Paul and the Image of God

Reviews / Votes

Chris Kugler has mastered Paul's writings, particularly the dense and difficult passages about Jesus... This ought to make the present study a vital resource for the new generation of Pauline scholars, as we leave behind some of the sterile antitheses of the past and navigate our way, like Paul himself, through a world in which there is now 'neither Jew nor Greek. -- N. T. Wright, Oxford University What Chris Kugler does here is to focus on a natural NT category: the image of God as emerging from Wisdom in the Jewish tradition through Middle Platonism. It is this confluence of ideas that gives rise to Paul's own form of Christological monotheism. Kugler's approach is thoroughly organic, exegetically nuanced, and historically reasonable. Add this to your shelf of significant books about Jesus. -- Scot McKnight Chris Kugler has written an enterprising thesis, and one which asks important questions about Paul's 'image of God' language. One of his key contributions shows how a fully divine Christology, in Paul, is fully consistent with, indeed expressed by, Paul's 'image' language. Indeed, anyone interested in imago Dei traditions and Pauline Christology will benefit from studying Kugler's arguments. -- Chris Tilling, St. Mellitus College Kugler's book is a timely and provocative contribution to the perennial question of Paul's understanding of Christ in relation to Adam, adding his own to the chorus of voices who now think Paul engaged in a creative dialogue with Hellenistic philosophy. A must read for anyone who wants to understand Paul's and the earliest believers' Christologies. -- Crispin H. Fletcher-Louis, author of Jesus Monotheism, vol. 1: Christological Origins: The Emerging Consensus and Beyond