most of thetimes this faith is not the content or imitandum but the means by which the imitationtakes place132 First of all Paul repeatedly expresses the content of faith in terms ofimitation of Christrsquos death and resurrection lsquoBut if we have died with Christ we believethat (πιστεύομεν ὅτι) we will also live with himrsquo133 lsquoFor since we believe that(πιστεύομεν ὅτι) Jesus died and rose again even so through Jesus God will bringwith him those who have diedrsquo134 These short credorsquos imply not merely a cognitiveassent to lsquoarticles of faithrsquo as the form lsquobelieve thatrsquo may suggest but a conviction ortrust that radically alters their mode of life as it is now linked to Christrsquos Whereasassent can be merely on the lips faith in Christrsquos resurrection has to take hold in theheart so that a person can be made righteous135 The imitation is expressed even morestrongly in terms of assimilation in the expression lsquoin him we might become therighteousness of God (ἡμεῖς γενώμεθα δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ)rsquo136 Paulrsquos aim is tolsquogive birth to his childrenrsquo as people in whom Christ is formed137 However if themodel after which they are formed is not vindicated or has not achieved perfection bybeing resurrected this pistis is lsquoin vain (κενὴ)rsquo or lsquopointless (ματαία)rsquo for then theycannot count on being resurrected and perfected themselves138 This is reminiscent of


the concern of the philosophical searcher hoping to find a teacher whose life and deathexpress his or her convictions even though the idea of imitation in resurrection wouldcause some eyebrows to be raised Pistis seems to be more of an attitude than a qualityin the instances discussed so far for it is either explicitly directed to Christ and hisresurrection as its object or implicitly linked to his perfection so that without this linkit is useless Adversely Epictetus would never consider onersquos faithful disposition asuseless for it is not dependent for its value on any external including its modelNevertheless it is very much in convergence with Platonist ontology according towhich Form and particular exist in a mimetic relationship the image being dependentfor its very being on the original in which it participates139

An even stronger connection between pistis and this Christ-formed life can be foundin utterances that are responsible for labelling Paul a mystic140 Paul repeatedly speaksof living lsquoin Christrsquo lsquoin the Lordrsquo or lsquoin himrsquo and conversely though less often of Christliving in him141 In these phrases pistis is used in paradigmatic relation to Christ bothwith the same preposition (ἐν) as near equivalents In 2 Corinthians we read theexhortation lsquoExamine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith (εἰ ἐστὲ ἐντῇ πίστει) Test yourselves Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you (ὅτι ἸησοῦςΧριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν) ndash unless indeed you fail to pass the testrsquo142 Similarly from the letterto the Galatians lsquoit is Christ who lives in me And the life I now live in the flesh I live byfaith inof the Son of God (ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ) (hellip)rsquo This last instance ofpistis is one of the pistis Christou formulations to which I shall return in the nextparagraph yet for now it suffices to point out that lsquoliving in pistisrsquo is used to explicatethe phenomenon of Christ living in his followers Off course Hellenistic-Jewish notionsof the divine wisdom indwelling in human beings highlight a relevant context for thisvocabulary yet the parallel with Senecarsquos lsquointerveningrsquo God is perhaps even moreadequate since it shares the same reciprocity inherent to these Pauline expressions143Senecarsquos God comes not only near but also inside people in the form of divine seedsthat if cultivated spring up in the likeness of their source Accordingly in Paul thebeliever being in Christ is simultaneously Christ dwelling in the believer which effectsthis lsquobeliefrsquo to be more than an outward-facing trusting attitude Pistis in theseinstances seems to also stand for Christrsquos faithful disposition that is appropriated inthe lives of his followers it springs up in Christrsquos likeness Accordingly acting accord-ing to faith is acting like God or Christ as for instance in the admonition to lsquowelcomehim who is weak according to faith (Rom 141 τὸν δὲ ἀσθενοῦντα τῇ πίστειπροσλαμβάνεσθε) with the rationale that lsquoGod has welcomed himrsquo (143) a themeupon which later on the variation is made to lsquowelcome one another just as Christ haswelcomed yoursquo (Rom 157 προσλαμβάνεσθε ἀλλήλους καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸςπροσελάβετο ὑμᾶς) lsquoIn faithrsquo or lsquoaccording to faithrsquo is here shorthand for the attitudetowards Christ that simultaneously appropriates his faithful behaviour

There is an interesting text from the pastoral epistles that support the possibility ofpistis as referring to Christrsquos faithfulness which draws an analogy between Christ andthe human imitator Introduced by the technical introduction lsquothis teaching istrustworthy (πιστὸς ὁ λόγος)rsquo the conditions are put forward that if the humanlsquowersquo is like Christ in his death and enduring so also in his life and reigning But itbecomes interesting if this lsquowersquo deviates from the pattern of imitation in case of adenial this is again mirrored by a denial of Christ yet if lsquowersquo are being unfaithful (εἰ


ἀπιστοῦμεν) the pattern is interrupted lsquohe remains faithful (ἐκεῖνος πιστὸς μένει) ndashfor he cannot deny himselfrsquo144 This demonstrates that for one also in the days inwhich the pastorals were written the language of imitation was still prevalent What ismore the consequences of each onersquos role in this imitation were being thoughtthrough as a model Christ could interact with his imitators but not to the pointof abnegating his own virtue Finally we learn that according to the author whoprobably reflects on a wider known teaching Christ is pistos so much so that it is anundeniable inseparable part of his disposition145 And this faithfulness of Christ isthought of in a context where a relationship of imitation is the topic underconsideration

So we have seen that in the position of the Christndashfollower pistis can refer to boththe attitude of faith trust belief conviction directed at Christ and the quality offaithfulness trustworthiness loyalty modelled after Christ Now the question left inthe minds of those at home in the pistis Christou debate is did Paul also think of Christas having an attitude of faith in God Based solely on the starting point of lsquosustainedambiguityrsquo there is no reason to separate his being filled with faith from his faithful-ness Yet there even is some textual evidence that suggests that Christ was indeedthought of as having beliefs and that his followers imitate these beliefs as well In aninsightful article modestly titled lsquo2 Corinthians and the Πίστις Χρίστου Debatersquo (pur-posefully different from all the lsquoneglected evidencersquo variants) Kenneth Schenck drawsattention to Paulrsquos citation from the Psalms146

But just as we have the same spirit of faith (τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πίστεως) that is inaccordance with scripture ndash lsquoI believed and so I spoke (Ἐπίστευσα διὸ ἐλάλησα)rsquo ndash we alsobelieve (πιστεύομεν) and so we speak because we know that the one who raised the LordJesus will raise us also with Jesus (hellip)147

Schenck argues that if we try to capture the logic behind Paulrsquos reasoning it makesmost sense that Paul understood this quote to be voiced by Christ and not in the firstplace as is often assumed by the Psalmist rendering Paulrsquos own belief an imitation ofChristrsquos belief that God would resurrect him148 While Schenck hence repeatedly speaksof lsquoJesusrsquo faith as exemplary for human faithrsquo he never explores the wider context of theimitation motive in Paul let alone his cultural surroundings149 Yet as is hopefullysufficiently clear by now from the background of practising philosophy imitation of amaster in character mind faith and even speech was considered indispensable

7 Mediated imitation of God as cultural model for Paulrsquos Pistis Christouformulations

In the finale of this article it seems fitting for God to enter the scene even as myargument would win in strength if this entrance would be more organic than exmachina How does the divine fit into this evolving scene of studentndashmasterndashsageimitation We have already seen that God is the object of human faith (1 Thes 18pistis pros ton theon) Is God also viewed as a moral paradigm particularly so in pistisin the Pauline literature

