Imitation in faith: enacting Paul’s ambiguouspistis Christouformulations on a Greco-Roman stage

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate in New Testament scholarship on the correct interpretation of Paul's pistis Christou formulations: are we justified by our own faith/trust in Christ, or by participating in Christ's faith and faithfulness towards God? This article contributes to the position of purposeful or sustained ambiguity by reading Paul's imitation -and faith(fulness) -language against the background of Hellenistic-Roman thought on and practice of imitation. In particular, the mimetic chain between teachers and students training for a philosophical disposition, and the philosophical topos of 'becoming like God' (homoiōsis theōi) offer material valuable for comparison. Since pistis, fides and cognates are used in these settings as both a quality to imitate and as attitude towards a model, and since, conversely, imitation is very much involved in Paul's pistis-vocabulary, it makes sense to read pistis Christou as shorthand for a mimetic movement of faith(fulness) via Christ towards God. ARTICLE HISTORY

Research on the Letter to the Galatians 2000-2020

“…Suzan J.M. Sierksma-Agteres 485 (2016) supports the option of interpreting Paul's use of the expression "faith of Christ" as a purposeful ambiguity by investigating Paul's imitation language against the background of the way in which imitation functioned in the Hellenistic-Roman world, in particular in philosophical training. This suggests that one should interpret the expression as shorthand for believers mimetically moving in faith/faithfulness through Christ towards God.…”