The Letters of Paul as Rituals of Worship

Reviews / Votes

"When Heil calls the thirteen letters of Paul 'rituals of worship', he means that each is written as a script to be performed for a community gathered for worship over which Paul presides through the letter, thereby evoking and sharing in the prayer of his audience. Heil also explores how the language of the letters uses imagery from temple worship metaphorically, to interpret Christian life itself as worship. Heil manages to provide a fresh, pastoral reading of the Pauline corpus as a whole."
Dennis Hamm SJ, Department of Theology, Creighton University

"Heil has provided a survey of these letters which clearly demonstrates the centrality of worship in Paul's theology."
Daniel J. Hanlon, in Theological Book Review, Vol 24, No 2

"...a clear and manageable survey of worship in the Pauline corpus that could serve as a helpful supplement to more traditional studies ... [John Paul Heil] offers an important corrective to traditional readings of Paul's letters as theology."
Tyler A. Stewart, in Reviews in Religion & Theology, Vol 20, Issue 2

"Heil successfully demonstrates that worship was a primary motive for Paul and remains a framework in which the letters must still be read ... Heil has given laypersons and ministers a helpful glimpse into Paul's letter as conduits for worship, and has provided a necessary reminder to academics that Paul's original literary intentions were that of worship."
Haley Goranson, in Theology, Vol 116, No 5

"Heil reads through the corpus and looks for such passages and motifs that deal or are connected with aspects of a Christian gathering, above all, such formulas that express Paul's sense for prayer and worship. ... This is a successful attempt at reading the letters of Paul with an eye on what must have been their first impact - their first reception. And that impact must have been impressive, in any case sufficient to have the communities preserve the letters, have them circulate, and at one point even have them receive non-Pauline copies."
J. Verheyden, in Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses, Vol 89, No 4

"[John Paul Heil] interprets each Letter of Paul as a script that was read during liturgical worship, with the purpose of enabling worship both within the gathered community meetings and also during daily life."
Church Times, (17th April, 2014)

"Heil has certainly provided a good survey of the different forms of worship in each of the Pauline epistles. He is attentive to liturgical language and the use of various prayers, hymns, and cultic language. Heil is also to be commended for his treatment of the complementary relationship between worship and ethics in Paul...many will find the survey of Paul's letters beneficial in drawing attention to the role of worship in specific parts of each letter. This feature of the book would be especially useful to pastors interested in Paul's attitude towards worship."
Matthew P. O'reilly, Journal of Theological Studies, vol 66 issue 1, April 2015