In contrast to our philosophical references God is not directly mentioned as theobject of imitation even though God is regularly praised for being pistos150 On a


closer look though in all four of these cases the issue at stake is the stability orperfection of the faithful At the beginning of 1 Corinthians this process of perfec-tion is spoken of in terms of being strengthened by Christ up to the end (18) so asto be irreproachable on the day of the Lord In this context it is said that God isfaithful (19 πιστὸς ὁ θεὸς) Further on in the letter they are warned to remainstanding if they are subjected to a test for lsquoGod is faithful (πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεός) and hewill not let you be tested beyond your strengthrsquo (1013) At the end of 1Thessalonians a similar reassurance is given Paul wishes his addressees to besanctified entirely by God so that their body mind and spirit are irreproachable(523) at the parousia which is affirmed by the words lsquo[t]he one who calls you isfaithful (πιστὸς ὁ καλῶν ὑμᾶς) and he will do sorsquo (524) The same model can alsobe said to apply to the fourth specimen of the adjective pistos in which Paul appealsto Godrsquos faithfulness this time to reaffirm his own reliability In order to explain tothe Corinthians why he had not come to Corinth he first rebuts the complaint ofinconsistency

As surely as God is faithful (πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεὸς ὅτι) our word to you has not been lsquoyes andnorsquo For the Son of God Jesus Christ whom we proclaimed among you Silvanus andTimothy and I was not lsquoyes and norsquo but in him it is always lsquoyesrsquo For in him every one ofGodrsquos promises is a lsquoyesrsquo For this reason it is through him that we say the lsquoamenrsquo to theglory of God But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ (ὁ δὲ βεβαιῶν ἡμᾶς σὺνὑμῖν εἰς Χριστὸν) (hellip)151

Duplicity or two-mindedness does not belong either to God or to those who serve himPaulrsquos call upon Godrsquos faithfulness to establish (bebaioō) his own is wholly under-standable seen that his own sincerity is in question Paul involves Jesus Christ as thefulfilment of Godrsquos promises ie Godrsquos lsquoyesrsquo to us and as the one in whom lsquowersquo respondaffirmatively to these promises Christ is the firm unwavering representative of Godrsquosfaithfulness and the representative and guarantee of our lsquoamenrsquo to God In all four casesthen the stability of God expressed by the adjective pistos functions not so much as themodel but rather as guarantee for the stability trustworthiness and ultimate perfectionof the Christ-community Imitation of God per se or of Godrsquos pistis is not part of Paulrsquosvocabulary

In implicit and explicit contexts of imitation we indeed encounter Christ as amediating intermediary comparable to the sophos in Stoicism the deus mortalis inEpicureanism and the lsquogod in the heavensrsquo in Middle Platonism As we argued above allschool traditions recognized the need for some kind of human example if only as inPlatonism to recall the soulrsquos own prenatal glimpse of the virtues themselves Paul tooacknowledges this need when he affirmatively quotes from the book of Isa thathumanity has no access to the lsquomind of the Lordrsquo yet he continues lsquowe have themind of Christrsquo152 Mirroring the descent of God or even of Fides to earth and intohuman minds in our Greco-Roman sources Christ is the image of God that came to theearth so that humans may share in his divine mind In his comprehensive study intolanguage of lsquoimage of Godrsquo and lsquobeing made like Godrsquo George van Kooten concludesthat lsquo[a]s Christ is the image of God and man by becoming of the same form as Christparticipates in this image the homoiōsis Christōi is the intermediary stage in the processof assimilation to Godrsquo153 To allow for this assimilation the pre-existent Christ needed


to take on the lsquolikeness of manrsquo first154 This seems to be a move that is unparalleled inthe pagan discourse of homoiōsis especially in its drastic form of slavery and sufferingalthough the Platonic variant is closer as regards the other-regarding motivation oreven love of the teacher

It is from this role of Christ as intermediary in imitation as image of Godrsquosfaithfulness to humanity and model for human faith in and faithfulness to God at thesame time that the sustained ambiguity of the pistis Christou phrases is brought to thefore It will be the purpose of these final paragraphs to briefly discuss how in at leastthree of the four passages in which the seven pistis Christou phrases are used thediscourse of imitation is present To be sure I do not mean to imply that this is asufficient context for these passages of even for these phrases since evidently thediscourse of law sin and justice plays an important part as well My aim is howeverto offer a reading of these passages which connects them to the Mediterranean culturemore specifically the philosophical practise and intellectual topos of imitation of eachother teachers sages gods and ultimately God

First in the Letter to the Philippians Paul refers to his own righteousness as lsquoone thatcomes through pistis inof Christ (τὴν διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ) the righteousness fromGod based on pistis (τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει)rsquo He continues by expres-sing his wish to lsquoknow Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of hissufferings by becoming like him in his death (συμμορφιζόμενος τῷ θανάτῳ αὐτοῦ) ifsomehow I may attain the resurrection from the deadrsquo We already saw that Paul oftenexpresses belief in this mimetic pattern of sharing in Christrsquos life and death and that heexpects this attitude of faith to alter his life and become Christ-like as a performativemimetic act Attitude that is faith in Christ and quality that is a lsquoChrist-likersquo faithfuldisposition thus come together in the act of imitation155

Then there is the passage we already encountered from the Letter to theGalatians (215ndash21) The imitation is here evident in the identification of Paulwith Christrsquos crucifixion being literally lsquoco-crucified (συνεσταύρωμαι)rsquo and withhis subsequent life lsquoand it is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives inme And the life I now live in the flesh I live by pistis inof the Son of God (ἐνπίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ) who loved me and gave himself for mersquo156 Theambiguity of pistis here can hardly be missed if Christ lives in lsquomersquo then lsquomyrsquo pistisis his pistis too Paulrsquos disposition has been taken up in Christrsquos own characterizedby pistis and self-giving love At the same time it is Christrsquos trust in God and Paulrsquostrust in Christ ndash lsquowe have come to trust in Christ Jesus (εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦνἐπιστεύσαμεν)rsquo ndash that paves the way for this process of imitation

A little further in the same letter we read that lsquowhat was promised throughpistis inof Jesus Christ might be given to those who believersquo157 Not unlikeItalicusrsquo dramatic return of Fides to the oppressed people on a lsquodefiled earth(pollutas (hellip) terras)rsquo Pistis also needs to return to lsquoall that is under the powerof sin (τὰ πάντα ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίαν)rsquo in order for this transference of faith(fulness) tobe effective and lsquoshersquo returns simultaneously with Christrsquos coming (322ndash25)158The consequences for the believers are further explicated as lsquoin Christ you are allchildren of God through faith (πάντες γὰρ υἱοὶ θεοῦ ἐστε διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐνΧριστῷ Ἰησοῦ)rsquo and you have lsquoclothed yourselves with Christ (Χριστὸνἐνεδύσασθε)rsquo Both metaphors are perfectly at home in a mimetic setting as


children you ideally mirror your parents not your disciplinarianrsquos virtue Buteven more so by putting on anotherrsquos cloths you impersonate his character Thisconnection between putting on new clothes and homoiōsis theōi is confirmed bythe deuteropauline tradition in Ephesians we read how the new life consists beingtaught in Jesus (421 ἐν αὐτῷ ἐδιδάχθητε) and to lsquoclothe yourselves with the newself created according to the likeness of God (ἐνδύσασθαι τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωποντὸν κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντα) in true righteousness and holiness (ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶὁσιότητι τῆς ἀληθείας)rsquo159 The reference to the virtues of lsquotruersquo righteousness andholiness may very well be a play on Platorsquos famous homoiōsis passage in theTheaetetus160 At any rate this understanding within the lsquoPauline schoolrsquo demon-strates that pistis Christou imitating Christ by means of and in his pistis was seenas an intermediary step in becoming like God even as to Paul talk of beinglsquomodelled after Godrsquo would probably be a bridge to far

To sum up we have seen that the idea of moral imitation pervaded the familialeducational and public spheres of the Roman Empire in the days of Paul thatimitation between students and masters was considered of paramount importancein philosophical schools and most importantly that in both contexts pistis is usedeither referring to a dispositional quality to model onersquos character upon or as anattitude towards a model Within these philosophical circles we saw that lsquobecominglike Godrsquo was a widely used ethical aim to which all traditions in one way oranother invoked the help of lesser divine or higher human intermediaries Onecould even imitate the divine in being pistos or having fides In the letters of PaulI distinguished between interhuman imitation human imitation of Christ andimitation of God Whereas in interhuman relations faith is not so much used asan attitude towards an example in reference to Christ pistis-language seems to formthe basis for a relationship of imitation and identification including his faith inresurrection and faithfulness towards God Finally we have argued that Godrsquos owntrustworthiness has everything to do with the human movement towards trust-worthiness and perfection yet that imitation of God takes place through the inter-mediate model of Christ who actively played the human part so that we are able toenact his In the immediate context of the pistis Christou formulations we findample clues to support our claim that the Greco-Roman practice of imitation setsthe stage to understand the ambiguity in these phrases According to Paulrsquos mimeticlogic Christrsquos faith and faithfulness has become our faith and faithfulness throughour faith in him

I will conclude with one more witness to Paulrsquos legacy of mediated imitation of GodRoughly two hundred years after Paul Clement of Alexandria brings together theplatonic ideal of homoiōsis theōi and Paulrsquos mimetic chain by calling assimilation toGod the lsquoaim of faithrsquo

And openly and expressly the apostle in the first Epistle to the Corinthians says lsquoBe yefollowers of me as also I am of Christrsquo in order that that may take place If ye are of meand I am of Christ then ye are imitators of Christ and Christ of God Assimilation to Godthen so that as far as possible a man becomes righteous and holy with wisdom he laysdown as the aim of faith and the end to be that restitution of the promise which is effectedby faith161


With this synthesis Clement made Paulrsquos participation in the discourse of homoiōsistheōi and its relation to Paulrsquos pistis-vocabulary explicit

Notes

1 The seven occurrences have slight variations διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Gal 216) ἐκπίστεως Χριστοῦ (Gal 216) ἐν πίστει (hellip) τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (Gal 220) ἐκ πίστεωςἸησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Gal 322) διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ (Phil 39) διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ(Rom 322) ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ (Rom 326)

2 In an exchange of views published in the SBL Symposium Series both Hays (support-ing the subjective-genitive reading) and Dunn (supporting the objective-genitive read-ing) hold that the phrase itself is inconclusive though each also holds that the outcomeof the grammatical arguments favours his own interpretation Cf Hays ldquoΠίστις andPauline Christologyrdquo 39 and James DG DUNN ldquoOnce More ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥrdquo 67

3 For an overview of these and other theological concerns see Hays ldquoΠίστις and PaulineChristologyrdquo 55ndash57

4 A comprehensive overview of the current situation including lsquoboth sides of the storyrsquo isoffered by Bird and Sprinkle The Faith of Jesus Christ Ulrichs Christusglaube is arecent profoundly written monograph ultimately defending the lsquofaith in Christrsquo posi-tion while incorporating New Perspective insights

5 Cf the conclusion of an overview of arguments in Easter ldquoThe Pistis Christou Debaterdquo42 lsquointerpreters resort either intentionally or unintentionally to their larger models forreading Paul that are already in placersquo

6 Granted this Mediterranean model will form nothing but an even wider circle with thePauline material yet I presume that at least here the amount and variety of the sourceswill leave less room for ideological presuppositions

7 As formulated literally by Matlock ldquoThe Rhetoric of πίστιςrdquo 177 yet implied by manyothers

8 Hays ldquoΠίστις and Pauline Christologyrdquo 58 Cf Hays The faith of Jesus Christ 174ndash175lsquoWe should be willing to recognize that Paulrsquos language may sometimes be ambiguousby design allowing him to speak in one breath of Christrsquos faith and our faithrsquo

9 Matlock ldquoDetheologizing the Pistis Christou Debaterdquo 16 Cf Matlock ldquoPaul and PistisChristourdquo 315 In support of his approach Matlock build on linguistic theory asexplained by DA Cruse in Lexical Semantics

10 See Barr Semantics of Biblical Language 21811 Smith World of the New Testament 174 lsquounderstanding a concept does not always

require us to choose one meaning at the expense of another meaning Sometimes tounderstand pistis in a given context you need to take into account both senses of theword faith and faithfulnessrsquo Jewett Romans 277ndash278 lsquoneither of the strict construalsmatches what the original audience would have understood I wonder whether theambiguity may have been intentional on Paulrsquos partrsquo

12 Downing ldquoAmbiguity Ancient Semantics and Faithrdquo 160 Cf Ibid 155ndash156 lsquoWhat isruled out then it is here argued is any hard precision any clear lines between possibleconnotations of particular words the kinds of lsquonicersquo distinctions desired in sometheological or ideological discourse In interpreting sympathetically our ancient textsit will rather and almost inevitably be a matter of discerning family resemblancesamong uses of particular lexemesrsquo

13 Morgan Roman Faith and Christian Faith 273 27414 That Paul exploits the ambiguity of terms has also been noted in regard of different

words and passages see eg with regard to κατοτρίζω and καταργέω StockhausenMosesrsquo Veil 127 lsquoThe wisest course is simply to admit that when Paul uses anambiguous term or form he means to play upon that very ambiguity We mustallow him to do sorsquo


15 Agamben The Time that Remains 131 lsquowe have to venture something like a perfor-mative efficacy of the word of faith realized in its very pronouncementrsquo

16 Hays ldquoΠίστις and Pauline Christologyrdquo 3817 Morgan Roman Faith and Christian Faith 292ndash294 Morgan does not elaborate so

much on the theme of imitation in pistis See p 257 n 162 which also includes a fewreferences to the New Testament lsquoThough imitation (of God Christ or those entrustedwith authority) is not often connected explicitly with pistis language here or elsewherein the New Testament imitation can be seen as one way in which human beings learnhow to respond to the pistis that God and Christ extend to themrsquo

18 For example Williams ldquoAgain Pistis Christourdquo 446 lsquoChristian faith is Christ-faiththat relationship to God which Christ exemplified that life-stance which he actualizedand which because he lived and died now characterizes the personal existence ofeveryone who lives in him Christ is not the ldquoobjectrdquo of such faith however but ratherits supreme exemplarmdashindeed its creatorrsquo

19 See for these reservations and their rebuttal Hooker ldquoΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥrdquo 323 Thisalso seems to be the rationale behind Haysrsquo critique of Williams lsquohe downplays thevicarious elements of Paulrsquos story of salvation I would prefer to speak less of Jesus asldquoexemplarrdquo and somewhat more of Jesus as the σπέρμα (ldquoseedrdquo) whose apocalypticdestiny of death and resurrection reshapes the destiny of those who are now ldquoinrdquo himrsquoSee Hays ldquoΠίστις and Pauline Christologyrdquo 52

20 Hooker ldquoAnother Look at πίστις Xριστοῦrdquo 53 Cf Hooker ldquoΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥrdquo andHooker From Adam to Christ chapter 14 lsquoPistis Christoursquo 165ndash186

21 Hooker ldquoΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥrdquo 323 lsquoparticipation is a much better word than imita-tionrsquo Hooker From Adam to Christ 92 lsquoOf course this is not imitation it is con-formityrsquo Ibid 183 lsquoit is thus a question of sharing in what Christ is not a question ofimitationrsquo

22 De Boer The Imitation of Paul Reinhartz ldquoPauline exhortationrdquo Getty ldquoThe Imitationof Paulrdquo Castelli Imitating Paul Brant ldquoThe Place of Mimēsisrdquo Clarke ldquoBe Imitatorsof Merdquo Dodd Paulrsquos Paradigmatic lsquoIrsquo Copan Saint Paul as Spiritual Director EastmanldquoImitating Christ Imitating Usrdquo Van Kooten Paulrsquos Anthropology in Context 199ndash219(Section 24 lsquoPaul the image of God and likeness to Christrsquo) Ellington ldquoImitatingPaulrsquos Relationship to the Gospelrdquo Williams ldquoImitate Merdquo Smit Paradigms of Being inChrist Harrison ldquoThe Imitation of the lsquoGreat Manrsquo in Antiquityrdquo

23 In this article the references to theatre stage (en)acting audience and such are merelyrich metaphors to conveniently describe the idea of a real-life associative context Acase can and has been made however for viewing Paulrsquos imitation (or mimēsis)language (esp in Phillipians) against precisely this backdrop of the Greco-Romanlove for theatrics and dramatics see Eastman ldquoImitating Christ Imitating Usrdquo427ndash450

24 A discourse is usually thought of as a normative integrated set of ideas to whichindividual texts relate in a variety of ways shaping the meaning of the discourse byreframing the elements according to their purposes In my application of the term I amnot so much interested in the deconstruction of discourses of power (this is howdiscourse analysis is often understood following the work of M Foucault) as in themanner in which an individual authors like Paul creatively reconfigure known sets ofideas thus shedding light on their own distinctive message

25 From a methodological perspective the phenomenon of lsquopopular philosophyrsquo forms analternative to demonstrating one-to-one relationships between Paul and specific phi-losophical traditions See Malherbe Paul and the Popular Philosophers and ThomldquoPopular Philosophyrdquo 279ndash295

26 See eg on intertextuality and imitation MacDonald Mimesis and Intertextuality oneducation and imitation Morgan Literate Education esp 251ndash254 and CribioreGymnastics of the mind 132ndash136 Witherington Philippians 76ndash78 on rhetoric andimitation Fiore Personal Example 26ndash44


27 Most famous perhaps is the advice of Scipiorsquos father at the end of Cicerorsquos De RePublica (616) to lsquolike your grandfather here like me practise justice and piety whichare indeed strictly due to parents and kinsmen but most of all to the fatherland (utavus hic tuus ut ego qui te genui iustitiam cole et pietatem quae cum magna inparentibus et propinquis tum in patria maxima est)rsquo See on moral education and theimitation of ancestors Marrou A History of Education 234ndash236 Some excellentexamples of the imitation of ancestral glory have been collected by Harrison ldquoTheImitation of the lsquoGreat Manrsquordquo 223ndash228 Translations of ancient Greek and Latinsources have with small revisions when necessary taken over from the LoebClassical Library editions unless stated otherwise

28 Cicero De Officiis 133 (121) On the considerable overlap of meaning between pistisand fides see Freyburger Fides Eacutetude Seacutemantique Et Religieuse 33 Gruen ldquoGreekΠίστις and Roman Fidesrdquo 68

29 In fact according to Seneca their fingers were first lsquoheld and guided by others so thatthey may follow the outlines of the letters next they are ordered to imitate a copy andbase thereon a style of penmanshiprsquo See Epistulae 9451

30 Dionysius of Halicarnassus De Imitatio fragment 6131 Quintilian Institutio Oratoria 22832 For Plutarchrsquos and Senecarsquos usage of exempla see Brenk ldquoSetting a Good Exemplumrdquo

195ndash21533 Quintilian Institutio Oratoria 12229ndash3034 Cf lsquoif indeed he is to attain perfection by the merits both of his life and of his

eloquencersquo (Quintilian Institutio Oratoria 12227) lsquoNo one can be a perfect oratorwho does not both understand the language of honour and have the courage to use it(qui honeste dicere et sciet et audebit)rsquo (Ibid 12231)

35 Plutarchrsquos Vitae are not all meant as one-on-one examples to imitate though Aspointed out by Christopher Pelling sometimes lsquo[t]he moralism (hellip) is of a differentsort rather closer to that of tragedy this is a more descriptive moralism pointing atruth of human experience rather than building a model for crude imitation oravoidancerdquo (Pelling ldquoAspects of Plutarchrsquos Characterisationrdquo 274) See on the multi-valence in the Lives and the critical position Plutarch expects of his readers DuffldquoPlutarchrsquos lsquoLivesrsquo and the Critical Readerrdquo 59ndash82 On the moral purpose of ValeriusMaximus see Skidmore Practical Ethics for Roman Gentlemen

36 Plutarch Aemilius Paulus III 2637 Dionysius van Halicarnassus Antiquitates Romanae 275338 For example Xenophon Cyropaedia 8121 lsquohe believed that he could in no way more

effectively inspire a desire for the beautiful and the good than by endeavouring as theirsovereign to set before his subjects a perfect model of virtue in his own personrsquoPseudo-Aristotle Rhetorica ad Alexandrum 1420B7 lsquoIt will be necessary for you toknow that for most people either the law or your life and speech are models(παραδείγματά)rsquo

39 Plutarch Ad principem ineruditem 780d40 Plutarch Cato Minor 447ndash841 Epictetus Diatribae 32227ndash2842 Apud Stobaeus Anthologium 31173 (128 and 142 respectively)43 See Bultmann Der Stil der paulinischen Predigt 50ndash5144 Aristotle Ethica Nicomachea 1013 (1172A34ndash35) Cf Ethica Nicomachea 1014

(1172B3ndash6) lsquoHence it appears that true theories are the most valuable for conduct aswell as for science harmonizing with deeds they carry conviction (συνῳδοὶ γὰρ ὄντεςτοῖς ἔργοις πιστεύονται) and so encourage those who understand them to guide theirlives by them (ζῆν κατrsquo αὐτούς)rsquo

45 Musonius Rufus Fragment 6 p 22 r 7ndash8 in Hensersquos edition Translations from Lutz1947

46 Musonius Rufus Fragment 6 p 23 r 15ndash16 in Hensersquos edition


47 Hadot Philosophy as a Way of Life esp chapter 1148 Sellars The Art of Living 10749 Dihle ldquoDie Griechische Philosophierdquo 17 Cf Ibid 18 lsquoDas rechte Leben ist Inhalt und

Ziel philosophischer Lehre und sonst gar nichts meinen kaiserzeitliche Autoren wie dieStoiker Musonios und Epiktetrsquo On the role of Socrates in shaping this practicalapproach to philosophy cf Cooper ldquoSocrates and Philosophyrdquo

50 Trapp ldquoPhilosophy in the Imperial Periodrdquo 5551 Seneca Epistulae Morales 118ndash1052 Seneca Epistulae Morales 65ndash653 Cf Seneca Epistulae Morales 9450 where he defends the use of precepts lsquoWeaker

characters however need someone to precede them to say ldquoAvoid thisrdquo or ldquoDo thatrdquorsquo54 Cf the degree by the Athenians on Zeno of Citium in which they decide to build him a

tomb at public expense praising him for lsquoaffording to all in his own conduct a patternfor imitation in perfect consistency with his teachingrsquo (Diogenes Laertius VitaePhilosophorum 710)

55 Epictetus Diatribae 2192956 Epictetus Diatribae 21930ndash3457 (Pseudo-)Plato Epistulae 358c (letter X)58 Cf for a very sceptical judgment Irwin ldquoPlato The Intellectual Backgroundrdquo 78 and

Bury Timaeus Critias Cleitophon Menexenus Epistles 597 James Starr who offers aninteresting comparison of Paul and Plato as regards letter openings argues for theletterrsquos authenticity and imputes the focus on ethics to the occasional character of theletter See Starr ldquoLetter Openings in Paul and Platordquo 540

59 In the mid-second century AD Albinus states that some persons begin their reading ofPlato with the Epistles which enhances the probability of its familiarity and availability inthat period See Albinus Prologos 6 translation in Burges TheWorks of Plato Vol VI 318

60 Bury Timaeus Critias Cleitophon Menexenus Epistles 597 lsquoWhat is he re said of thenature of ldquotrue philosophyrdquo has fairly close parallel in the Dialogues (ed cf Rep 409D499A ff Theaet 176C) but the blunt way in which ldquophilosophyrdquo is identified withpurely moral qualities with no reference to intellectual endowments is foreign toPlatorsquos manner There need be no hesitation therefore in rejecting this letter also asa spurious compositionrsquo

61 Epicurus Epistula ad Pythoclem apud Diogenes Laertius Vitae Philosophorum 1085Epicurusrsquo authorship of this letter is contested

62 Cicero Tusculanae Disputationes 480 Cicero envisioned himzelf a Platonist even ashe was drawn towards different lsquobranchesrsquo including the Stoics this openmindednesswas characteristic of the New Academy Cf Sedley ldquoPhilosophical Allegiancerdquo118ndash119 esp note 48

63 Cicero Tusculanae Disputationes 484 Et si fidentia id est firma animi confisio scientiaquaedam est et opinio gravis non temere adsentientis (hellip)

64 Musonius Rufus Fragment 8 p 35 r 8ndash15 in Hensersquos edition65 Epictetus Diatribae 2910ndash14 Cf Epictetus Diatribae 223ndash766 Cf Dihle ldquoDie Griechische Philosophierdquo 17 lsquoSo ist es kein wunder dass die Umwelt

Philosophen oft mehr nach ihrer Lebensfuumlhrung als nach ihrer Lehre beurteiltersquo67 Epictetus Diatribae 2192368 Epictetus Diatribae 32317ndash1869 Cicero De Finibus 23096 Cf Seneca Epistulae 664870 Cf Epictetus Diatribae 22225ndash27 Ibid 4131571 Porphyrius Ad Marcellam 872 The classical loci are Theaetetus 176bndashc Politeia 611dndashe and Timaeus 41dndash47c73 Litwa We are being transformed 19774 See ia Sedley ldquoThe ideal of godlikenessrdquo 309ndash328 Annas Platonic Ethics Chapter 3

52ndash71 Erler ldquoEpicurus as Deus Mortalisrdquo 159ndash181 Armstrong ldquoPlato on BecomingLike Godrdquo 171ndash183 Russell ldquoVirtue as lsquoLikeness to Godrsquordquo 241ndash260 Mahoney ldquoMoral


Virtuerdquo 77ndash91 Dombrowski A Platonic Philosophy of Religion Chapter 6 95ndash112 VanKooten Paulrsquos Anthropology 124ndash181 Miller Becoming God Constantinos andAthanassiadi ldquoLa Philosophisation Du Religieuxrdquo 63ndash65

75 Stobaeus Anthologium 27106 = SVF 366176 Epictetus Diatribae 1201577 Epicurus Letter to Menoecus apud Diogenes Laertius Vitae Philosophorum 1012478 For the presentation of homoiōsis as telos-formula by Eudorus see Dillon The Middle

Platonists 114ndash135 Van Kooten ldquoThe lsquoimage of Godrsquo and lsquobeing made like Godrsquordquo141ndash148

79 A view that is shared by later Platonists like Plutarch and might have been instigatedby the possible Pythagorean dictum lsquoFollow God (ἕπου Θεῷ)rsquo (see StobaeusAnthologium 22498)

80 Stobaeus Anthologium 273f81 Plato Laws 716c82 Annas Platonic Ethics 52ndash5383 Brouwer The Stoic Sage 91 note 13384 Cf Dombrowski A Platonic Philosophy of Religion 97 lsquoPlatonic askesis however does

not have to be seen in these terms in that the evidence of the dialogues of a certainhostility toward the senses does not necessarily indicate a desire to escape from theworld but to transform it or at least to transform our attitude toward itrsquo

85 Plato Politeia 6500c lsquoldquoOr do you think there is any way in which one would notimitate something one enjoys being associated with (ὅτῳ τις ὁμιλεῖ ἀγάμενος μὴμιμεῖσθαι ἐκεῖνο)rdquo ldquoNo thatrsquos impossiblerdquo he said ldquoThe philosopher who allies himselfwith the divine and orderly becomes divine and orderly as far as is possible for ahuman being (Θείῳ δὴ καὶ κοσμίῳ ὅ γε φιλόσοφος ὁμιλῶν κόσμιός τε καὶ θεῖος εἰς τὸδυνατὸν ἀνθρώπῳ γίγνεται)rdquorsquo

86 See 2 Corinthians 1012 a passage which could very well be aimed at opponents withsimilar sophistic views On Laws 716c as anti-sophistic cf Van Kooten ldquoThe lsquoimage ofGodrsquo and lsquobeing made like Godrsquordquo 134ndash135 On homoiōsis theōi in the virtues of justiceand piety as a means of combating sophists in the Theaetetus cf Sedley ldquoThe ideal ofGodlikenessrdquo 313

87 Cf Politeia 6500d lsquoldquoIf thenrdquo I said ldquosome compulsion comes upon him to put intopractice what he sees in the divine realm in the private and public lives of men (ἤθη καὶἰδίᾳ καὶ δημοσίᾳ) and to mold not just his own character do you think he wouldbecome a bad creator of temperance justice and every other common virtue(σωφροσύνης τε καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ συμπάσης τῆς δημοτικῆς ἀρετῆς)rdquo ldquoCertainlynotrdquo he saidrsquo Cf also Armstrongrsquos thesis that lsquoPlatorsquos identification of god with νοῦς orintelligence in the Timaeus Philebus and Laws influences his conception of assimila-tion to god Rather than fleeing from the sensible world becoming like this godcommits one to improving itrsquo See Armstrong ldquoPlato on Becoming Like Godrdquo 171See on otherworldliness in the Theaetetus Mahoney ldquoAssimilation to God in theTheaetetusrdquo 321ndash338

88 On the occurrence of sagehood according to the Stoics cf Reneacute Brouwerrsquos conclusionthat lsquothe Stoics Zeno included were not self-declared sagesrsquo See Brouwer The StoicSage 135

89 Epictetus Diatribae 21926ndash2890 Maximus of Tyre Orations 23 Translation by MB Trapp (1997)91 Maximus of Tyre Orations 13292 Alcinous Epitome doctrinae Platonicae 22 1533ndash9 Translation by Dillon (1993)93 Ibid 282 18144ndash4694 Philo De Opificio Mundi 69 and Quaestiones in Genesim 262 respectively For a

discussion see Van Kooten Paulrsquos Anthropology 181ndash19995 Philo Quis rerum divinarum heres sit 20596 Ibid 206


97 Note the ambiguity inherent to the word cultor meaning both worshipper and culti-vator that is lost in translation

98 Seneca Epistulae Morales 731699 Ibid 411ndash2 Pace Fitzgerald ldquoPassions and Moral Progressrdquo 275 lsquoThe contrast with

Paulrsquos moral vision of humanity redeemed to love worship and glorify God (hellip) couldnot be stronger (hellip) In Senecarsquos ethics the moral power of the philosophic life farfrom revealing the need for God or leading to worship of God rather demonstratesonersquos own equality with Godrsquo

100 Seneca Epistolae Morales 9550101 Erler ldquoEpicurus as deus mortalisrdquo 178102 Ibid 179 followed by Heath Paulrsquos Visual Piety p 83103 Ibid 179 The anonymous commentary was conventionally dated to the second

century AD though some argue for an earlier date (first century BC-early first AD)104 See note 85 above105 Cf Politeia 6500d quoted in note 86 above106 Plutarch Ad principem ineruditem 780endashf and 780b respectively In this passage the

language of assimilation to God and being an image of God coincide cf on this VanKooten ldquoThe lsquoimage of Godrsquo and lsquobeing made like Godrsquordquo 215

107 Plato Phaedrus 253bndashc108 Erler ldquoEpicurus as deus mortalisrdquo 177109 Some of these instances (the two upcoming passages from Epictetus and Silius Italicus)

are also discussed in Teresa Morganrsquos comprehensive collection of pistis and fideslanguage Roman faith and Christian faith under the heading of lsquoDivine PistisfidesTowards Human Beingsrsquo (128ndash142) Morgan however does not mention the topos ofhomoiōsis theōi as such and is generally sceptical about New Testament authorsparticipating in what she calls lsquohighrsquo philosophical discourses lsquothere are few if anypassages where lsquohighrsquo philosophical ideas can plausibly be seen as forming even part ofthe background to New Testament pistis languagersquo (151)

110 Plato Politeia 500d111 Plato Politeia 500dndashe112 Fides is said to have had her first temple erected either when the Trojans first arrived at

Romersquos future site or under the rule of Numa See Freyburger Fides 259ndash260113 Silius Italicus Punica 2484ndash486114 Silius Italicus Punica 2515ndash517115 Epictetus Diatribae 21411ndash13116 Ibid 2828117 If we follow the analysis of David Hay they together make up 93 cases ie

596 per cent of all Philorsquos uses of pistis See Hay ldquoPistis as lsquoGround for Faithrsquordquo 465see 464 note 14 and 15 for all specific passages

118 The pistis of Abraham is described by Philo as a lsquoperfect goodrsquo (De migrationeAbrahami 44) lsquothe most perfect of the virtuesrsquo (Quis rerum divinarum heres sit 91)and lsquothe queen of the virtuesrsquo (De Abrahamo 270)

119 Philo Quis rerum divinarum heres sit 93 Cf Philo De virtutibus 218 [Abraham] puthis trust (πιστεύσαντα) in nothing created rather than in the Uncreated and Father ofallrsquo

120 Philo De confusione linguarum 31121 Cf Danieacutelou Philo of Alexandria 152 lsquoIndeed for Philo faith is essentially the act by

which the soul adheres to Godrsquos immutable realm turning away from the unstableworld of sensible life (hellip) its precise meaning is the mindrsquos adhesion to intelligiblerealities that are stable and establish the mind in the realm of immutabilityrsquo

122 On the importance of the transcendence of God in Philo and in the Platonism of hisdays cf Bonazzi ldquoTowards Transcendencerdquo 233ndash252 On the increasing scepticismthis involved cf Runia ldquoThe Beginnings of the Endrdquo 302ndash303

123 Philo De mutatione nominum 181ndash183


124 See for instance Plutarch Adversus Colotem 1115e lsquoThe relation of the partaken in tothe partaker is that of cause to matter model to copy power to effect (ὃν αἰτία τε πρὸςὕλην ἔχει καὶ παράδειγμα πρὸς εἰκόνα καὶ δύναμις πρὸς πάθος)rsquo and my discussion ofthis passage in Sierksma-Agteres ldquolsquoSay goodbye to opinionsrsquordquo 68ndash69

125 For some important references see note 22 above126 Hebrews 137 Leaders are to be minded for the outcome of their conduct and perhaps

since ekbasis can also refer to death even for their literal departure from lifeTranslations of biblical texts have been taken over from the NRSV with minorrevisions when necessary

127 The full phrase reads εἰς τὴν ὑμῶν προκοπὴν καὶ χαρὰν τῆς πίστεως I here take thegenetive pisteōs to refer to both progress and joy alternatively it may refer only to joy

128 Paul refers to the gnomic maxim that household stewards need to be found trust-worthy 42 On Paulrsquos use of maxims see Ramsaran Liberating Words on this specificmaxim 35

129 1 Corinthians 415ndash17130 1 Thessalonians 16ndash8131 For horizontal imitation of lsquonormalrsquo Christ-followers cf Philippians 317 lsquoBrothers and

sisters join in imitating me (συμμιμηταί μου γίνεσθε) and observe those who liveaccording to the example you have in us (καθὼς ἔχετε τύπον ἡμᾶς)rsquo

132 To avoid any confusion by lsquocontentrsquo I mean that which is to be imitated namely thefaithful life not cognitive beliefs as in the Thomistic fides quae

133 Romans 68134 1 Thessalonians 414135 Romans 109ndash10a lsquoif you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your

heart that God raised him from the dead (καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ θεὸςαὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν) you will be saved For one believes with the heart and so isjustified (καρδίᾳ γὰρ πιστεύεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην) (hellip)rsquo For an ethical interpretation ofjustice as in line with Paulrsquos Judaism see Vanlandingham Judgment and Justification

136 2 Corinthians 521137 Galatians 419 lsquoMy little children for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until

Christ is formed in you (τέκνα μου οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐνὑμῖν) (hellip)rsquo

138 1 Corinthians 152 lsquothrough which also you are being saved if you hold firmly to themessage that I proclaimed to youmdashunless you have come to believe in vainrsquo 1Corinthians 1514 lsquoand if Christ has not been raised then our proclamation has beenin vain and your faith has been in vain (κενὴ καὶ ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν)rsquo 1 Corinthians 1517lsquoIf Christ has not been raised your faith is futile (ματαία ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν) and you arestill in your sinsrsquo

139 See eg Miller The Third Kind 61140 Most famously by Albert Schweitzer Schweitzer Mysticism 122ndash123141 Galatians 220 (discussed below) 2 Corinthians 135142 2 Corinthians 135143 Cf Wisdom 727 lsquoAnd being but one she can do all things And remaining in herself

she maketh all things new And in all ages entering into holy souls (εἰς ψυχὰς ὁσίαςμεταβαίνουσα) she maketh them friends of God and prophetsrsquo (Translation LCLBrenton)

144 2 Timothy 211ndash13145 Cf Paulrsquos questions in the Letter to the Romans lsquoWhat if some were unfaithful (εἰ

ἠπίστησάν τινες) Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God (μὴ ἡ ἀπιστίααὐτῶν τὴν πίστιν τοῦ θεοῦ καταργήσει) (Romans 33) These questions however seemto come up from a covenantal rather than mimetic setting since it is Israel here who isportrayed as having betrayed Godrsquos trust manifested in entrusting the divine oracles


146 Schenck ldquo2 Corinthiansrdquo 525 lsquoAlthough I resist the ldquoneglected evidencerdquo title myultimate interest in the current study is what 2 Cor 413 might contribute to thisdiscussionrsquo

147 2 Corinthians 413ndash14a148 Schenckldquo2 Corinthiansrdquo 527ndash529 He substantiates this argument ia by referring to

the early Christian practice of reading the psalms lsquoas if Christ were uttering themrsquo (529referring to Hays ldquoChrist Prays the Psalmsrdquo 122ndash136) Unfortunately Schenck doesnot seem aware that the same case namely lsquothat Paul has this entire story in mind as hecites LXX Pss 114ndash115 in 2 Cor 413 (hellip) precisely because it serves as an aptexpression of the story of Jesusrsquo had already been made though not so much incontext of the pistis Christou discussion by Thomas Stegman in The Character ofJesus 146ndash168 cited from pages 156ndash157

149 Cited from Schenck ldquo2 Corinthiansrdquo 526 The motive of imitation if Christrsquos characterin Paul particularly in 2 Corinthians is amply treated however by Stegman TheCharacter of Jesus even though he also leaves out contemporary sources on moralimitation

150 1 Corinthians 19 Ibid 1013 2 Corinthians 118 1 Thessalonians 524151 2 Corinthians 118ndash21a152 1 Corinthians 216 lsquoFor who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct himrsquo Cf

LXX Isa 4013 τίς ἔγνω νοῦν Κυρίου καὶ τίς αὐτοῦ σύμβουλος ἐγένετο ὃς συμβιβᾷαὐτόν)

153 Van Kooten Paulrsquos Anthropology 213 Cf his entire Section 22 ldquoThe lsquoimage of Godrsquoand lsquobeing made like Godrsquo The traditions of homoiosis theoi in Greek philosophy fromPlato to Plotinusrdquo 124ndash181

154 See Phillipians 27 lsquobut emptied himself taking the form of a slave (μορφὴν δούλου)being born in human likeness (ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος)rsquo and Romans 83lsquoby sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν πέμψαςἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας)rsquo Cf Van Kooten Paulrsquos Anthropology 216 lsquoByemphasizing the descent of the heavenly man his incarnation and assimilation toman Paul seems to enhance manrsquos ability to become of the same form as himrsquo cfEastman ldquoImitating Christ Imitating Usrdquo 434ndash448 on Christ first mimicking Adamhumanity in Philippians

155 Cf Hays The Faith of Jesus Christ 249 lsquoas we respond in faith we participate in anongoing reenactment of Christrsquos faithfulnessrsquo

156 Galatians 220157 Galatians 324158 Silius Italicus Punica 495159 Ephesians 424160 Plato Theaetetus 176b lsquoto become like God is to become righteous and holy with

wisdom (ὁμοίωσις δὲ δίκαιον καὶ ὅσιον μετὰ φρονήσεως γενέσθα)rsquo This connection toPlatonic homoiōsis language is missed by Volker Rabens who only refers to the LXXSee Rabens ldquoPneuma and the Beholding of Godrdquo 323

161 Clement of Alexandria Stromateis 222136

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author

Funding

This work was supported by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) underproject number 360-25-120


Notes on contributor

Suzan J M Sierksma-Agteres studied Classics (Leiden 2012) and Theology (VU Amsterdam2012) and is currently employed as PhD researcher at the University of Groningen in the NWO-funded project lsquoOvercoming the Faith-Reason opposition Pistis in Contemporary Philosophyrsquo

Bibliography

Agamben G The Time That Remains A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans Stanford CAStanford University Press 2005

Annas J Platonic Ethics Old and New Ithaca NY Cornell University Press 1999Armstrong J M ldquoAfter the Ascent Plato on Becoming Like Godrdquo Oxford Studies in Ancient

Philosophy 26 (2004) 171ndash183Barr J The Semantics of Biblical Language Oxford Oxford University Press 1961Bird M F and P M Sprinkle The Faith of Jesus Christ Exegetical Biblical and Theological

Studies Peabody MA Hendrickson 2009Boer W P D The Imitation of Paul An Exegetical Study Kampen JH Kok 1962Bonazzi M ldquoTowards Transcendence Philo and the Renewal of Platonism in the Early Imperial

Agerdquo In Philo of Alexandria and Post-Aristotelian Philosophy edited by F Alesse 233ndash252Leiden Brill 2008

Brant J-A-A ldquoThe Place of Mimēsis in Paulrsquos Thoughtrdquo Studies in ReligionSciences Religieuses22 no 3 (1993) 285ndash300

Brenk F E ldquoSetting a Good Exemplum Case Studies in the Moralia the Lives as Case StudiesrdquoIn With Unperfumed Voice Studies in Plutarch in Greek literature Religion and Philosophyand in the New Testament Background edited by F E Brenk 195ndash215 Stuttgart Steiner 2007

Brouwer R The Stoic Sage The Early Stoics on Wisdom Sagehood and Socrates CambridgeCambridge University Press 2014

Bultmann R Der Stil der paulinischen Predigt und die kynisch-stoische Diatribe GoumlttingenVandenhoeck amp Ruprecht 1910

Burges M A The Works of Plato Vol VI The Doubtful Works London Henry G Bohn 1894Bury R G ed Timaeus Critias Cleitophon Menexenus Epistles Loeb Classical Library

Cambridge MA Harvard University Press 1942Castelli E A Imitating Paul A Discourse of Power Louisville KY Westminster John Knox

Press 1991Clarke A D ldquolsquoBe Imitators of Mersquo Paulrsquos Model of Leadershiprdquo Tyndale Bulletin 49 no 2

(1998) 329ndash360Cooper J M ldquoSocrates and Philosophy as a Way of Liferdquo In Maieusis Essays in Ancient

Philosophy in Honour of Myles Burnyeat edited by D Scott 20ndash43 Oxford OxfordUniversity Press 2007

Copan V A Saint Paul as Spiritual Director An Analysis of the Imitation of Paul withImplications and Applications to the Practice of Spiritual Direction Milton KeynesPaternoster 2007

Cribiore R Gymnastics of the Mind Greek Education in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt PrincetonNJ Princeton University Press 2001

Cruse D A Lexical Semantics Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1986Danieacutelou J Philo of Alexandria Eugene OR Wipf and Stock 2014David L M We Are Being Transformed Deification in Paulrsquos Soteriology Berlin De Gruyter

2012Dihle A ldquoDie Griechische Philosophie zur Zeit ihrer Rezeption durch Juden und Christenrdquo In

Religioumlse Philosophie und Philosophische Religion der fruumlhen Kaiserzeit LiteraturgeschichtlichePerspektiven edited by R Hirsch-Luipold H Goumlrgemanns and M von Albrecht 3ndash19Tuumlbingen Mohr Siebeck 2009


Dillon J The Middle Platonists A Study of Platonism 80 BC to AD 220 London Duckworth1977

Dodd B Paulrsquos Paradigmatic ldquoIrdquo Personal Example as Literary Strategy Sheffield SheffieldAcademic Press 1999

Dombrowski D A A Platonic Philosophy of Religion A Process Perspective Albany StateUniversity of New York Press 2005

Downing F G ldquoAmbiguity Ancient Semantics and Faithrdquo New Testament Studies 56 no 1(2010) 139ndash162 doi101017S0028688509990221

Duff T ldquoPlutarchrsquos lsquoLivesrsquo and the Critical Readerrdquo In Virtues for the People Aspects ofPlutarchan Ethics edited by G Roskam and L Van der Stockt 59ndash82 PlutarcheaHypomnemata Leuven Leuven University Press 2011

Dunn J D G ldquoOnce More ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥrdquo In Pauline Theology Volume IV Looking BackPressing On edited by E Elizabeth Johnson and D M Hay 61ndash81 Atlanta Atlanta ScholarsPress 1997

Easter M ldquoThe Pistis Christou Debate Main Arguments and Responses in Summaryrdquo Currentsin Biblical Research 9 no 1 (2010) 33ndash47 doi1011771476993X09360725

Eastman S ldquoImitating Christ Imitating Us Paulrsquos Educational Project in Philippiansrdquo In The WordLeaps the Gap Essays on Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B Hays edited by J RossWagner C K Rowe and A Katherine Grieb 427ndash450 Grand Rapids MI Eerdmans 2008

Ellington D W ldquoImitating Paulrsquos Relationship to the Gospel 1 Corinthians 81-111rdquo Journal forthe Study of the New Testament 33 no 3 (2011) 303ndash315 doi1011770142064X10381957

Erler M ldquoEpicurus as Deus Mortalis Homoiosis Theoi and Epicurean Self-Cultivationrdquo InTraditions of Theology Studies in Hellenistic Theology Its Background and Aftermath editedby D Frede and A Laks 159ndash181 Philosophia Antiqua ISSN 0079-1687 89 Leiden Brill2002

Fiore B The Function of Personal Example in the Socratic and Pastoral Epistles Rome BiblicalInstitute Press 1986

Freyburger G Fides Eacutetude Seacutemantique Et Religieuse Depuis Les Origines JusqursquoagraveLrsquoeacutepoque Augusteacuteenne Collection Drsquoeacutetudes Anciennes Paris Les Belles Lettres 1986

Getty M A ldquoThe Imitation of Paul in the Letters to the Thessaloniansrdquo In The ThessalonianCorrespondence edited by R F Collins 277ndash283 Leuven Peeters 1990

Gruen E S ldquoGreek Pistis and Roman Fidesrdquo Athenaeum 60 (1982) 50ndash68Hadot P Philosophy as a Way of Life Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault Malden MA

Blackwell 1995Harrison J R ldquoThe Imitation of the lsquoGreat Manrsquo in Antiquity Paulrsquos Inversion of a Cultural

Iconrdquo In Christian Origins and Greco-Roman Culture Social and Literary Contexts for the NewTestament edited by W P Andrew and E P Stanley 213ndash254 Early Christianity in ItsHellenistic Context Leiden Brill 2013

Hay D M ldquoPistis as lsquoGround for Faithrsquo in Hellenized Judaism and Paulrdquo Journal of BiblicalLiterature 108 no 3 (1989) 461ndash476 doi1023073267114

Hays R B ldquoChrist Prays the Psalms Paulrsquos Use of an Early Christian Exegetical Conventionrdquo InThe Future of Christology Essays in Honor of Leander E Keck edited by A J Malherbe andW A Meeks 122ndash136 Minneapolis MN Fortress 1993

Hays R B ldquoΠΙΣΤΙΣ and Pauline Christology What is at Stakerdquo In Pauline Theology VolumeIV Looking Back Pressing On edited by E Elizabeth Johnson and D M Hay 35ndash60 AtlantaAtlanta Scholars Press 1997

Heath J M F Paulrsquos Visual Piety The Metamorphosis of the Beholder Oxford OxfordUniversity Press 2013

Hooker M D ldquoΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥrdquo New Testament Studies 35 no 3 (1989) 321ndash342doi101017S0028688500016817

Hooker M D From Adam to Christ Essays on Paul Cambridge Cambridge University Press1990

Hooker M D ldquoAnother Look at πίστις Χριστοῦrdquo Scottish Journal of Theology 69 (2016) 46ndash62doi101017S0036930615000770


Irwin T H ldquoPlato The Intellectual Backgroundrdquo In The Cambridge Companion to Plato editedby R Kraut 51ndash89

Jewett R Romans A Commentary Philadelphia PA Fortress 2007van Kooten G H Paulrsquos Anthropology in Context The Image of God Assimilation to God and

Tripartite Man in Ancient Judaism Ancient Philosophy and Early Christianity TuumlbingenMohr Siebeck 2008

MacDonald D R ed Mimesis and Intertextuality in Antiquity and Christianity Harrisburg PATrinity 2001

Macris C and P Athanassiadi ldquoLa Philosophisation Du Religieuxrdquo In Pantheacutee ReligiousTransformations in the Graeco-Roman Empire edited by C Bonnet and L Bricault 41ndash83Brill 2013

Mahoney T A ldquoMoral Virtue and Assimilation to God in Platorsquos Timaeusrdquo Oxford Studies inAncient Philosophy 28 (2005) 77ndash91

Mahoney T A ldquoIs Assimilation to God in the Theaetetus Purely Otherworldlyrdquo AncientPhilosophy 24 no 2 (2004) 321ndash338 doi105840ancientphil200424244

Malherbe A J Paul and the Popular Philosophers Minneapolis MN Fortress Press 1989Marrou H I A History of Education in Antiquity Madison University of Wisconsin Press 1956Matlock R B ldquoDetheologizing the Pistis Christou Debate Cautionary Remarks from a Lexical

Semantic Perspectiverdquo Novum Testamentum 42 no 1 (2000) 1ndash23 doi101163156853600506573

Matlock R B ldquoEven the Demons Believersquo Paul and Pistis Christourdquo Catholic Biblical Quarterly64 no 2 (2002) 300ndash318

Miller D R The Third Kind in Platorsquos Timaeus Goumlttingen Vandenhoeck amp Ruprecht 2003Miller P L Becoming God Pure Reason in Early Greek Philosophy London Bloomsbury 2011Morgan T Roman Faith and Christian Faith Pistis and Fides in the Early Roman Empire and

Early Churches Oxford Oxford University Press 2015Pelling C ldquoAspects of Plutarchrsquos Characterisationrdquo Illinois Classical Studies 13 no 2 (1988)

257ndash274Rabens V ldquoPneuma and the Beholding of God Reading Paul in the Context of Philonic Mystical

Traditionsrdquo In The Holy Spirit Inspiration and the Cultures of Antiquity MultidisciplinaryPerspectives edited by J Frey and J R Levison 293ndash327 Berlin De Gruyter 2014

Reinhartz A ldquoOn the Meaning of the Pauline Exhortation lsquoMimētai Mou GinesthemdashBecomeImitators of Mersquordquo Studies in ReligionSciences Religieuses 16 no 4 (1987) 393ndash403

Runia D T ldquoThe Beginnings of the End Philo of Alexandria and Hellenistic Theologyrdquo InTraditions of Theology edited by A Laks and D Frede 281ndash316 Leiden Brill 2001

Russell D C ldquoVirtue as lsquoLikeness to Godrsquo in Plato and Senecardquo Journal of the History ofPhilosophy 42 no 3 (2004) 241ndash260 doi101353hph20040055

Schweitzer A The Mysticism of the Apostle Paul Translated by W Montgomery London AampCBlack 1953 German original Die Mystik des Apostels Paulus Tuumlbingen Mohr 1930

Sedley D ldquoThe Ideal of Godlikenessrdquo In Plato 2 Ethics Politics Religion and the Soul edited byG Fine 309ndash328 Oxford Oxford University Press 1999

Sedley D ldquoPhilosophical Allegiance in the Greco-Roman Worldrdquo In Philosophia Togata Essayson Philosophy and Roman Society edited by M T Griffin and J Barnes Oxford OxfordUniversity Press 1989

Sellars J The Art of Living The Stoics on the Nature and Function of Philosophy AldershotAshgate 2003

Sierksma-Agteres S ldquolsquoSay Goodbye to Opinionsrsquo Plutarchrsquos Philosophy of Natural Phenomenaand the Journey to Metaphysical Knowledgerdquo In Natural Spectaculars Aspects of PlutarchrsquosPhilosophy of Nature Plutarchea Hypomnemata Series edited by M Meeusen and L Van derStockt 57ndash71 Leuven Leuven University Press 2015

Skidmore C Practical Ethics for Roman Gentlemen The Work of Valerius Maximus ExeterUniversity of Exeter Press 1996

Smit P-B Paradigms of Being in Christ A Study of the Epistle to the Philippians LondonBloomsbury T amp T Clark 2013


Smith D L Into the World of the New Testament Greco-Roman and Jewish Texts and ContextsLondon Bloomsbury 2015

Starr J ldquoLetter Openings in Paul and Platordquo In Christian Origins and Greco-Roman CultureSocial and Literary Contexts for the New Testament edited by W P Andrew and E P Stanley515ndash549 Early Christianity in Its Hellenistic Context Leiden Brill 2013

Stegman T The Character of Jesus The Linchpin to Paulrsquos Argument in 2 Corinthians RomaEditrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico 2005

Stockhausen C K Mosesrsquo Veil and the Glory of the New Covenant The Exegetical Substructure ofII Cor 31-46 Roma Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico 1989

Thom J C ldquoPopular Philosophy in the Hellenistic-Roman Worldrdquo Early Christianity 3 no 3(2012) 279ndash295 doi101628186870312803853674

Trapp M ldquoPhilosophy and Philosophers in the Imperial Periodrdquo In A Companion to Plutarchedited by M Beck 43ndash57 Hoboken NJ John Wiley amp Sons 2013

VanLandingham C Judgment amp Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul PeabodyMA Hendrickson 2006

Williams H H Drake ldquolsquoImitate Mersquo Interpreting Imitation in 1 Corinthians in Relation toIgnatius of Antiochrdquo Perichoresis 11 no 1 (2014) 77ndash95

Williams S K ldquoAgain Pistis Christourdquo Catholic Biblical Quarterly 49 no 3 (1987) 431ndash447Witherington B Paulrsquos Letter to the Philippians A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Grand Rapids

MI Eerdmans 2011


Abstract

1 Introduction


3 Imitating the masterrsquos pistis the mimetic chain of philosophical education

4 Homoiōsis sophōi and homoiōsis theōi Platonists Stoics and Epicureans on assimilation to the divine



7 Mediated imitation of God as cultural model for Paulrsquos Pistis Christou formulations

Notes


Funding


Bibliography

Full Terms amp Conditions of access and use can be found athttpwwwtandfonlinecomactionjournalInformationjournalCode=rjpt20

Download by [University of Groningen] Date 23 May 2017 At 0632

International Journal of Philosophy and Theology

ISSN 2169-2327 (Print) 2169-2335 (Online) Journal homepage httpwwwtandfonlinecomloirjpt20

Imitation in faith enacting Paulrsquos ambiguous pistisChristou formulations on a Greco-Roman stage

Suzan J M Sierksma-Agteres

To cite this article Suzan J M Sierksma-Agteres (2016) Imitation in faith enacting Paulrsquosambiguous pistis Christou formulations on a Greco-Roman stage International Journal ofPhilosophy and Theology 773 119-153 DOI 1010802169232720161231076

To link to this article httpdxdoiorg1010802169232720161231076

copy 2016 The Author(s) Published by InformaUK Limited trading as Taylor amp FrancisGroup

Published online 04 Nov 2016

Submit your article to this journal

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Notes


























































































































Funding





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MI Eerdmans 2011


Abstract

1 Introduction







Notes


Funding


Bibliography






1 Introduction


















































































































































Notes


























































































































Funding





Bibliography















































































MI Eerdmans 2011


Abstract

1 Introduction







Notes


Funding


Bibliography













































































































































Notes


























































































































Funding





Bibliography















































































MI Eerdmans 2011


Abstract

1 Introduction







Notes


Funding


Bibliography











































































































Funding





Bibliography















































































MI Eerdmans 2011


Abstract

1 Introduction







Notes


Funding


Bibliography



Bibliography















































































MI Eerdmans 2011


Abstract

1 Introduction







Notes


Funding


Bibliography



























































MI Eerdmans 2011


Abstract

1 Introduction







Notes


Funding


Bibliography

imitation in faith: enacting paul's ambiguous pistis christou

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